There was a day when replicas of any sort were generally undesirable, but in today’s market, that doesn’t really hold true anymore. Especially in a day and era when air-cooled Porsches are going for still-huge money, a replica may be the best way into vintage sports car ownership. This Speedster replica actually looks fairly convincing, even in its battered state, but don’t be fooled – it has a Volkswagen engine riding atop a VW chassis, so the replica factor starts and ends with the bodywork (and mind you, a replacement rear section has been installed, no explanation given.) The Speedster is a Classic Motor Carriages Company replica, and is listed here on eBay with bidding just under $7,000 with no reserve.

I can remember way back when flipping through car magazines in the middle nineties and seeing ads for Classic Motor Carriages, with a variety of replicas that looked way too good for a copy. I could be misremembering, but I want to say CMC had cars like the Porsche 959 and Mercedes-Benz SSK in its lineup of replicas. The Porsche cars were particularly compelling, with the Speedster likely fooling plenty of people who weren’t diehard P-car enthusiasts. My question is in terms of the rear clip being replaced, did the previous owner harvest the remains of an original CMC kit or an actual 356 to keep this kit intact?

Now, the story of CMC is a fairly colorful one, if not alarming. Basically, there’s plenty of reading material out there regarding how CMC was caught taking orders and not fulfilling them, leading to a court decision against their organization demanding $2 million in restitution. The name changed a few times, but it didn’t change the tarnished reputation of the brand. It’s a shame, because CMC was a legit operation with a dedicated manufacturing facility in Miami that was cranking out kits in its prime. These days, it’s hard to find replicas of real-deal sports cars that do the original any justice, but the CMC Porsche models seem to come awfully close.

The Speedster replica is powered by VW-derived 1600CC powerplant, with no word on whether it runs or even turns over. The kit car represents a fantastic opportunity to build a restomod with a hot-rod Porsche engine or a built-up Beetle mill. The good news is there’s a huge aftermarket for a Beetle of this era, so you can definitely hop it up – and with it being titled as a 1955 Porsche, it seems like a smart investment on paper to make this tired replica a potentially thrilling driver with the right enhancements to the engine and suspension. Personally, I think there’s more gas left in the tank for this auction to go further, but the price right now seems fair for what you’re getting. Would you ever restore a replica like this?