1957 Porsche 356 Speedster Widebody Replica by Vintage Motorcars
Vehicle Details
- Year: 1957
- Make: Porsche
- Model: Speedster Replica
- VIN: 1102674756
- Mileage: 672
- Transmission: Manual
- Title Status: Clean
- Color: Black
- Seller Type: Private Party
- Location: Whittier, CA 90605
- Lot #: V-0032629
Built by the Vintage Motorcars company in California, this 356 replica features hand-crafted fiberglass bodywork and a custom air-cooled Volkswagen 2,332cc engine. This Super Widebody example has been finished in black over a baseball glove brown interior with German square-weave carpeting. This high-quality one-owner Speedster replica is now being offered for auction by its seller while showing under 1k miles on the odometer.
Mounted to a shortened 1970 Volkswagen Beetle chassis, the Speedster-style fiberglass bodywork has been finished in black with a matching soft top & boot cover. Exterior details include chrome trim, driver’s and passenger’s side mirrors, a rear decklid grille with one-of-a-kind badging, teardrop taillights, and a central exhaust outlet. It rides on 17” chrome-finished wheels with colored Porsche center crests and Nexen tires. Additional images are provided in the gallery.
The cabin presents unique and tasteful baseball-glove-brown vinyl upholstery with dark grey German square weave carpeting. It features a 3-spoke wood-rimmed steering wheel, a painted dashboard, VDO instrument gauges with green markings, Bluetooth connectivity, chrome accents, heated seats, and aluminum pedals. All gauges, electronics, and accessories are reported to be working properly.
Power is derived from a custom 2,332cc air-cooled engine generating a claimed 140 HP to the rear wheels through a 4-speed manual transmission. Equipment includes an AS 41 engine case opened for 94mm cylinders, an 84mm counter-weighted crank, a 12V Chromoly lightened flywheel, H-beam rods, VM2 cam for Solex carburetors, dual-port heads, a 3:44 ring & pinion transmission, a 72-row oil cooler with an electric fan, and 5-lug front and rear disc brakes. The seller adds that a valve adjustment and oil change were carried out at approximately 400 miles.
This sale will include a clean title, a build sheet, and a custom black car cover.
The seller would like you to know: “Thank you for visiting my auction. I have owned this car for almost 2 years, and it is kept in a garage and always covered. All maintenance is up to date. The car is still new and in mint condition with only 675 miles on the odometer with a brand-new set of tires. This car is flawless, and any new owner will absolutely fall in love with this special build.”
Auction Results
- Highest Bid: $45,000
- Auction End: Aug 22, 2023 07:17:46PM UTC
- Number of Bids: 27
Comments (54)
Troy we would greatly appreciate it if you would refrain from putting links to your website in our comment thread. It is against our policy. Thank you kindly.
Bid in the amount of $45,000
Bid in the amount of $44,000
Bid in the amount of $43,000
Bid in the amount of $41,250
Bid in the amount of $40,000
Bid in the amount of $38,000
Bid in the amount of $37,000
Bid in the amount of $36,250
@1andonlyK.Schments67 This is a stunning example of only two in the world Super Widebodies built by Vintage Motorcars of California and I owned the other one. My very first Speedster was a Super Widebody built by Vintage Speedsters before they went out of business and I've had several others over the years, but I prefer the traditional style Speedsters now.
Troy replicaspeedsters.com
Bid in the amount of $36,000
Bid in the amount of $35,250
Bid in the amount of $35,000
So Troy, can we expect you to jump into the fray?
Bid in the amount of $33,550
To all 356 lovers; there are 30 minutes left to secure this awesome ride! Good luck to all of the bidders! Hope to see you on the road soon!
Bid in the amount of $30,250
Bid in the amount of $30,000
Bid in the amount of $25,000
@VonKlatt Because I also have other collector German vehicles I need to sell to get to my dream car 930 turbo!
