Price of real Porsche Speedsters

There are several nice, original Speedsters on eBay right now, and the astronomical prices make me wonder: how much has the existance adn popularity of replica Speedsters affected the collector market and price of original ones? An item has to be well known and desired to become a classic of the magnitude of the 356 Speedster. Do any of you have opinions (dumb question) or know of any research on the topic (honest question)?

I don't think that the replica market has affected originals at all. An original is an original. There weren't too many Speedsters made in the first place so a diminishing population increases prices. The fact that there are replicas; my opinion is the more replicas there are the higher the originals will go as well the prices of used replicars has gone up over the years. A simple demand and supply issue.

Now if only we can put a contract on Barret Jackson so that the weekend collector will put his money back in cigars and wine. If you aren't gonna drive it, buy something else.

Whenever I hear this question, I always think of a post-card that I once bought.

The face of the card had Van Gogh's "Starry Night" on it. I could have bought key chains, pins, buttons etc., with this same image, but I really liked the post-card. There were bazillions of them...

To answer your question with a question: How much do you think those copies of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" effected the value of the original?

They don't... They simply allow more people to appreciate a beautiful thing.

angela

I disagree. I believe that every art book, every art appreciation class that exhibits and discussed van Gough's work makes it, the originals, more valuable. On a similar topic, I think cowboy action shooting and the proliferation of Italian clones of Winchester and Colt firearms from the 1800's makes the originals more valuable, if only because so many more people know about them and want them.
Obviously, the Speedster had to be much desired for there to be replicas in the first place. Anyway, it was just a musing because there are a couple on eBay with buy it now prices of $215,000. This is quite a bit for a car that sold new for $2995.

Matt

Hang on mate, there are replicas of MGTD's, Lambos, MGA's, GT40's, Cobras and more. The reason there are replicas of Speedsters has nothing to do with the price but everything to do with the ease of making them. (It's a car) They are VW's with a different body. Nothing more nothing less. Just because originals are going for $215K does not stimulate the replicar industry. The fact that they are selling for $215K means that another moron with money is buying a car he isn't going to drive. Most of the replicars you see today are improvements on the originals.

Matt, have you been watching any of the Barrett Jackson auctions? A car that cost $3000 in the 50's going for $215K is nothing compared to cars that cost say $4000 in the 70's now fetching a heck of a lot more than $215.

"VWs with a different body?" Not all of them, to be sure! IM owners are not a sensitive lot so we will forgive your transgression.

Tomm

ROLL of the eyes... here we go!

Well it almost implys the difference between the VW Pan type versus the custom tube chassis. I would not want to post an opinion on this one as it might annoy people who own the VW pan tube makes. Even so with the engineering that goes into any speedster or roadster couldn't you really say that car manufacturors that make these really make custom automobiles that happen to have in most cases VW motors?

I love this site.. all this talk about real and fake, art and post cards.. LOL. I have NEVER seen any one ask or look in the back of the Mona Lisa to see if it was canvas or wood and then make a copy of it and try to pass it off as an orgional... We all here are proud of our little machines and when asked I love to tell them it's a replica.. They STILL are very cool and get the looks! LOL..

Speedster "D" still cool and getting looks! LOL..

Yesterday I was parked at the beach and a guy said "man, thats the most beautiful car I've ever seen, what is it?" I said "it's a replica of a 1955 Porsche Speedster. The body is fiberglass and the engine is a built up VW." He said,"it's still beautiful, they got it right the first time." nuff said.

BINGO! Alan....

"I have NEVER seen any one ask or look in the back of the Mona Lisa to see if it was canvas or wood and then make a copy of it and try to pass it off as an original... "

Talk with every art historian that you run into and you'll find that the museums have done exactly that. Once the "students" started targeting national treasures throughout Europe for destruction/defacing as a means of social/political protest (Remember the attack on the Piata?) Nearly all museums put the proginals away and hung copies in their place. We do the same here, in the New York, Boston, and Washington museums and even in the Smithsonian and Capital building.

Would you leave the genuine Declaration of Independence just lying around in a glass case? On the other hand do you really believe that a revolutionary, traitorous, and deadly dangerous document would be kept around at ALL?

"OK, let's get this war going boys, but first . . . everyone sign your names here so that there'll be a list of who ought to be tortured and hung in case we lose. This will be great, 'cause the British will have a neat record of our names in case they want to get to us through or families . . . "

Ya . . . right!

