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There’s a new superkit in town and it’s going to blow your mind! Remember the Vaydor G35 kit that originally cost $11,000, but then skyrocketed up around six figures? What a bummer… But the good news is there’s a new custom kit out there that will take your Porsche Boxster, and make it look like a multi-million-dollar track-tearing supercar! It’s name is the Gagliardi Vex and it’s only $45,000!
We’re going get into all the nuts and bolts of this insanely stylish kit, and walk you through the steps to get a Vex in your garage! This the Gagliardi Vex, the cheap car that’ll make you look rich!
Background
In the last decade, some seriously insane bodykits have been coming out of the woodworks that’ll make your regular old sedan look like a certified supercar. With kits like the Vaydor, Valarra, and the Zedro Notorious, you can make cars in the $10,000-$20,000 range look like they’re worth millions! And the kick-ass new kid on the block in terms of cheap supercar kits is the Gagliardi Vex! This kit takes a 987 or 986 Porsche Boxster, which were produced between 1996 and 2012, and makes it look like a ride that you might see in the streets of Dubai or pulling up to the red carpet.
The Mastermind
The Vex is built by Gagliardi Designs, a family-owned-and-operated company out of Southern California founded back in 2003 by Franco Gagliardi, who started out as a car enthusiast just like you and me, and had a dream to build his own Lambo-style supercar. But for cheap!
The first ever kit created by Gagliardi was the Vendetta, which debuted its Italian sportscar style at the Knott’s Berry Farm AHA Show. And years later, they’re back with another super cool kit, the Vex. Franco Gagliardi likes to make it clear that he’s building custom cars, not kit cars, not replica cars. And we respect the craft! Keep it up, Franco!
The Donor
Like I said, if you want a Vex of your own, you’re going to need a donor Porsche Boxster 986 or 987. Gagliardi will accept a manual or automatic transmission, don’t matter. They’ll also take either the base model or the upgraded S trim, if you’re looking for a little more power to match that supercar exterior.
You should be able to find low-mileage base 986 for under $10,000 that’s got around 220 horsepower, or you could go with an 986 S for more like $15,000, and that’s going to give you just over 250 horsepower. The base 987 can be had for between $15,000 and $20,000, while the S trim is gonna cost you right around $20,000 for a good example, and with those you’ll get 245 and 295 horsepower, respectively. It really all depends on what your budget is and how much power you’re willing to splurge for.
If you actually want to buy any of the Porsches I just mentioned, whether for a donor for your Gagliardi Vex, or just because Porsches are awesome, there are some great 986s and 987s on AutoTempest!
The Kit
But when you turn your Boxster over to the guys at Gagliardi Design, what do they actually do before a Vex magically appears in your garage? Well, the entire process is supposed to take three to four months, however, they do warn that delays are something to be prepared for.
Once your Boxster is in the hands of Gagliardi, they strip it all the way down the chassis and start building the fibreglass body from there. They widen the wheelbase to 107 inches, and build it up with a body that’s 43 inches tall, 80 inches wide in the rear, and 73 inches wide in the front. Ground clearance on this mean machine is 4.5 to 5.5 inches. And even though the Vex has a wider wheelbase and definitely looks more imposing than the Boxster it’s built on, it’s actually lighter than the Boxster body! That means that flat six from the 986 and 987 is going to do more for you, and if you chose to upgrade to an S trim with direct fuel injection, you’re going to be hitting some decent top speeds. Not Lambo speeds… but that’s hard to compete with… The Boxster generally isn’t well-known for its power output.
The Vex kit also comes with some nice bells and whistles like 20-inch aluminum alloy wheels, LED tail lights, projector headlights, DOT glass, and an optional electric rear spoiler. Think you could just install all that stuff yourself? Well, maybe you can, but unfortunately, you’re out of luck. Unlike competitors such as Vaydor and Zedro, Gagliardi doesn’t sell the Vex as a do-it-yourself kit. Looks like you’re going to have to pay that installation fee if you REALLY want this pseudo-supercar…
Ch-Ching
So, what’s it actually cost to turn your Porsche Boxster into a head-turning Lambo-syle supercar? Well, Gagliardi charges just $45,000 for the bodykit and installation, which isn’t as good as the original price of the Vaydor G35 bodykit, which sold for an unthinkably low $11,000.
But if you ask me, the Vex is still an Ideal deal for that kind of style. If you add that $45,000 up with what it would cost you to buy the donor 986 or 987, you’re somewhere in the range of $55,000 to $70,000, depending on what kind of performance you want.
Real Power
Oh, what? You want your Vex to actually perform like a supercar? Well, that’s doable, but it’s going to cost you a considerable amount more. Before you take your Porsche to Gagliardi, take it to a performance shop and have them make whatever mods you want. Give the thing a zillion horsepower! Why not? Well, be careful, because remember that even the super sturdy Boxster chassis only has so much it can handle.
The guys at Gagliardi Designs recommend getting a 987 S and then equipping it with a turbocharger as the most cost-effective way of maximizing your Vex’s performance. However, there are even more powerful editions of the 987 that can bump your horsepower up, such as the 987 Boxster Spyder.
So, that supercar style is going to cost you $45,000 no matter which way you look at it, but if you want real supercar performance, the sky’s the limit! Or at least as high as your budget will allow… Gagliardi will also do some performance modifications themselves, if you ask nicely. For a couple extra bucks, or more likely a couple extra thousand, they’ll make changes to the suspension like a coilover swap or toss in some performance coils, and they’ll even hook you up with a new exhaust system. But in terms of your engine, you’re going to have to go elsewhere.
Another thing that Gagliardi doesn’t touch in the process of building the Vex is the interior. However, do they really need to? Porsche makes beautiful high-quality interiors throughout all their models, and that stock upholstery looks right at home inside that sleek body. Plus, the fact that Gagliardi decided not to touch the interior means that all those factory safety features are still intact. Which you’re going to thank them for if you ever try to drift your Vex and fall off the side of a cliff.
The Future
If you’re about ready to drive you’re Boxster over to the Gagliardi Designs garage right now, you might want hold off. Apparently, new versions of the Vex are in the works, and if I were you, I’d want to see what those look like before I go dropping $45,000…
And the Vex isn’t the only supercar kit Gagliardi Design is producing to help you fool your neighbors, they’re website also includes two more kits that are coming soon: the Vendetta and the Vengeance.
The Vendetta kit is basically a tip of the hat to the Lamborghini Huracan, and while we don’t know what the Vendetta’s going cost when it hits the market, I’d bet it’s less than the $208,000 for a 2020 Huracan… The Vendetta’s built either on a tubular space frame, or a donor Pontiac Fiero if you have one lying around. And just like the Vex, the Vendetta makeover is only exterior. If you want to trick out your interior and your engine to match your Huracan-esque exterior, you’ll have to get that somewhere else.
The Vengeance kit also looks like some breed of Lamborghini, but which one exactly the guys at Gagliardi based it on is less clear. This kit is built on a custom tubular frame, and uses aluminum spindles from a Corvette Z06. Plus, it goes a little deeper than any of their other kits, with features like racing pedals and Brembo brakes.
From the subtle hints on Gagliardi’s website, it seems like they plan to sell the Vengeance primarily as a complete turn-key car with a wide range of options for suspensions, chassis, steering systems, and more, to suit their customers’ needs and budgets. However, there have also been hints that they’re considering selling just the kit by itself. So, if you’re excited about turning your commuter car into a poor man’s Lambo, there’s still hope!
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