If you want a Porsche Speedster but find yourself a few hundred thousand short, it may make sense to look for a project. If you’re really struggling to find any loose change in the couch, you might need to reach deeper into the project pile and look for a damaged car. But sometimes even a wrecked genuine Speedster can still cost deep into the five-figure range, so you may need to check out a burned Speedster replica like the one here on Facebook Marketplace to make your roadster dreams come true.
At first, I thought this was a real-deal Speedster, suffering from an unfortunate bit of fire damage. But then you realize that even a burned Speedster would likely still command a healthy number, and the asking price of $5,000 seems awfully low. And as you look more closely at details like the front badge on the chrome trim, you notice an important detail: the word “Classic,” as in Classic Replicas.
Then there’s the other tell-tale sign which has to do with the fact that fiberglass kits tend to have “whiskers” poking out of the body wherever the fire got hot enough. I can remember a few years ago we featured a few different Corvette Stingrays that were all burn victims, and they, too, suffered from a similar condition. The Speedster’s body shell is pretty well ruined, with the bodywork over the rear wheels effectively gone.
It’s interesting; the engine doesn’t appear to be heavily damaged nor the rear bumper. The cabin is obviously toast and all remnants of an interior have effectively melted into thin air. Do you have any sense of where the fire started on this Speedster replica? The seller may actually be asking a touch too much for this car, as you’ll likely quickly have as much money into restoring this one as you would just buying a rolling, non-burned Speedster kit car. What do you think? Is there any saving this roasted replica?
Not much left to comment on….
You just did.
New leader in the ”you have to be kidding”award.
Nice patina, though.
If the serial number plate is in good shape it’s worth as much as the car.
It’s a Porsche, bring a thick checkbook…..👍🤓💲
fake Porsche so bring a fake check? half a check?
A sanity check! 😆
Which for a damaged replica would be nothing.
” Never mistake a short distance for a clear view ” Mark Twain.
(concerning that first photo)
I’ve seen a few FauxPo’s that deserve the same fate. I cant believe Porsche allows their badges to go on these…other car car companies have stopped Replicars,like Ferrari, but not Porsche. There is nothing Porsche about these..just dune buggys..
Maybe the fire started in the carpet behind the seats to collect the insurance.
Discovering something like this is like uncovering King Tut’s tomb! Even in this condition.
Maybe garage art? Even that could be a challenge unless it was given to you.
Whoever positioned those taillights and the license-plate mount must have had a bad hangover.
Most likely engine fire- always a possibility in rear engine cars.. Beg to differ about replicas though. Not many of us can afford 6 figures for a really nice ’65 356 Super 90 (my dream), but with a Beck or Intermeccanica clone, maybe Subaru-powered and 4 wheel disc brakes, you can come close PLUS you can drive it and park it without worrying about parking lot dings!
The truly sad part is that this toy plastic car is in BETTER shape than some of the real examples that we have seen.
Haoleboy..all I ask is that you dont slather it with Porsche badges and pretend its something it isnt.Like putting Meyers badges on a Manx clone or Ferrari insignia on a dressed up Fiero. I am lucky enough to own two old Porsches ( I bought them a while ago when they were cheap and hung onto them). I like the well done Spyders but would never put a “P” badge on them..tell folks they are what they are “Its a VW Special”. I’d rather have a Devin ,914,or any VW Special that its own car but that’s another story..
@Jack Quantrill
> Discovering something like this is like uncovering King Tut’s tomb! Even in this condition.
Perhaps “King Putt’s Tomb” (8th hole at the local mini-golf course)… this isn’t a real Speedster or even a real Porsche, I’m sure. Even a regular 356 doesn’t have a fibreglass body :-)
I agree completely. I just wish I had gotten one- a real one- when still almost affordable. Still, a new vehicle on a tubular frame with rack and pinion steering and 4 wheel disc brakes and 170 HP is not a Volkswagen, even though it is not a Porsche. It would still be a blast to drive (debadged of course!).
In good condition, one of my dream cars, as is, a nightmare!! To restore, where would you start?
Haeoleboy..if you are in the Sonoma Ca.are sometime I’ll let you take a spin in my 56A mild Outlaw..then compare it to a fibreglass tub with a water cooled motor! Let me know!
Would love that, have to wait until October when I’m back in Austin, TX, will it last that long?
Much better than cedar fever!!
I’d love to. My neighbor across the street used to have a a ’60 Super 90 which I got to drive a couple of times. I rode with him one night on the H1 Freeway (yes we have “Interstates” in Hawaii- go figure) and we going near 110 mph before we ran out of road – sad fact of life out here! Honestly, for this island a ’66-’70 912 or a 914 would be just about right. (Plus, the odds of my wife greenlighting such a creation as a fiberglass tub watercooled Porsche clone are between Slim and none and Slim left town!)