Purists may weep, but this Dodge Viper V10 650bhp Karmann Ghia certainly is a feat of engineering and takes monster-engined Dubs into a totally new dimension. So what’s it all about, and why shouldn’t you hate it?
Enter ‘Blue Mamba’ – a 1967 Ghia with a 8.3-litre Viper V10 engine shoehorned under the bonnet. Yes, you read right – up front, not out back and it’s mated to the Dodge’s T56 six-speed gearbox. It’s the work of Deanz Rodz and Race Carz and the Custom Shop out in the States and the project’s caused quite a storm on the forums.
Some love it. Unsurprisingly, lots loathe it – bemoaning the fact that possibly a perfectly good Ghia has been mullered in the process of building ‘yet another’ stupidly big engined VW. In fact, two Ghias were used – the first being a rot box, otherwise destined for the breaker’s while the second was a surprisingly sound example.
In their defence, the folk behind the project recognise the split in opinion it’s likely to cause but suggest that “anyone who loves different and crazy rides will love this car,” adding that it’s been “made to be driven” and that it’s no trailer queen. Furthermore the build incorporates some pretty trick engineering – including, of course, a custom spaceframe chassis to take the engine and a totally one-off suspension setup, featuring an independent rear end with lots of bespoke CNC-machined billet aluminium components.
Apparently, also, the project was initiated as a ministry outreach for the church – the build intended to draw in a wide range of people to encourage them into fellowship and working together. In a nutshell, it was all done in a good cause…
Being front engined, you’d imagine that it would be front end heavy – but apparently not. By moving the engine back a few inches and extending the wheelbase it’s actually very drivable. Moreover, the makers say that as well as being tunable for even more horses, the V10 is also very reliable – giving the totally radical creation the potential of being a comfortable and trusty long distance cruiser.
You can check out the full build here.
Meanwhile, tell us what YOU think…
Ian
The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage
You can’t argue politics with a friend…or money with family..or peoples own ideas of whats tasteful.
You cannot deny the love that’s gone into this thing, so be wary of calling someones baby ugly ?!
Would I have done this? No. I’m more in the resto-purist camp.
But I tell you what… what a wonderful compliment – they could have built this beast underneath any shape you like but chose KG. There at least we definitely agree. Those curves and sheer class beat almost every car I see on the road today. (never seen a Muira in the flesh) Name another car worthy enough?