Close Enough? 1957 Porsche Speedster Replica

Disclosure: This site may receive compensation from some link clicks and purchases.

Kit cars, even after all these years, still seem to be the Rodney Dangerfield of automobiles.  They just don’t get no respect.  Is that a fair attitude to take?  The majority of them were built to replicate famous vehicles of the past.  However, these usually home-built contraptions ranged from almost absurdly cartoonish to near-perfect recreations.  They have also, by virtue of their age and quirkiness, become antiques and collectibles in their own right.  Do these factors legitimize this much-maligned branch of our automotive evolutionary tree?  Do cars like this 1957 Porsche Speedster replica deserve to be considered true sports cars, or will they always be a Beetle chassis with a fiberglass body slapped on in someone’s garage?

It is not hard to understand why the Speedster was a popular choice for builders and buyers.  The Porsche “Bathtub” Speedster is one of the most famous automobile designs ever built.  Originally requested by Porsche’s North American importer Max Hoffman, the car was originally intended to be an aluminum-bodied no-frills sports car with a low price and an even lower curb weight.  When the company discovered that the planned aluminum body’s costs would push it out of the target price range, the decision was made to use steel for the body panels.  The car’s weight ended up being not much of an increase, and customers looking to dip their toes in the quickly growing road racing hobby flocked to the little Porsche.  The car quickly gained a giant killer reputation on both the streets and the track despite its diminutive flat-four engine.

With a cut-down windshield, side curtains, and very few options, the Speedster succeeded at having a better power-to-weight ratio than the 356 Cabriolets or coupes being sold at the time except for Carerra four-cam engine-powered variants.  It also wore a distinctive look all its own that made it recognizable to even Porsche neophytes.  4,858 examples were built between 1954 and 1958.  Decades later, surviving Speedsters are one of the most sought-after collectible cars on the planet.  While accidents took out a large number of these cars, rust was perhaps its biggest enemy.  Speedster prices today can range from low six-figures for lesser examples up to $600,000 for perfect cars with the proper history attached to them.

The price and scarcity of surviving Speedsters along with the car’s simple design and construction opened the door for it to become one of the most popular kit cars of the seventies and eighties.  Fiberglass would replace steel as the material of choice for the body and the chassis and driveline would come from a Volkswagen Beetle.  While there is something to be said for the original Porsche chassis and engine, the Beetle was a close cousin of the 356.  The Beetle-based aftermarket industry had also evolved considerably at this point.  A customer building a Speedster replica had many engine and suspension parts to choose from to make their garage kit as formidable as an original car.

That may have been what happened with this Speedster replica.  The seller tells us that there are no maker’s marks or plates to identify exactly which of the many kit car makers was responsible.  What we do know is that someone put a lot of work into making this a functional car that, at first glance, could pass for a real Speedster.  The badging, engine grill, bar bumpers, and even the hubcaps look correct for the car.  It is said to “run, drive, and stop straight.” All of the lights, gauges, turn signals, the horn, and even the windshield wipers are functional.

In the ad, the seller says that the car has sat unfinished since the nineties.  Perhaps that means the exterior finish, as we are assured that this is a driveable car.  The exterior’s patchwork of primer spots over a faded red finish provides the car an air of authenticity that makes you think it is an unrestored example of Porsche’s little bathtub.  The subterfuge is revealed when you look inside and are visually slapped with what appears to be Porsche 914 seats and gauges.  The gear shift, the auxiliary gauge, and the different dash layout are also giveaways that it is a replica.  Under the hood, the aluminum-backed heat insulation and more modern components are also telling.  Yet, only people like us would be able to tell it from an original.  Many kit cars are abominations.  This one I would be proud to drive and not be afraid to treat every trip like a road race.  Do you feel the same way?  Why or why not?

If you are in love with the gorgeous good looks of the Porsche Speedster, but do not have the financial ability to purchase an original car, then there is still hope for you.  This 1957 Porsche Speedster replica, titled as a 1970 Volkswagen, is for sale on Craigslist in Laguna Hills, California.  With a bit of honest wear and tear, this car could pass for a real Speedster from about 20 feet and can be yours for $36,500.

Auctions Ending Soon

Comments

  1. Uncle Ed

    Looks like fun

    Like 2
  2. bobhess bobhessMember

    Neat car but not 36K neat. Couple points: Wheels are late VW and with the VW caps look more like the 356C wheels. Also, seats are not 914 but a good reproduction of the original Speedster seats. There are adapters available to put the early wide 5 wheels on the car and use the original 356 style hub caps. Like the man said, looks like fun.

