10 expensive sports cars with cheap parts
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Ten years ago, a Renault engine under the hood of a luxury Mercedes-Benz would have come as a surprise. Today, this kind of partnership between automakers and the exchange of cost reduction technologies is considered to be quite common. However, it is unlikely that the owner of a Bentley for several million euros will be happy to see buttons from, say, Volkswagen among the leather and wood in an expensive interior. However, we will talk about some of the rare sports cars from which such surprises can be expected.
Lamborghini Diablo
It was the last Lamborghini supercar produced before the Italian brand took over Audi in the late 1990s. Around the same time, the mid-engined model underwent a facelift that the company seemed reluctant to spend. There is no other explanation for replacing the famous "blind" headlights of the legendary Lamborghini with Nissan optics.
nissan 300zx
The coupe and roadster 300 ZX, from which they borrowed the headlights for the Italian supercar, were also expensive. However, not in comparison to Diablo.
Alfa Romeo 4C
In the exterior of this model, you will not find the usual headlights, mirrors or door handles from other cars. The parts and components that Fiat models have shared with the mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive car are not easy to see.
Fiat Egea / Type
The Alfa Romeo 4C roadster is equipped with the same 6-speed robotic transmission found in many FCA vehicles, from the Fiat Egea/Tipo and 500X/500L to the Dodge Dart and Jeep Renegade.
Maserati Quattroporte
The Maserati Quattroporte is said to have taillights from the Korean Daewoo Nubira sedan. Even so (which is highly doubtful), borrowing components from other manufacturers was not limited to optics.
Jeep / Dodge / Fiat
The luxury Italian sedan has the same electronics that control the headlights and sound system parts used in Jeep, Dodge and Fiat.
Lotus Elise
The fact that the Elise is now equipped with Toyota engines, and the first and second generations were equipped with Rover K-series engines, is a well-known fact.
Ford Fiesta
In addition to the 1,8-liter Japanese four-cylinder engine, the British sports car borrowed the turn signal arms from older Opel models, as well as the air intake grilles from the Ford Fiesta.
Pagani Zonda
The mid-engined Pagani Zonda is one of the most exotic cars on the list, but it doesn't get rid of the unification either. And it's not about powerful multi-liter V12 engines from Mercedes-Benz, but about much more prosaic things.
Rover 45
You will be surprised to know that Horatio Pagani borrowed the A / C control unit for an expensive sports car from the regular British Rover 45 sedan.
Venturi 400 GT
The French company Venturi, which recently switched to the production of electric vehicles, also does not consider it shameful to remove spare parts from other cars. The sports coupe with the 400 GT looks like a collage of components from different brands.
Renault 5
Venturi side windows are from Renault Fuego, mirrors are from Citroen CX, wipers are from Mercedes-Benz 190, part of the optics are from Renault 5 and BMW 3-series.
Maserati Gran Turismo
The GranTurismo, now history, is one of Maserati's most elegant models. However, the interior design is far from perfect. Including due to unification.
Peugeot 207
On the wide center console of the Maserati GranTurismo, beneath the rather large multimedia touchscreen is the exact same radio that Peugeot installs on many models, including the 207.
Aston Martin Virage
Aston Martin is now openly collaborating with Mercedes-Benz to create new models. However, some time ago British sports cars tried to hide the fact that they were borrowing parts from other brands.
Audi 200
For example, the grand station wagon Aston Martin Virage of the 80s of the last century, created not without the participation of Volkswagen, was equipped with headlights from the Audi 200.
Lotus Evora
In the Evora, as in the younger Elise, Lotus did not fail to use components from different car manufacturers. For example, the engine was taken from a Toyota Camry.
Opel Astra
The donor of turn signals and grilles for the Lotus sports car was the Ford Fiesta, and the British borrowed the light switch from the Opel Astra. In parallel, the Ford Escort took over the adjustment of the mirrors.
MG XPower SV
Finally, the sportiest production car produced under the MG brand. Under the hood of the XPower SV is a 4,6-liter V8 from the Ford Mustang. But, despite the connection with the famous model, it was impossible to do without cheap loans.
Fiat Punto
The front optics of the powerful MG XPower SV, for example, are borrowed from the second generation of the Fiat Punto hatchback with virtually no changes.
