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If I had one, I'd try to source a Porsche 4 cylinder, to at least make it a Porsche in heart if not in birth.
The ratio of Shelby Cobra replicas to actual Shelbys is about 100:1, because nobody can afford to buy, nor afford to use up, an original. And more of the same is coming to pass with the Speedster.
Having missed my chance to own my dream '56 356 in the Nineties (passed one up at $12,000; tired but complete and running), I'd buy a 356 replicoupe in a heartbeat if anyone made them. Let the originals be protected and preserved; meantime those who care to do so drive the **** out of fiberglass replicas.
Seems like a Win/Win.
I'm somewhat surprised that the owner of a real Speedster hasn't spoken up yet to condemn the replicas. I'm not one of those guys. I owned a '58 Speedster 1600S (twice, actually, chassis #84190) in the late '60s/early '70s, and I have my own strongly held opinions regarding the merits and demerits of "real" Speedsters.
But strongly held opinions regarding Porsche Speedsters are nothing new. In August 1972, Car and Driver magazine pitted a new Karmann-Ghia against a really well-prepared '58 Speedster, and gave the performance and handling nod to the Ghia. ("The last Porsche Speedster is . . . a Karmann-Ghia.") Speedster owners were less than pleased. By the sheerest coincidence, I happened to own a '71 KG at the time, and I agreed with Car and Driver that the comparison was entirely valid. The Ghia wasn't nearly as much fun to drive, but the performance was comparable.
However, that's not the reason I decided to add a comment here. I wanted to suggest that those who might be interested in a replica really ought to consider what I believe is easily the best of the bunch, an Intermeccanica replica. I have no affiliation with the company whatsoever, but I have a keen appreciation for their replicas. See http://intermeccanica.com/athird.net...cles/speedster
Last edited by Mechanic; 06-14-2016 at 10:58 AM.
Reason: More than two typos is my limit.
I attend car shows here in Palm Beach almost every week. Without fail at every one someone will come up to my car and ask if its a real one. Over the years Ive gotten used to it.
The reason this happens,in my opinion, is the many replicas available. I have no problem with them and if I was so inclined I would buy a Intermeccanica as well.
Rennlist Editor, please correct the front page story. THAT IS NOT A REPLICA. It's Chip R. 1957 Speedster. It's a regular at PCA Chesapeake Region events. As the Seinfeld lines goes...it's real and its spectacular.
Yeah, that beautiful 356 is NOT a replica. It's the real thing.
The replica Speedsters are usually easy to spot as they (generally) have the parking brake between the bucket seats (ala VW). Also, the "tunnel hump" is often round (again, VW) as opposed to flat.
I attend car shows here in Palm Beach almost every week. Without fail at every one someone will come up to my car and ask if its a real one. Over the years Ive gotten used to it. [/url]
Can't blame 'em, with all the fake ones. When I see a pristine 356 cruising around, I pretty much assume it's fake until proven otherwise. I'm not a fan of replicars at all. Part of the whole mystique of real ones is looking at the condition, restored or not, of a historical car.
P.S. I bid $35K for the "fake" one on the home page.
I just hope they aren't majoring in journalism.....some guy in the background of a video mumbles 'its a replica' and suddenly we have a story but then again, with online media, facts are down the list of importance.
When I see Chip at Cars and Coffee, I'm sure he'll get a kick that someone thought enough about the car to write an article about his fake speedster
He used to autocross it regularly a few years back.
I have and have had several real speedsters. I love these cars almost as much as my 993s. I drive all my cars and have fun with all of them. With the prices increasing exponentially it's obvious that there are more replicas. I actually enjoy seeing them. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. The also make the public more knowledgeable about the real cars and what they are to the world. I've also seen 356 coupe replicas. Soon there will be 993 replicas
On the flip-side of a restoration that is so perfectly done that it's mistaken for a replica, I was playing with the idea of buying an older, cheaper fiberglass Speedster and painting it kinda like the coupe below. Except with more rust.
Since it's a coupe, the one below must be the real thing! (Isn't it?)
We had a real '55 Speedster and would always get the "which kit is that" every time we would get gas. It was a fun car but we called it the Flintstone Mobile! Pretty crude but at the same time really cool. We sold it to Nicolas Cage, so now it's a celebrity owned car (doesn't own it now) and combined with the skyrocketing prices, it recently sold for just under 400K.
Never had an issue with replicas unless the owner would tell people it was a real Porsche. We've seen them at shows with the placard stating PORSCHE when it was very obvious it was not.
JPS makes a very nice coupe (if they are still in business)!
06-13-2016, 05:29 PM
How Does This 356/1600 Speedster Kit Car Stack Up?