    Like 11
  3. Peter S

    Typically you find these in the 10-15k in that condition, so definitely not the right starting point for a project from a fiscal standpoint.

    Like 7
  4. Ray

    Cut the price in half and it’s still toooooo much

    Like 4
  5. Bluetec320 Bluetec320

    A 1970 VW Beetle with a fake body, that needs work, for $36500! Good grief 🤦

    Like 7
  6. Malcolm Boyes

    Take off the “P” badges and call it what it is..a VW special.I am amazed Porsche hasnt gone after the manufactuers of these and the Spyders.Give me an orginal VW special like a Devin…or one of those gorgous handbuilt aluminim specials from the MidWest or Columbia…or a Puma from Brasil. These are like fake Rolex’s to me..

    Like 2
  7. Joe

    I think an authentic karmann ghia would be a better option.

    Like 10
  8. John EderMember

    I probably shouldn’t admit to it on this forum (“…get a rope!”), but I have helped build EV Porsche replicas. They are fairly popular. Check out the website for “Make Mine Electric”. There is a video near the bottom featuring Peter Oliver, who I worked with. We collaborated on an EV hot rod on a Factory Five kit about 10 years ago. I believe that the battery pack produced the equivalent of around 600 HP.

    Like 3
  9. Joe Haska

    I agree with most of the comments. I would like to have it, mostly because of the Patina look. However I have seen many with more of a concourse look in the same price range as this one. That’s one problem with Patina no one wants to pay for it!

    Like 0
  10. Erwin Spitz

    I own this car and I like it the way it is. When I found it the car was not running, was neglected and pushed aside and forgotten. I brought it back to life, repaired a lot of issues, made its engine roar and put it back on the roads of Calif. This is the way we had them back in the day when we just wanted to have fun and not worry about having a perfect car. I was planning to add wide five wheels not by adapters but by changing the drums front and rear.
    This car gets smiles where ever I park it, hard to walk away without getting stopped by a smiling person. Good thing I am retired and not hurrying to a meeting.
    Why are you selling you ask? Well the wife says I have too many cars so I have to show some effort to give her some garage space to park in.
    If you can find one of these in the $10K to $15K range I suggest you snap it up. 949 547-0404

    Like 5
  11. greg

    I have owned two of these over the past few years. The first a red Vintage speedster, and my last one a beautiful black CMC, with red interior. I live in SoCAL and have had a lot of fun with both. I have owned 40+ Porsches from 356 coupes to 912’s, longhood and G-body 911’s, 996 and 997’s and currently a 991.1. Frankly, the most fun I ever had with a sports car was in the speedster replicas. And, they are easily replaceable, so I never worried about dings scratches ect…..and what a conversation piece!!! Even in SoCAL where exotic cars are common. The downside – they are not built for safety. I sold my last one because my boys were driving it and it made me nervous not having any safety features – even just around our “little” town of San Clemente. I bought my black one for $19k and sold it for $28k 9 months later. After that, the prices continued to skyrocket over Covid. Personally I believe the prices, and we are seeing evidence of it now, are coming down, and will come down “much much” further….. Over the past 4 years people paid way too much for nice examples – and lets face it – they can just make more…. Not like true vintage original cars…..Just my two cents….

    Like 0
  12. Somer

    You can get more attention from a sweaty one like this than a shiny one. I’ve seen fiberglass hot rods where they mixed graphite in the paint so natural rust would appear!

    Like 2
  13. Matthew Dyer

    I’m with you Erwin. People tell me I paid too much for things. I say, so what. I don’t recall asking.

    Like 2
    • John Eder

      If you like it, have room for it and you can afford it, buy it. That is the philosophy that I have always subscribed to.

      Like 0
  14. Erwin Spitz

    I put one of those typical red For Sale signs on the car while it was parked in the garage and my Wife noticed when I took the car out the For Sale sign was on my work bench. Then I gave in and put tiny vinyl sign in the windshield that you had to be next to the car to read. She wondered about that so now I gave in and posted the car on Craigslist.

    Like 1
  15. jwaltb

    In the mid- 60s I bought a Speedster from a friend for $400. He made me agree if I ever sold it to sell it back to him. I drove the snot out of it for a year, with the seats bouncing up and down due to the rotted floor, and sold it back to him for $400.
    Who knew?

    Like 1

Leave A Comment

RULES: No profanity, politics, or personal attacks.

Become a member to add images to your comments.

*

Get new comment updates via email. Or subscribe without commenting.

Barn Finds