I was inspired for starting this thread after reading several claims in different forums about a very old statement (which I think I read for the first time some 10-12 years ago) claiming that "About 3 or 4% of the kit cars ever get completed". I used to do some simple math several times over the years, and after doing that I always end up failing to reach the claimed 3 or 4% as an answer. In my opinion, this ridiculously repeated statement is completely not true. I try to figure out how many kit cars and replicas such like Cobra, Lotus 7 and others were sold on the market, along with so many others by hundreds of small family companies. Almost all Cobra's and Lotus 7's are relatively easy to built (which is why they are actually built), not to mention most of the "nearly bolt-on" kits produced by bigger companies like "Factory Five", "Ultima sports", "Race car replicas"/"Superlite cars" etc. that are known for their high percentage of completion.
Naturally, most of the custom builds, which is usually anything related to Lamborghini, Ferrari or Bugatti replicas, get a smaller percentage of completion due to the extensive engineering work they require to be done by the private builder himself/herself. These are mostly in the form of a bare fibreglass body sold alone, usually even with no front windshield and other glass window supply, thus leaving the builder with the challenge to source everything else and figuring out how to solve all the related problems that the body kit's manufacturer either decided to rush and leave unresolved, or was not able to solve in the first place prior to putting his product on the market.
When speaking about Lamborghini replicas in particular, it's highly unlikely that just 3 or 4% of them get built, because the overall number of such body kits is not as big compared to the most popular kits. There are claims that "Factory five" alone put on the market over 8000 Cobra's, not to mention the tens of thousands Lotus 7 replica kits in the UK. So, even if we only count the Laborghini replicas, 3 or 4% seem like a too small number. I can't believe that only 3 or 4 out of 100 Lambo kits were ever completed, because if that was the case then we would see only a few dozen completed cars in the entire World - which is definitely far from the reality. Despite taking several years for completion, at least 80% of these Lamborghini replicas get on the road some day, be it done by the original builder or the one who bought it unfinished from another builder who got frustrated by the amount of work and money required to finish the project. Most of those kits are so badly produced, complete with air pockets and/or uneven surfaces, that their fibreglass body itself required months and sometimes even years to be repaired.
So, considering all the factors mentioned above, and knowing the huge number of finished Cobra, Lotus 7 and other (replica) kit cars, a more accurate statement would be to divide the percentage of completion based on the different types of kit cars ("bolt-on" kits consisting most parts and mounting brackets, rebody kits using lightly modified donor car, totally custom builds like most Lambos etc...). My bet is that about 80% of the Countach, Diablo and Murcielago replicas get build, even if that takes years and sometimes another owner, and at least 95% of the Cobra's, Lotus 7's and other fairly "bolt-on" kits manufactured by the bigger kit cars companies. I may be wrong in my calculations, but this is what seems to me more believable while counting the huge number of already completed kit cars that overshadow the tiny number of sold replica Lambo bodies on the market.
