Concidering a 550 Spyder replicar

[82SC]

Any opinions...
half of me is saying kitcar kitcar kitcar
and aweful images of fiero/ferrari 355's and datsun/250 gto's and fake countachs etc...

but the other half is saying...AWESOME!!!
i guess the VW/Porsche match up is not too bad.
And imagine the women one could get...I am single and in my 20's...hahahaha

just wanted to hear what you guys thought.

I may swing into Beck's or vintages shops (being in SoCal) anyone else interested to go??

MJ

[JoeF]

That Spyder replicar is a nice looking car! I think its probably one of the best looking of all the replicars. The 356 replicar is another nice one. I live in NJ, a long time ago, I built a dune buggy and got it registered for the street. This was no easy task! Alot of red tape, alot of rules, alot of BS, and this was 20 years ago, way before NJ became a police state! I think CA is probably a little more loose, but before you jump in check state automobile manufacturing / remanufacturing laws. Also check with your insurance agency, some companies wont insure kit cars or replicars.

[Decolliber]

I have a Speedster replica made by Vintage Speedster in 2000. The car is well built and has excellent handling. Mine has a 1776cc engine but 2100 cc engines are popular, though pricey. State Farm had no problem insuring mine as a "VW kit car." Mine is registered as a "1968 VW" (the donor car), which makes it smog exempt.

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John C
1988 Carrera coupe

[gaijinda]

My buddy had one. They do attract lots of attention.
They are too low, too light and too flimsy for street use.
Total death-traps. Imagine a fender bender with Toyota Corolla. Well, you would be dead!

[SteveStromberg]

See: http://www.chamonixcars.com.br/
Steve

[Z-man]

The best 550 replica is the Beck Spyder. Beck worked in conjunction with the Porsche factory and obtained the original blueprints and was given permission by Porsche AG to create the replicas. I saw one in my parking lot at work this summer: very, very nice car: the details on it were excellent. It is as close to the original as you can get.

Take a look:


Here's some links:
http://www.beckcars.com/spyder.shtml

http://www.kitcar.com/beck/home.html

You can also contact Beck at:
Beck Development
8575 Alta Mesa
Hesperia, California 92345 U.S.A.
email: Chuck@beckdev.com
(760) 949-0227

If you do a search at Yahoo on "Beck Spyder" you'll find more information.

Good luck!
-Zoltan.


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My toy: http://www.pelicanparts.com/gallery/Z-man

[This message has been edited by Z-man (edited 08-24-2001).]

[kedelbach]

I visited Vintage Spyders in LA and Tom McBurnie's shop in San Diego last November. Was planning on visiting Chuck Beck but couldn't make it (too bad, I hear he gives 130+mph rides in his Lister Chevy replicas)
Beck now gets his spyders from Brazil, and sold his design to McBurnie to build them too.
V.S. has a more substantial rear suspension design that is more popular with auto-xers. the "Beck" design uses torsion bars all around and does fine for most.
At V.S. I got a ride in a customer's car. Flat out FAST and very noisy (can change of course). Think of it as a 4 wheeled motorycle - very liitle protection from the elements but thats the fun for some eh?
Really special cars - amazing what 150 hp feels like in a 1200 lb car.
Checkout www.spyderclub.com for lots of info.


Kurt

[Planter91C2]

if you are into kits, why stop at the spyder when you could have this


http://www.moller.com/skycar/

[This message has been edited by Planter91C2 (edited 08-24-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Planter91C2 (edited 08-24-2001).]

[Clark Griswald]

For some reason that I can't quite explain, 550 Spyders and Cobra replicars are officially exempted from the "I drive a Kit Kar Kountach because I am a poser and want you to think it is real" problem.

I think it is because the real cars are so rare and valuable that you would be foolish to use one regularly on the road. The quality of the kits is very high. And performace is comparable, or better, than the real deal. And the owners are generally not trying to fool anyone.

These replicars let people have a taste of a fabulous car that for all practical purposes doesn't exist anymore.

[Kurt B]

Originally posted by Clark Griswald:
For some reason that I can't quite explain, 550 Spyders and Cobra replicars are officially exempted from the "I drive a Kit Kar Kountach because I am a poser and want you to think it is real" problem.

I think it is because the real cars are so rare and valuable that you would be foolish to use one regularly on the road. The quality of the kits is very high. And performace is comparable, or better, than the real deal. And the owners are generally not trying to fool anyone.

These replicars let people have a taste of a fabulous car that for all practical purposes doesn't exist anymore.

I think that about sums it up


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Kurt B
1984 Carrera Cabriolet
911 Page
carrera_cabriolet@yahoo.com

[Kurt B]

That spyder rep just became my wallpaper. I'm still staring at it. Damn I love that car.


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Kurt B
1984 Carrera Cabriolet
911 Page
carrera_cabriolet@yahoo.com

[82SC]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/terry.hill/Photos/Garth%20Thomas/GarthT.htm

something like this maybe?
With 914 engine, and disc brakes all around??

[motion]

oh damn... this has me all f$cked up now.

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-Richard
'84 Carrera Cabriolet
'74 911 Widebody 3.6 Project

[Kmatts]

Wow, ooo my lord that is such a nice replica.
the silver with tan leather interior.
who made this car or who is the owner?
That's probably the nicest reprodu. i've ever seen.
Kyle.

[emcon5]

In my opinion, there are a small group of cars that it is ok to make replicas of, simply because the originals are so rare they are unobtainable for mere mortals. A 550 spyder is one of them. How cool would that little kit car be with a 2.4E or S engine in it?

Tom

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82 911SC Coupe

[Saffs]

I see both sides of it, but if I owned a replica (replica of anything exotic) I guess one of the most asked question is, "Is it a real one?". Answering, "No", would make feel kind of embarrassed. Even though I know it's what I think that counts, not the rest of the World, but I'd still feel slightly odd about having a car imitating another car - I'm speaking exotic cars, not like RS Replicas, that's not copying an entire body structure out of GRP.
No offense to replica owners, just my personal opinion.

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'75 911S Targa
'81 BMW Alpina C1 2.3

[jwetering]

I saw a Vintage Spyder car at the Rennsoport reunion - made me feel like you guys are feeling now. This one was SUPER nice. VS built it as a showcase project. The paint and finish was immaculate. It was for sale for US$25K. There was also a Beck Spyder done up like the L'il bastard. Photos are attached

[mike mueller]

The Beck 550's are pretty cool, I know a guy up here in Nor-Cal that has a 993 3.6 motor in his. Scariest ride I've ever been on.
It's funny how as soon as I see a Cobra the first thing is "kit-car" but whenever I see a 550, I think "cool-car"

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Mike Mueller
Antioch, CA
'75 914 2.0
http://www.pelicanparts.com/MotorCity/mmueller/personal.html

[rscupper]

Hey 82SC - I wouldn't buy that kit car in your photo. It's an obvious fake. One must assume if the builder knows what they're doing they would put the steering wheel on the right, er, proper side!

[typ550]

I bought a one-owner Vintage Spyder about six months ago and all I can say is that it's about the most fun I've had on wheels (well, almost) in 20+ years of driving. Of course, I would prefer to own the real thing, but this is probably as close as I am going to get. Even if I had the real thing, I would be too paranoid to drive it. Given the relatively small investment for the replica, I don't mind driving the hell out of it.

My .02.

Chris

'88 Carrera Coupe
'99 Vintage Spyder