Lupo 3L for sale in USA (78 mpg)!!!
 

Hello, I saw an opportunity about a very rare and special car : the lupo 3L.
This car is made for a 78 mpg. In Europe, it's rare, in the USA, there is maybe 5 car like this one.

This is the link :
2005 Lupo 3L TDI - TDIClub Forums

Be fast!

Cool! You can buy it but you can't register it... so you can't legally drive it...

I'd drive up there tomorrow with the cash if I could get it titled in Va.

regards
Mech

Don't they do one-off's in the States ?

Basically, it means having a vehicle approved by proving it is essentially safe to operate (i.e. "as built" in the EU), complies with basic requirements (lights, brakes, ...), and conforms to at least some emission standards (the EU's) .

In some states, you can get registration for a 'kit car' or 'coach built one-off'. But in the case of a car that was manufactured by a recognized auto builder, but never imported to the States, is not a ' classic' (not 30 years old), I would not take that gamble with my $7500. A good place to check on 'what would it take?' is a classic car consignment showroom in your state. The guys who sell vintage Aston Martins, Ferarris, Colbra and Speedster kit cars and the like (I used to do some side work for a place like that in Pleasonton, CA) . Those guys usually know all the rules, the gray areas, even loopholes if they exist, and are often licensed by the state to do VIN certifications, etc.

Every state is different. In NoOh, classic is 20 years old. I disagree, but my 89 S10 Blazer was offered classic plates lol

And if one can prove that engine was legal emission wise, one should be fine. If I had the cash I would grab it, ask questions later. Worse case scenario, you sell it again and have an adventure. But that is in my view, surely others may disagree.

From Grey import vehicle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

and

This is not state-by-state, but at the federal level.

A few lines down it says this.
A vehicle not originally built to U.S. specifications can, under certain circumstances, be imported through a registered importer who modifies the vehicle to comply with US equipment and safety regulations and then certifies it as compliant, and an independent commercial importer who modifies the vehicle to comply with US emissions regulations and then certifies it as compliant.[3] Those who import nonconforming motor vehicles sometimes bring in more than one car at a time to spread the substantial cost of the necessary destructive testing, modification, and safety certification. Destructive crash testing is not always needed if the vehicle can be shown to be substantially similar to a model sold in the U.S. The Smart Fortwo was imported in this manner prior to its official U.S. release.

I didn't read it all, and I am not a professional. I will have to research before I take a stand at one point or another. But I am under the impression that it can be done, and not always with the thousands of dollars of testing.

Keep readin'. See what it says about the Nissan Skyline GTR. Importer put a few million into crash testing and upgrading those so they could be imported but didn't quite do it right. Ended up getting arrested and fined a million. Not very many importers that will touch importing cars that were not certified for the US anymore. And there is nothing sold within the US that is even close to being similar to the Lupo, so all the destructive testing, modification, and safety certification still has to be done.

Hey, go for it... It's only $7500. Let us know how it goes with the registration.

Basically, that. You'd need to buy several, crash the rest, and risk the possibility of still not being kosher. The Motorex Skyline fallout is still affecting enthusiasts and buyers who have the feds busting down their doors to take their precious... expensive... cars away.