Fake LS Swapped Prius Listed in Seattle

Stories like this boil my blood.

Actually, a lot of scammy things on Craigslist boil my blood, but I do admit the often-entertaining (and perhaps horrifying) bits tend to balance it out.

Originally they were publicly shamed by the good people at Jalopnik, but the story goes like this: A seller in Seattle listed a very bogus ad for a project car lover’s wet dream: a LS1 V8 swapped into a not-so-innocuous-looking RWD Prius. Asking price: $11,000.

The now expired ad claimed the car makes 450 RWHP with a quick performance-mod laundry list:

Green wheels because I wanted it to look like a ricer. LS1 out of a 4th gen Camaro, automatic, sorry. 2 3/4 inch dual glasspacks all the way back, high flow cats. Custom trans tunnel and IRS LSD Jaguar rear end and subframe. Has all stock prius interior. Stock electronic dash doesn’t work, but it’s got a tach, oil pressure gauge, and water temp gauge.

Deeper sleuthing showed the ad was a ransom letter of different parts. Exterior photos of  the white on green Prius (no engine swap and based out of Kentucky) complemented by also stolen photos of the very real and very awesome V8 Prius project by Rick White.

Not certain whether the buyer intended to legitimately make a sale, or if it was all a joke, but I wouldn’t be surprised if interested inquirers had been instructed to wire money over to The Central Bank of Nigeria (not real) for “holding” purposes.

Scammers are the worst.