At one time or another, every one of us has closed our eyes and played out our deepest motoring fantasies in our heads. Perhaps those daydreams involved 12 cylinders, a gated shifter and a mountain pass near Lake Garda, or maybe you were sailing through Tertre Rouge and onto the Mulsanne straight in a British Racing Green guided missile, goggles pressed firmly into your eye sockets as you speed towards victory. Whatever the fantasy, we’d be lying if we said we’d never had one. 

For those lucky enough to own a Ferrari 250 GT, Jaguar D-Type or classic Aston Martin then congratulations, may we all live vicariously through your social media feeds. But there are clever ways in absorbing some DNA from automotive royalty in a cost effective way. Where some cars are total ‘parts bin specials’, others—particularly low production supercars—tend to borrow parts from the shop next door.

We’ve put together a quick list to help add some ‘pedigree’ to your next thrifty treasure hunt.

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D-Type Le Mans legacy on a Sprite budget

True competition heavy-weights such as the Jaguar D-Type, for example, have aerodynamic superiority that allowed it to achieve just shy of 175mph on the Mulsanne straight in 1954 and claim victory at Le Mans the following year. With the D-Type, Jaguar developed one of the most significant automotive advancements of all time: disc brakes. And to provide adequate warning to those behind the D-Types fierce deceleration, Jaguar fitted a pair of Lucas L549 tail lights to its curvaceous rear bodywork. Genuine Jaguar D-types are well beyond the means of the average enthusiast, but there is another car with an equally curvaceous rear who shares those very same tail lights — the charming and thoroughly British Austin-Healey Sprite, colloquially known as the Frogeye or Bugeye Sprite. The D-Type tail lights are actually pretty common as they were shared with a multitude of classic British sports cars including the Triumph TR2 and the MGA.

Ferrari heart with Fiat parts

If a royalty family of automobiles existed, one cannot argue that Ferrari's 250 range wouldn’t sit close to the throne. From the SWB to the GTO and everything in between, Ferrari 250s enjoy a rarified existence atop a pretty high pedestal, but thanks to the shared employment of a Torino-based electrical component manufacturer you can, in the very least, experience the ethereal joy of turning a key in the very same chrome plated ignition switch. Yes, this critical component, along with a few others, is shared with a host of far more affordable cars from the likes of Lancia. From door handles to dashboard furniture, in the 70s and 80s it was not uncommon to find your new Ferrari sharing a myriad of components with a humble Fiat.

James Bond on a budget

Those with a keener eye may have spotted that the tail lights on James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 can also be found on the back of a Hillman Imp and those of Aston’s DB6 are shared with Triumph’s TR4 and TR5. These examples of component sharing are by no means unique. All manufacturers relied on third party suppliers and in some cases chose to use existing components rather than have something bespoke. Most noticeable are electrical components such as lights, switches and gauges. In Britain, the predominant sources for any vehicle manufacturer were Lucas, for electrics, and Smiths, for gauges. In Germany it was Bosch and VDO, and in Italy, whether it’s a Ferrari or a Fiat, you will likely find electrical components from the likes of Magnetti Marelli and CEV with gauges made by Veglia.

Win on Sunday, sell on Monday

Of course this mixing of DNA is not strictly limited to switch gear and tail lights. Throughout automotive history, and even to this day for smaller or specialist vehicle manufacturers, it is often cost prohibitive to develop their own engines. It makes far more sense to buy a tried and tested unit from a major manufacturer and adapt it to suit their needs. One of the most well known examples of this is the AC/Shelby Cobra. A formidable, world championship winning race car with the same cast iron lump as a common-place Ford Mustang. Another example that uses Ford V8 power is the delightfully exotic Italian supercar, the DeTomaso Pantera. In the 1960s there were a number of European luxury marques that also looked to the USA to solve their propulsion needs. British automaker Jensen and the French Facel Vega both chose to shoehorn big-block Chrysler V8s in the front of their sporting sedans.

In 1992, Mclaren chose to fit a BMW V12 in the back of the F1. Although that engine is unique to the F1, its architecture was lifted directly from the BMW's existing V12, a glorious engine that can be enjoyed in the infinitely more attainable 850i sports car. Much like McLaren, when Pagani brought us the extraordinary and sonorous Zonda, they sourced its V12 power unit from the somewhat demure Mercedes S600 luxury sedan.

While some of these examples are slightly tongue-in-cheek, it goes to show that not everything is as it appears on the surface. Our passion for cars and the cultures that evolve from them are made richer by these added dimensions. So the next time you take your classic out for a drive, take a moment and consider its DNA. Maybe it too has some royal blood in its veins.