Bid in the amount of $24,356
Bid in the amount of $23,000
If you answered this, please excuse the redundancy… Why are you selling this beauty?
Bid in the amount of $22,750
Bid in the amount of $22,500
Bid in the amount of $22,250
Bid in the amount of $22,000
Bid in the amount of $21,000
Bid in the amount of $20,500
@Mentoring1 Yes, I have a very good transport broker. Contact me through my website for his contact information.
Troy. replicaspeedsters.com
@Mentoring1 Call Roy at Cloud 9 Classics. . He ships/transports anywhere.
TROY @replicaspeedsters.com or @mr964 are there transport companies you use to ship a vehicle to another state?
Bid in the amount of $20,250
@replicaspeedster.com Appreciate the information !
Maybe if I get the opportunity to drive one I will understand more
Cool looking Porsche replica !
@sportscarguy3 The reason for using a Subaru engine rather than an actual Porsche engine is because the Subaru engine is far less expensive and more reliable and can provide comparable horsepower. That being said, Intermeccanica, who has been out of the replica Speedster business for several years, did build many replicas with Porsche engines as well as some actual Porsche components.
Again, this car has a 2332cc engine built by the BEST VW engine builder in the USA, Pat Downs and it has more horsepower than anyone who isn't planning to track it will ever need.
Troy. replicaspeedsters.com
@mr964 thanks for the information promptly by the way
I believe I saw one of those vintage motor car replicas with a Subaru motor and wondered why they would use a Subaru motor rather than a Porsche motor in a Porsche replica
I feel very fortunate to have owned quite a few different Porsches. over my many years of sports car, enthusiasm, and have just wondered if the excitement of the Porsche driving experience would be the same in A small motor speedster
I’ve wondered the same about purchasing a 914 Porsche, regarding the engine and driving experience
Regardless of my personal interests, thank you for the reply
@mr964 VMC no longer offers a Subaru engine option. That option added more than $10k to the price and also several more months to the build time.
I've had several Speedsters with Subaru engines and they are nice but, in my opinion, WAY more horsepower than 99% of the typical Speedster replica buyer will ever need.
Troy replicaspeedsters.com
@sportscarguy3 Vintage Motorcars does offer an option.Subaru 2.5L SOHC watercooled engine with 190hp. This would get you where you want to go in a hurry!
I’ll always thought these vintage motorcar speedster replicas were very cool looking this one is no exception
The only thing I would like I believe is a much more powerful engine and wondering if an engine swap is possible with these vintage motor car replicas
Hobbs, any older Porsche model flat six even a 912 six cylinder, and upgrade the exhaust with the motor just something that would give it a little more thrill factor when driving other than cool, factor bodywork, and interior
Appreciate all the comments and feedback regarding my question
And good luck all
@mr964
I've had and sold more than 100 Speedster replicas, including several traditional style Speedsters built by Vintage Motorcars of California Inc. in addition to many built by the old Vintage Speedsters company and not one of them has ever had an issue with rust.
It's true and common knowledge that Speedster replicas are not water tight, just like original Porsche Speedsters! In fact, Porsche called the tops "emergency tops," intended to get you home if you were caught in an unexpected shower.
Your VMC built Super Widebody Speedster is top of the line in quality and craftsmanship!
Troy replicaspeedsters.com
@Kuehl118 Thanks for the detailed input. I have had zero issues with rust or leaks. I also get thumbs up whenever I am on the road ( top always down! VMC puts out a great product! Top quality and craftsmanship!
I am the owner of the "seal grey" super wide body Troy was mentioning. Mine was build 2020 and I got it late 2022 with less that 100 mls.
My car is 99,5% identical to this one on auction, so I can share some experience:
Empty Weight : 176 / 187 kgs front , and 237 / 227 kgs rear ( Left/right) Total 827 kgs with full tank, w/o driver.
Do to legal requirements in Germany I had to change wheels from 17" to 15" Fuchs wheels, however this is negletable as of weight.
