Jeff is known nationally for his knowledge and skill with air-cooled and four-cam Porsches. There, Jeff Adams and his team bring the full car to life. After weeks of meticulous paintwork, the cars are brought to longtime Porsche expert Spencer Cox’s SpeedSport Tuning in Danbury, CT. The bodies and chassis are then shipped to Connecticut for final preparations and assembly. Lauderdale, FL based Allo圜ars hand-hammers aluminum into the stunning 550 body, with the same detail used by the original craftsmen including double-walled panels. Using a wooden buck, just as Porsche’s craftsmen did 60 years ago, Ingo’s Ft. They commissioned an aluminum craftsman extraordinaire by the name of Ingo Poth to build the chassis and bodies. Rob and Ben brought together an impressive group of individuals to bring their dream to life. Using more than 600 highly-detailed CAD drawings taken from the last Spyder produced (chassis number 550-090) Spyder Creations is selling a vehicle that is imperceptible from the original. Their company, Spyder Creations, is marketing an incredibly accurate reproduction of the 550 Spyder. So, Ben and Rob decided to make their own.Īfter four years, countless hours and considerable financial resources, Ben and Rob created what most dismissed as impossible. With prices escalating, and availability extremely scarce, acquiring an original 550 isn’t in the cards for them. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t regret selling it. Ben owned an original 550 and sold it 15 years ago. Ben and Rob Edwards are longtime Porsche enthusiasts and run a very successful national company catering to small manufacturers, engineers and buyers. What if you could replicate the original 550 with the same materials and construction? A father-son duo from Prospect, CT has done just that. Most of these cars are powered by anemic VW Beetle engines, use low-cost (aka cheap) materials and suffer from inconsistent and off-times shoddy build quality. While these vehicles capture much of the look of the Spyder, this is were the similarity ends. Since the chances of owning one of the few originals is so slim for all but the most well-heeled and well-connected enthusiasts, there have been a number of companies over the years making inexpensive fiberglass “kit-car” copies of the 550. Restored and well-maintained examples typically change owners for $3.5 to $5 million, but some examples can fetch even more than that.This Porsche 550 sold during the Mecum auction at Pebble Beach this past weekend for $3.75 MM It debuted with a win at the Nürburgring, and it also scored class wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Carrera Panamericana.ĭue to its scarcity and rich racing pedigree, the 550 Spyder is a prized collectible. On top of being a sexy, streetable speedster, the 550 was also a successful race car. Based on its model year, it's fitted with a four-speed manual, as Porsche didn't add the five-speed unit until 1956. It's powered by a mid-mounted, 1.5-liter flat-four engine originally rated at 108 horsepower and 89 pound-feet (121 Nm) of torque. Hopefully, he will give the 550 Spyder the street and track action it deserves.īuilt in 1955, this 550 Spyder is among the last examples that left the assembly line in Stuttgart. Apparently, the car has already found a new owner. The car was reportedly purchased from Loretta Turnbull in 1963 and was restored in the early 1980s, right before the owner put it into storage. Despite sitting for all those years, the red speedster looks impressively clean, with no signs of rust. Although it was never lost, the car was put into storage after its owner got into motorcycles in the 1980s.Īs the owner passed away recently, Old Crow Speed Shop owner Bobby Green was invited to see the motorcycle collection, stored at the top of a remote hill in Orange County.Īs he opened the container, the 550 Spyder saw the light of the day for the first time in more than three decades. A 1955 street-spec example was recently unearthed in California after sitting no fewer than 35 years in a container.
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