A PETROLHEAD struggling to buy the car of his dreams was forced to settle for the next best thing – and save a ton of money in the process.
Car enthusiast and YouTuber Chris Slix was desperate to own a top-tier McLaren 675LT, a supercar that costs around £400,000.
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However, he couldn’t afford it and also lacked the strictly required purchase history with McLaren to even be considered for buying one.
But the resourceful petrolhead had another idea, after discovering that McLaren’s limited-edition models, including the 675LT and P1 hypercar, share many parts with their more affordable base models, such as the 650S.
This gave him the idea to transform a damaged, cut-price McLaren 650S Spider into a premium, customised version resembling one of its more high-end models.
After purchasing a heavily damaged 650S Spider, which had been crashed multiple times and used as a track experience car, he then sought out budget parts to help transform the motor into a more exclusive-looking version.
After finding that McLaren-branded parts would have cost more than a second-hand 675LT, with some individual components costing as much as £25,000, Chris turned to trusty budget vendor Temu.
From the site, he managed to buy a full dry-carbon fibre body kit and other affordable components – including a unique tangerine paint/
“If we start with one of McLaren’s cheapest cars, we can potentially turn it into something much more expensive and much rarer,” he told viewers.
Initially, he explored various different options, including second-hand parts, aftermarket kits and even AliExpress, but settled on Temu.
“I had four criteria when I was hunting for pieces – harder, better, faster, stronger; five, if you count ‘cheaper’,” Chris said.
“The parts from Temu ticked every single box.”
He added: “Buying these parts new from McLaren is going to cost more than a second-hand 675LT. It’s ridiculous.”
After an eight-week wait, the Temu kit arrived in a massive box – which Chris and his team unpacked.
Instantly impressed with the parts and their quality, which were made entirely of carbon fibre – making them both lightweight and strong – the gearheads were first forced to address the McLaren’s damaged brackets and mounting points, which were bent or poorly repaired from previous accidents.
This meant Chris was forced to purchase replacement brackets directly from McLaren, adding to the costs, but ensured proper alignment and fitment of the new body kit.
The build began with the front wings and bonnet, which proved tricky and time consuming as the team had to pain-stakingly refine the fitment to ensure the car looks as good as a factory-built model.
The rear bumper and diffuser were also replaced with the carbon fibre components from the kit, as well as the rear spoiler and side pods – matching the 675LT’s design.
Chris added that he didn’t aim to create an exact replica of the P1 or 675LT, but rather his own personalised version that incorporates various elements from other McLaren models – including an exposed carbon fibre bonnet similar to the P1’s design.
While still a work in progress, the car is coming along brilliantly – with only a handful of bits requiring fine-tuning, including the panel gaps and headlights.
He also hints at upgrading the car’s performance to match its aggressive new look.
To the average person or casual observer, the car’s beastly look – largely thanks to the full dry-carbon fibre body kit and tangerine paint – makes it incredibly difficult to tell that it isn’t a factory-built high-end McLaren.
Chris added: “Squint really, really hard and it looks like a bad boy.”