The car runs quite well with the 2332 engine, however definitely require rev more than 2.000 rpm to develop power ( which is too noisy for me) so actually I am installing 40 Weber IDF to gain some more torque at lower rev < 2000 rpm.
The bodywork quality is quite well, paint and accuracy of bonnet and doors etc is very nice, however I missed rust proctection on the components installed on the beetle chassis. No wax, no final paint of axle and steering parts. Rear wheel bearing was leaking after only 400 miles. I drive the car in Germany - so we are facing rain and generally higher humidity in autuum and winter, even in the garage.
I was astonished to see rust on the mentioned components after the winter. I will certainly need to heat/dry the garage next year - and have now finally treated and painted these components.
OK, this is a speedster and even the 911 / 964 Speedster is not watertight.
However I was missing propper rubber seals on the doors and under the windscreen to avoid massive water entering in case you get into rain. I installed this meanwhile, however if the roof is installed still water is sucked througth the chassis (handbrake) and is entering into the glued carpets. Still working on this.
But for dry sunny days this 356 is a fun to drive and makes your day happier - everyone loves this beauty and give thumbs up.
I would buy this one again. The support vom VMC is good.
Good luck with this auction.
@vichang4 The car was ordered in August of 2021 and delivered in November 2021. I believe the approximate weight is 1700 lbs. I will double check with the builder, but that estimate should be within 100 lbs. Hope this helps.
What year was this car built? What is the weight?
@Mentoring1 Sorry, I know it's confusing, but that is not correct! The owner of Vintage Speedsters retired and sold the assets (equipment, not the business) to a company in Arizona in 2018. That company falsely advertised that they had built over 3,200 Speedsters, but in reality only built a few dozen. They accepted 50% deposits of thousands of dollars from buyers who thought they were dealing with the old Vintage Speedsters company and then closed the business leaving many buyers out of without their car or 50% deposits.
Vintage Motorcars of California Inc., is a completely different company, not associated with Vintage Speedsters that was building Porsche Spyder replicas. Greg (the owner) bought the old location of Vintage Speedsters and moved his company to that location. Then Greg hired the former employees of Vintage Speedsters and began building Speedsters! Again, Vintage Motorcars is located in the old location of Vintage Speedsters, but has NO relationship with the old company.
TROY replicaspeedsters.com
Hi Troy - Was the radio part of the build? Just an FYI, Vintage Speedster relocated to AZ and are still building and selling cars
@mr64
It's Troy, but that's OK. The other thing to point out is that the Super Widebody version of Speedsters is not the same as the Widebody version or any other flared version from other companies, like Classic Motor Carriages and Fiberfab, which have both been out of business since the 80s. Potential buyers should look very closely and they will see the difference!
The Super Widebody Speedsters are VERY rare and I get requests for them frequently on my website. As far as I know, Vintage Motorcars of California Inc. has only built 2 of them since they have been in business, this one and a Seal Grey one that I had built a couple of years ago.
Again, your car is going to do VERY well.
Troy
@replicaspeedster.com Thank you Tony for the positive feedback. I totally agree with you regarding the 2 different companies. Vintage Motorcars has a great reputation for putting together quality cars. That is why their backlog is so deep. This car is a 10 out of 10!
This is a very nice example of a Super Widebody replica Speedsters AND it was built by Vintage Motorcars of California so it has all the upgrades that Vintage Motorcars does to these cars. Most (but not all) Super Widebody Speedsters were built by Vintage Speedsters, a totally different company which has been out of business since 2018 and we're nice cars (I've had and sold several of them over the years) but this one is exceptional! The fact that Vintage Motorcars of California Inc and Vintage Speedsters are two completely different companies and it's an important distinction to make and understand when buying a replica Speedster. Good luck with your auction, it will do very well!
Troy
Bid in the amount of $20,000
Bid in the amount of $15,000
Bid in the amount of $250