Who Knew They Bootlegged Luxury Cars? Man Builds Bugatti From ?02 Mercury Cougar? [PHOTOS]

The Bugatti Veyron is said to be a modern automotive legend. Wanted by many, but owned by few.? The sleek speedster boasts a top speed of over 260mph, making it the fastest road-legal car in the world, and it has a stunningly large price tag to match.

Cash Money CEO Birdman paid a whopping $2.1 million for a brand new bright red Bugatti Veyron a few months ago, while T. Pain plunked down a cool $1.8 million for a slightly used 2008 model.

Due to the astronomical costs to own and maintain such a vehicle, only a few hundred of ’em have ever even been built, so your chances of owning one are rather slim.

Now comes 25 year old Mike Duff, of Florida. He decided that the odds of him owning a Bugatti were greater if he simply built his own dayum car!

So he constructed his very own Bugatti with his bare hands…

Duff started out with a 2002 Mercury Cougar coupe with 120,000 miles on it and transformed the vehicle’s entire exterior into that of a world-class supercar.

Using fiberglass and composite material to create the Veyron’s iconic lines, Duff laid it all over a tubular steel frame.? He then got a professional paint job and after plenty of buffing, the car was almost showroom ready.

Duff then covered the entire Cougar interior, from the seats to the dashboard, in genuine leather. He said the project took him a full 9 months from start to finish.

The?detailed “knock-off” even sports usable back seats, which is something the authentic million-dollar ride lacks.

Duff currently has the vehicle up for sale on eBay with a price of $89,000… a steal considering the mutli-million dollar price tag of the real thing.

Yes folks… you too can be the proud owner of a “Bootleg Bugotti” aka COUGatti sports car!

Unfortunately, while that price will buy you the looks of a barely-legal race car, it doesn’t buy you the performance. Under its gorgeous exterior, the “Cougatti” is still distinctly pedestrian, and remains equipped with its original 2.5-liter V6 engine that produces roughly 170 horsepower. This is in stark contrast to the 8-liter 16-cylinder powerplant of the real car, which produces a neck-snapping 1,000 horses.

Still, for the price of a Porsche, there’s not much you can complain about when the car is a nearly indistinguishable replica of the fastest road car in the world. (source)

$89,000 for a 02 Mercery Cougar with a car kit? Chile I guess… 😕

Would you spend that type of dough on a “replica” automobile?