This 2002 Turbo started life as a normally aspirated 1976 car, and though not 100% accurate in detail or polished to perfection we dig the concept. As a useable, upgraded, and relatively inexpensive alternative to an iconic but flawed original it pushes all the right buttons, and will allow its new owner to drive it hard and often without the fear of damaging an irreplaceable piece of history. It’s said to pull strong and drive wonderfully, and with a bit of cosmetic sorting could be made really impressive. Find it here on eBay in Alberta, Canada with a $22,500 BIN.

The flares, chin spoiler, and graphics all look pretty convincing, and though the snowflakes it currently wears look good we’d swap them out for a nice set of period Alpina or Minilites for a more cohesive feel. Photos are low-res cell phone shots but seem to show a straight, solid car with decent, driver quality paint and trim—the nose for example wears plenty of stone chips, but it’s nothing we’d worry about immediately.

It’s difficult to make out the condition of the cabin thanks to poorly lit and composed pictures, but we can easily see that the instrument surround is the correct shade of orange/red as fitted to Turbos from new. The center console-topping binnacle that contained an analog VDO clock and boost gauge is absent, though, and recreating it would be a priority if the car were ours—right after fitting a new, uncracked dash. Front Recaros look to be in decent shape, as does the rear bench, but the headliner shows a few marks or stains.

Mechanical details are minimal, but the engine is said to be a two liter M10 taken from an E21 3 series mated to an unspecified 5-speed. It’s difficult to make out the turbo and induction pluming setup as photographed, but the compressor housing looks pretty beefy—we’d love to know how much boost its running. The car is sold with a laptop and engine management software allowing the new owner to play with maps, but everything else about this car’s build remains a frustrating mystery.

All in all the listing raises more questions than it answers, and we’d have many of the former for the seller if we were considering a bid. There are plenty of potential pitfalls here, and as presented there’s no way to make an educated guess as to the quality of the car’s build—we’re definitely intrigued, though. If anyone learns more we’d love to read about it below.