The 1950s Porsche 356 Speedster is iconic. From James Dean to Top Gun to Doc Hollywood to Justin Bieber’s Mistletoe, the beautiful German bathtub has stood for decades as shorthand for cool. Originally Porsche’s cheapest, simplest model intended for racing, today its pure form just screams cool.
Porsche only made a few thousand examples. Now, the few that remain trade hands for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Sadly, most of them aren’t driven and appreciated – they’re locked up in pristine storage while they financially appreciate. (Matt Hummel is one of the rare exceptions who drives the heck out of his 356s.)
Fortunately, there’s a thriving market for replicas that cost much less. Boutique car companies like Vintage Motorcars take a VW Beetle, shorten it, and mount a Speedster-style body and interior. Clean, simple, and a lot of the Speedster experience without the insane expense or hassle.
I’d been watching the Speedster replica market for a while, waiting for the right opportunity. Right now is a pretty terrible time to buy most kinds of cars, but the Speedster replica market has remained relatively stable for a few years. There’s a steady stream of new ones being built, and the new ones have some neater technology like heated seats and fuel-injected Subaru engines.
I didn’t want to commission a new one – there’s a multi-year waiting list for those, and really, I didn’t want something super-custom. I just wanted one with good color choices that had been well taken care of. Besides, it’s not like age is all that easy of a number to pin down on these – they’re put together from all kinds of parts.
When this ivory one came up in May, I was mesmerized immediately.
I have named her Sabine, a common 1950s German name. She was built in 2010 by Vintage in Hawaiian Gardens, a very well-reputed Speedster builder at the time. The former owner wrote to me about how he styled it:
I understand they were sports cars for their day but the colors of this one just seemed too elegant to me and all I could picture was some female movie star from the 50s speeding on Mulholland Drive at night in a big hat with a scarf holding it on tied under her chin, and sunglasses at night. To me her car had white wall tires in the day, and no wood grain. Nothing extra either because she’s extra. Sounds funny but that’s my first thought when I saw it.
(That’s me: a female movie star from the 50s. Okay, maybe not – but I *did* want to drive her car.)
I think he completely nailed the visuals, and he certainly nailed the mechanicals. He was a well-credentialed mechanic, and he added all kinds of goodies to the engine to make it more powerful. Well, I say “more powerful,” but keep in mind that these things usually only have around a hundred horsepower. For perspective, my Jag has 500, although it also weighs a ton more.
This car was an irresponsible splurge. I live in the desert, under intense hot sun. This car does not have air conditioning at all, which means it’s only useful in fair weather, and even then I’ll need a thick layer of sunscreen. Even worse, the Speedster has a legendarily low cut-down windshield, and I just flat out don’t fit in it with the top up. So this thing will sit in the garage, top down, just waiting for the right moment to come out and play.
However, I’m a short road trip away from LA, which is where I picked the car up this past weekend, and had a great time:
If you’re keeping track,
stop.
This means I’m up to 4 cars right now, all 2 doors with 2 seats – some have rear package space, but not really usable seats. I kinda think of them as seasonal:
- Vegas winter: Speedster replica (no AC)
- Vegas spring & fall: Ferrari 328 (AC works, but isn’t strong, can be driven with the top up in a pinch)
- Vegas summer: Porsche 944 (great AC, comfortable, but not a convertible)
- Road trips: Jaguar XKR-S (modern, some luggage space, and I don’t mind putting a lot of miles on it)
The Ferrari and the Speedster are beautiful, but they really only make sense when their tops are down. With the roof closed, my 6’3″ frame (1.9m) only technically fits, but it’s a bad driving experience, and they’re loud (not in a good way) with bad stereos.
The 944 and XKR-S both just simply work: they’re easy to drive, drama-free, and handsome. Note that I didn’t say stunning or gorgeous – they’re just not at the level of the Ferrari or the Speedster.
I’ve only got a 3-car garage, but I’ve got an idea on how to make this work. (No, it’s not a lift, either.)
33 Comments. Leave new
haha, Sabine it’s pretty like Betty Boop.
Wow, the ivory over tan is stunning. Agree, the aesthetic is perfect. Reading about your car collection is fun. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks!
When you mentioned you named the car Sabine , I thought you were a massive Star Wars fan 😀 – cool car Brent!
Thanks!
Nice! You’re accumulating expensive cars and I’m accumulating expensive tractors, trailers, containers, and implements. And land lol!
Hahaha, yeah! It’s toy time.
Why “Right now is a pretty terrible time to buy most kinds of cars”?
Because of the car price bubble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjeC84uV1gs
Hi Brett if you would like to talk Speedster replicas I am more or less ever a noun builder I have done 58 Speedster projects today and can guide you with your questions you may have always glad to help also there is http://www.speedsterowners.com a terrific bunch of guys there
Yeah, that site looks impressive!