Here are a couple of photos of a 4 cam Carrera Speedster that I got to see at the 356 show near the recent Morro Bay Event. The owner mentioned that he was close to having all correct numbers in place which puts the value of his car near $450,000.

I guess my real question, and my point is: how much do the existance of replicas influence the appreciation and love of the original? I guess I may be way off in my opining; replicas were available before the original Speedsters became tremendously expensive, but not before they were highly desired classics.
Thanks for your input.
BTW: I don't have a speedster of any flavor, my hobby car is a 76 912E. Do you suppose they will ever be worth $215K? It was the least expensive Porsche when it was made, just like the Speedster was.
(Don't hammer me on this, I know the difference)
Matt

Nope!

I think 912's will go up a bit in value. They will never hit the value of Speedsters and Cabriolet's. The 912 and 914's and 944's are the last affordable real Porsche's.It may be because of the 4 cylinder engines,I'm not sure.Of course the 912 engine is very similar to the engine in the 356.What sets the 356 apart is it's beautiful styling inside and out. The 912 is nice but it does not have that flowing voluptious styling of the 356. Also the coach work on a 356 was always better then the early and later 912's and 911's.The other point is the Targa is not a true convertable.I've seen some 912 targa's go for 30 to 40 grand but that's way less then any real speedster or cabriolet.

I wasn't serious about the 912E being worth a bunch of money, although there were only about 1/2 as many of them made as there were Speedsters. The Speedster was unusual as it was the best performing AND the cheapest Porsche at the time. The styling, the racing history, and the romance of the Speedster is unmatched.

Just to let you know what genuine Speedsters go for on this side of the pond. Equates to $250,000 at current exchange rates.

http://www.paragon.gb.com/sales/vehicle-details.asp?ID=553138

Immitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The original cars are, and will always be rare and for those with deep pockets, keeping them alive, well preserved and restoring those that aren't, does us all a favor. The replica industry has allowed us to enjoy the same driving experience, with alot less on the line. Were not so circumscribed by #'s matching,correct serial, color, engine. We can put together anything we want, drive it anytime we want with no guilt. Im glad there are people who are driven to save the "real" ones for posterity. Its important that they do, and I understand their misgivings over our imitations. No matter, I love driving mine.....ALOT. and I make NO excuses

Tell ya what--I just drove my Vintage Speedster 2,400 miles to Carlisle PA and back. Averaged 68 mph and 27 mpg for the trip. Much of the trip was at 70-75 mph.

Used 3/4 qt of oil and had zero problems of any kind during the trip.
Max oil temp was only about 210 degrees thanks to a Thin Line sump.

I'd never attempt this with a "real" Speedster. Many replicas are "real" cars too!!

---Jack

My 2 cents, I think that there may be a correlations between the existence of Speedster Replicas and the escalating prices of original Speedsters. Having replicas on the road helps create greater awareness of the Speedster body style which I think correlates with an increased demand/desire for Speedster overall (including both Replicas and Originals).

As mentioned early, in the end it's an issue of supply and demand and in my opinion the Speedster Replicas help to drive demand.

On a similar note, I think it's interesting to see how Speedster Replica prices have changed even over the past 8 years (time since I bought my first Speedster Replica). Back then, you could get into a pretty decent Speedster for between $10K - $14K. Even last year when I sold my Black VS, I sold it for just over $14K in 2 days. I guess this is good news for all of us....

Dave

In July 1977 issue of Hot VWS magazine I saw the Intermeccanica replica for the first time. There was a cover shot of a red Speedster and a white Speedster. The red one was a "real" one and the white one was a early IM. The article gave the price of the IM kit as $6,000 I believe. This was for the kit, not a completed car I believe. The red "real" car was listed for sale in the classified section of the same magazine. It had a 912 engine, a 5 speed trans and was in excellent body and interior condition. The price was $7500.00. That was the deal of the day! The car was in Huntington Beach,I was in Newport Beach,had the money, and did not buy the red Speedster. Just one in a series of mistakes that I am proud to admit making. Oh well!

All

I think in the not too distant future all 356's will be unaffordable. The only affordable 356's will be replica's. Perhaps just as well because the replica's from what I've read handle and perform better then the original's. Frankly what's the point of owning them if you can't drive them. Museum pieces are nice to look at for about 10 minutes before you become bored. If that's all you're going to keep a car for you might as well save your money and buy a 1:18 scale model.