2008 Beck 550 Spyder – Porsche Replica

The Porsche 550 Spyder is without a doubt one of the brand’s most beautiful designs – putting it in the running for one of the best car designs of all time. Its simple shape and small figure meant this lightweight roadster was able to take on many cars with far more power, and easily beat them on track – especially when things got windy. This shape was so sought after that a significant business sprouted up around it to produce replicas of the original car- with company Beck building some of the best.

This 550 Spyder replica is built from a modified Beck-Chamonix fiberglass body, which sits on a Special Edition Inc chassis. Finished in silver with black fender top stripes, even a seasoned Porsche fan would have a hard time determining that this wasn’t the real deal. In its current form, the car sits on a set of period-correct 5-lug steel wheels, which are wrapped in bias-ply tires. Drum brakes at all four wheels give plenty of stopping power thanks to the car’s low weight and would be correct for the car.

The simple interior consists of red German-style square weave carpet, and a pair of red Speedster-style seats wrapped in leather. A three-spoke “banjo” style steering wheel frames a large central tachometer with a 200-mph speedometer to its right and temperature/fuel gauge to the left. Although incredibly spartan in the cabin, this 550 Spyder does feature a hidden stereo with bluetooth capabilities hidden under the dashboard.

Under the rear clamshell sits a slightly off-the-beaten-path drivetrain. Instead of a flat-4 which would have come in an original 550, this car utilizes a 2.0-liter watercooled Volkswagen inline-4 out of a Rabbit/Golf/Jetta, which has been converted from fuel injection to dual Weber sidedraft carburetor. The intention was to put an engine in the car where parts were plentiful and power was easy to come by – and with roughly 125 hp on tap, the job was accomplished. A Borla muffler gives the exhaust a nice tone, which is complimented by the induction from those dual sidedraft carbs. Power is then sent to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual transaxle out back.

Nothing on the road looks like a 550 and everywhere you go, people will be asking about your car. It may not be a real 1950s race car, but for a small fraction of the price, you get a good feel for what it was like to drive one of the famed racers. Standing as potentially the ultimate backroad car, with summer coming up quickly, this 550 is the perfect car to put in your garage.

Key Features

• Beck-Chamonix Fiberglass Body
  • Special Editions Inc Chassis
• Volkswagen 2L Inline-4
  • 125 Horsepower
  • Weber Sidedraft Carburetors
  • Borla Muffler
• 5-Speed Manual Transaxle
• 16” Steel Wheels
• 4-Wheel Drum Brakes
• Stereo w/Bluetooth Connectivity
• Independent Suspension
• Red Leather Interior
• Square Weave Carpet