Is the 956 replica still available?
What 956 replica?
Vintage does such a great job. Love the paint and interior colors of your gorgeous speedster! IMHO the whitewall tire theme is fine for old vettes and t-birds…but respectfully I don’t think any Porsche should be shod with whitewall tires. A very similar colored speedster just sold on BaT with standard tires for inspiration 🙂 – best of luck with the garage space!
Thanks, glad you liked it! I actually saw that ivory one and my first thought was, “it needs whitewalls,” hahaha!
the way BaT auctions are going, maybe whitewalls might have upped the bid! Have you thought about adding a full tonneau cover? Had one on my 64 Ghia and used it all the time (zipped open for the driver). It’s totally worth having to add the fasteners and sweet on color mornings with the heater.
Yeah, I’ve already bought it, just waiting on a convertible shop to install the rivets. In Vegas, I don’t ever need the top – once the tonneau cover is on, I expect the top will just go into permanent storage.
That’s a nice looking 356 speedster. I bought mine about a year ago is also a vintage built. Every time i drive it people are taking pictures. I live in victorville Ca close to Vegas high desert as well. Congrats on a great ride.
Thanks! They’re so much fun.
Thank you so much,,,,, for this,,,,,is on my list. When I was 30 y/o I bought a 356 cabriolet basket case for 700 bucks, with 2 interiors no less. I got busy with work, (pastry chef), and never finished it. Sold it for what I paid for it. I am now looking for my cream puff again at 78, y/o two days ago.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Good luck with the search!
Yup,You gotta drive ’em for sure!
I have almost 100,000 miles on my 1956 356A Coupe( Not quite Matt Hummel 😁 but I live in Ohio)
We bought our “Tribute Speedster” ( My Dad had 3 Speedsters when we were kids)two years ago and have already clocked over 20,000 miles
Cheers,
Mike
100K is great, though, especially in that Ohio weather! Just got back from visiting family in Michigan, and I forgot how bad the salt is on the roads.
Any time your 6’3″ frame is ready to sell that 356, my 6’2 frame would love to have it!
Hahaha, thanks!
Sweet. Practical. And I bet it’s a blast to drive!
I am jealous of your speedster, it’s beautiful!
Thanks!
I’ve kicked myself in the ass for almost 65 years – who in the world-are has ever owned a 55 Porsche Super Speedster 1500. – a1962 Porsche “coupe 356 – a 1965 Porsche 90 Super and a 1966 912 first year issue before they were 30 years old. I’d be a millionaire if I wasn’t an idiot. Oh well – life goes on.
Just wanted to correct a typo. Vintage Speedster is located in “Hawaiian Gardens”, CA. I’m not sure if a Hollywood Gardens exists, But I worked for Kirk for a little while while there about 15 years ago.
I mostly just assembled the engines, installing tins, alternator, etc on the Brazillian crate VW long blocks they were using at the time. A buddy of mine, Roland Rascon, who recently passed away was the mechanic at Vintage that built anything mechanically custom or high performance. So he got me the job when I was between other work.
But when Roland wasn’t able to, I served as the test driver. Kirk liked to run each car for 50 miles before delivery. So it was my “burden” for a little while to drive around town several times a week in one of these fun little cars. Most of them were nothing special in terms of performance, but I absolutely did get attention everywhere I went. And it was a fun little gig while it lasted.
I’m happy to see that Vintage is still producing these cars because I always wondered how much longer they could keep going since Kirk spent all of his time on the phone hunting down more VW pans with usable titles.
I also see that they have an address in Arizona now, so I dont know who or what moved out there.
At the time I was there, early 2000’s, there was also a “Vintage Spyder” I think in Santa Ana that made Spyder replicas, but with a fully tubular chassis. Those were a little more pricey, but quite a bit more fun, although I never got to drive one myself.
Your paint scheme on this one is definitely what Kirk likes to produce. He offered a wide body version with flared fenders, but admitted that he preferred the old school, classic look. I had fun working for him and feel lucky to have been a tiny part of it for a little while.
Gary – thanks for catching that Hollywood/Hawaiian typo.
The job sounds really fun! Love that.
From what I’ve heard, Vintage Speedsters in CA sold their business to another company in Arizona. The name transferred, but the employees and expertise did not. The California operation restarted as Vintage Motorcars: https://www.vintagemotorcarsinc.com/about-us/
I hate the wide body version with flared fenders! It just strikes me as so ugly. The classic ones were the best.
That is a beautiful Speedster. I continue to dream about buying one, and it would look just like that. Enjoy!
Thanks!