Velo Rossa

The Velo Rossa is a fibre reinforced plastic composite automobile body built by Reaction Research in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. It is designed to re-style the body of the 1970-1978 Datsun/Nissan S30 Z series cars. Front end appearance panels are replaced. Doors and rear external components are over-skinned after trimming out the wheel wells for wider tires.

Ferrari GTO Replicas

While not a replica per se, the Velo Rossa is very similar to several Ferrari 250 GTO replica designs which preceded it, including the

Eagle GTO by Merlin Coffano
Alpha One GTO by Joe Alphabet
McBurnie GTO replicas by Tom McBurnie of McBurnie Coachcraft
Blu-ray Rhino GT by Jim Simpson of Simpson Design, sold to Scorpion Z-Cars
Scorpion GTZ, sold to UK-based OM Sports Cars
Puckett 250GTO by former McBurnie associate Charlie Puckett
Classic Revival, NSW, Australia

Of these manufacturers only Reaction Research is still producing kits and parts for this style of rebody for the Nissan S30.

Velo Rossa Differences

The Velo Rossa differs from previous designs by offering a one-piece, tilt-up front bonnet, with "cheek panels" on the sides; and the ability to be built as either a coupe; or as a Velo Rossa Spyder roadster with a trunk and trunk lid.

Ferrari Rebodies

The Ferrari 250 GTO was only offered as a coupe, though other Ferrari models were occasionally rebodied into roadsters that looked like the GTO. These included the "Nembo" cars by Italian coachbuilders Neri & Bonacini, and a one-off by American car restorer Mark Goyette for ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard . Goyette also built the Ferrari 250#250 GT Spyder [California SWB|Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California SWB] replica for the American movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," which continues in production as the CalSpyderII.
There are also a few examples of highly sophisticated tube-chassis 250 GTO replicas, including a very nice one by the Australian team of Tim Foate, Gavin Tindell and Dale Stevens with a Ferrari 330GT engine.

Performance Modifications

Any performance modifications available for the Nissan S30 cars can be applied to the Velo Rossa. These include brake and suspension upgrades, larger wheels and tires, and engine swaps. Chevrolet small-block engine swaps, including the LS-series, are common. More extreme engine swaps have included Jaguar V-12 engines, and a BMW V-12.