Lately, there’s been a lot of attention given to the word “bespoke” as it relates to restomods and car customization. At the top of the market, Singer-built Porsches are selling for over $1 million without fail, while there are numerous companies modifying Ford Broncos and Scouts into luxury-laden 4x4s that will never go off-road. However, Beck Speedsters – made by Special Edition, Inc. – actually got out of the gate first with this concept, allowing owners to customize their Porsche replicas to their heart’s desire. Find this Speedster replica here on craigslist for $36,000.
As you can see right away, the Beck is not some cheap, DIY-kit that you scrounge up old Beetle parts to complete. No, it now comes with a lovely interior with a padded dash and lovely leather sport seats. The finish quality is certainly not ever going to be mistaken for a genuine Singer, but it’s quite good all things considered. The biggest misconception I still see is that it rides atop a Beetle chassis, when in fact it sports a custom steel-tubed chassis. Beck now offers the 356 coupe, the 550 Spyder, and a 904-style coupe in its product catalog.
The design is certainly a sympathetic tribute to the original Speedster at a pittance of the going rate for a survivor and/or restored example. The seller’s asking price pales in comparison to the many hundreds of thousands that the genuine article will cost you. Still, this is likely a quicker turnaround on a sale for the Beck than the seller intended, but he notes that at 88 years old, he doesn’t need something with this much performance. And truthfully, that’s the one potential downside to a Beck: there are no modern safety features, so a collision carries additional consequences.
You have a few different options with a Beck when it comes to an engine. They’ll drop a Subaru-sourced flat-4 in, which makes a lot of sense from a reliability standpoint. The seller’s Speedster features a CB Performance 1915cc high-performance engine, which produces around 130 b.h.p. One detail not included in the listing is which transmission he specified, as a Freeway Flyer is generally the transmission of choice for this motor. What is your opinion of these Speedster replicas – at under $40,000, is it appealing or do replicas get a pass from you? Thanks to Barn Finds reader Curvette for the find.
After owning 2 Speedsters I can say this car is really well designed and built. These are fun cars, real or replicas.
You may have guessed that I’m a corvette and muscle car guy but this really appeals to me. What a perfect weekend corner carver or just drive it to the grocery store. And I’ll bet it gets a lot better gas mileage than my LT1 or 454 corvettes do. Decent price for a high quality replica.