Parnelli

a 550 link was on another post and got me in the '550 fever'. Love the black one. What does a guy need to know about these and where is the best place to look for them?

ANY info helps.

Thx!

Chuck W.

I had the same fever a year or so back. Go drive one. They are great in photos, not so much to drive. I saw one on the freeway a few months ago; they are small. I mean really small. Good luck.

RDS928S

I speced out a trick 356 speedster from Beck. They are very poorly engineered & dangerous at highway sppeeds. The thing broke down all the time.

Save your money-Buy a real Porsche (any model)

Cactus

There was one at the shop i go to and they said it was an utter mechanical nightmare. Looked just like the one in the other thread (Little Bastard lookalike)

TMc993

Several years ago, I purchased a new Beck 550 Spyder from a constructor who had purchased the kit from Beck. I did have to sort out a number of mechanical issues in the beginning but after it was sorted it was a fun car to drive. It was fairly quick (165 HP in a 1250 pound body) and had good brakes, but the VW Beetle suspension meant that taking curves quickly took some "advanced planning."

These cars are very small....The top of the door hit me slightly above the knees...and that, combined with the shape of the body and its silver paint, made mine very difficult for other drivers to see...Defensive driving was a must. In the end though, the killer for me was that with no top, no side windows, no heat and no AC, it was a weekend driver at best and then only during certain parts of the year. So, I sold it a bought my 993.

I'm not sorry I bought it (Never regret anything that makes you smile), but in the end I was glad to see it go.

Terry

dcdude

There was a place in Malibu and or Camarillo CA called Automotive Legends. I think they may be gone now (hmmm...) I was impressed by the fit and finish of their product, but I expect they're also subject to the design shortcomings cited above. The poor reliability claims are a little surprising assuming the large proportion of VW components.

95 C4 993

Question: What motivates people to buy "knockoffs" of vehicles?

The only knockoff I ever bought of something was about 25 years ago in high school---fake Oakleys. That was the last time I bought anything "fake". I thought I looked cool in a pair of $7 sunglasses that cost like $50 at the time. The sunglasses looked cool but they were junk.

Is it that people want to look cool in something they cant have? Like keeping up with the Jones next door?

Quadcammer

well, that really depends.

An original 550 spyder costs about $600k. Its also an extremely rare piece of history. Some people actually want to experience whats its like to drive a piece of Porsche history. However, at $600k, most can't afford the car, now would they want to drive it around if they could.

The 550 replicas, to me, recreate the experience so closely, that you get 96% of the fun, without the worry or the cost. Yes, its a fiberglass body not aluminum, and its a VW air cooled 4 banger, not a porsche one, but at the end of the day, the experience is very similar.

Buying a fiero that looks somewhat like a 355 is stupid. Thats for the "keeping up with the joneses type). A 550 spyder is for someone who likes to drive a raw car. I can't think of any cars at twice the price that mimic the experience of a 550 replica.

99% of people would have no clue what a 550 spyder is, or how much an original costs, so how can you argue that people are doing it for the looking rich/cool aspect. People who know what it is, will know its not real.


PS, that picture post definitely got me into it as well. I'd like to drive one. It would be a third car for me, just for those nice weekend days.

Reddy Kilowatt

^A replica of a (hopefully) fun vehicle that is prohibitively expensive and difficult to obtain (in original form) strikes me as a much different scenario than buying knockoffs of readily available sunglasses.

007DT

I've also considered and still considering one of these or a 356 GTR (widebody). As I understand it you have to spend ~$25k for a nice example. Those will handle properly, and look like they are built much better, etc. Consider it like a motorcycle; Impractical, Dangerous, but fun. Not for everyone, but I'd take one of these over a motorcycle any day.

Falcondrivr

A couple of guys come to our club's DEs in the Beck 904. I don't think it's to look cool. It's because you can't get a real 904 and the Beck is just freakin' IS cool.
Awesome to watch go around the track...
http://www.beck904.com/photos/

porscheralph

I bought a "knockoff" of a 65 Cobra - a 2006 Superformance - and am enjoying it! Sure it is not "real" but it goes nice, is not expensive, I can drive it without worry, is cheep to insure (relatively - less then $350 a year) and yeah it gets a lot of attention. So, if you want to have fun, a 550 is that kind of car - a daily driver - no way - but it could be fun on the weekend or trips to the drive in. I have never driven a 550 knockoff but have been tempted to "indulge" myself - maybe someday - after I sell the Cobra.

Floodj

I think a Beck 550 would be a complete blast!
I have also heard the comment that they need a lot of work to sort them out; because of this I have heard folks suggest buying a well cared for used one.

A Beck 904 would be even better in my book.

--Joe

ga993

Definitely go drive one before you obsess too long. I did this over a Vintage (competitor to Beck) Speedster. Once I had it, I couldn't wait to get rid of it. It was a beautiful car, but felt very unsafe on the highway. Things were always going wrong too.
brandon

DougM

I had a Vintage Spyder http://www.vintagespyders.com/ years ago. It looked great and was fun to drive. As stated above, it is small. I remember looking up at some girl in a Honda Accord from her passenger side. I remember she looked around with a double take. I think she saw my head and could not see the car. I called it my 4 wheel motorcycle. Generally, they trade hands fairly regularly with steady pricing so it really can't hurt to buy one and try it out. Mine ended up being a free car for a year.
I had a close ratio gearbox with the CB 185 hp engine. Acceleration was great and fun, but on the highway the car was turning almost 5000 rpm at 70 mph if I recall. I autocrossed it once and had a good time. It gave me respect for those drivers from the 50's that drove in LeMans.