Pricey custom specialty vehicles offer classic looks

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Attention car enthusiasts: These specialty replicas offer a modern twist on classic cars and are built to resemble vintage automobiles.

One rumbling blue sports car with a classic - possibly familiar - look is a bit of a legend. More specifically, an exact duplicate of a legend.

"It is the prototype Shelby vehicle. This car is what transcends Carroll (Shelby) from a famous race driver, to a manufacturer to a championship-winning builder and team owner and everything like that that he was," said Justin Mahaffey of Shelby Legendary Cars.

When Shelby started building cars in 1962, he had the very first Cobra constructed at a shop in Santa Fe Springs. That car, Cobra CSX2000, is extremely valuable, selling at auction eight years ago for nearly 14 million dollars. And it's likely worth much more today.

There are lots of Cobras out there, usually with bodies made of fiberglass. But these special recreations are being hand-stamped out of aluminum, just like the original, and will be limited to 10 examples. Every detail right down to the last nut and bolt done exactly like that first one. Still expensive, of course.

"$500,000 for the rolling chassis, that is less-drivetrain," said Mahaffey.

That means you then have to put an engine and transmission in, for legal reasons. The obvious choice is a period Ford 289 V8 and a 4-speed manual transmission, widely available even today.

But even though this will end up being a very pricey car, it's is a once-in-in-a-lifetime chance to have a carbon copy of a iconic car worth eight figures.

Obviously, a lot of people can buy a very expensive play-toy car. But that's usually something brand new and probably out of Europe. Others want something different - something more special, and something with a vintage vibe.

For example, the latest commissioned creation from Jonathan Ward and his Chatsworth-based Icon brand. It looks like a vintage Jeep Cherokee, but it's modernized and updated everywhere. Ward loves to sweat the details that justify prices that start in the $200,000 range and can climb from there.

"Hand-tooled leather interior, all bespoke everything. Mechanically it's a beast, just under 500 horsepower SRT-8 Hemi Fuelie 6.4," he said, mentioning only a few of the highlights.

If you want one of his distinctive vehicles, bring a lot of money, and be patient.

"The wait for the one-off builds, right now we're about four years out to start, then they take one to five years to build," said Jonathan Ward.

But Ward's creations, like that Cobra tribute, is often what buyers who want something different are after. No matter the price tag.