I've been pondering the idea of a speedster without a soft top and ordered only with a hard top. Was surfing stone grey cars and came across this car. Original right hand drive car with a hard top and no soft top. So it really does exist. I like how the rear cowl was finished. You could add a hard tonneau just for the cool factor. Pretty sweet.
Replies sorted oldest to newest
In a perfect world and if I could dream, I would never remove the soft top or rather have a softtop that would be permanently located below to allow for the others to be on top... It may not be reality but we are allowed to dream. I hate getting wet 
I don't know what it is but I'm not a fan. I like it okay with the hard top but it just doesn't look right without the soft top.
Robert M posted:I don't know what it is but I'm not a fan. I like it okay with the hard top but it just doesn't look right without the soft top.
X2. That open rear area looks unfinished, and just doesn't look right.
Bob: IM S6 posted:Robert M posted:I don't know what it is but I'm not a fan. I like it okay with the hard top but it just doesn't look right without the soft top.
X2. That open rear area looks unfinished, and just doesn't look right.
X3. It is a hole behind the seats. A void looking to be filled. Maybe 2 sets of golf clubs would help. Look at the Aston Martin AR-1 Roadster, a car designed with no soft top (and no hard top either) It looks right, but really sucks in the rain. If you live in Southern Cal or Dubai, you have a chance!
I agree with all of the above. But I've got this sitting at home. So at home I would run the hard tonneau. When I go on trips and want to go topless just leave the hard top in the hotel room. Maybe it could also be fit with a soft tonneau.
Look at the Aston Martin AR-1 Roadster.
Looks a little bit like my car with the hard tonneau. But the hard tonneau can be removed and the hard top placed for trips.
I know that going without a soft top has limited interest but I did contact Henry about the possibility and got the final word. Thought I would share. Going without a soft top and using a hard top only is possible with the convD since the window openings on the soft top and the hard top are identical. However this is not possible with a speedster. The window openings for the speedy soft are not the same as the speedy hard top. I think everyone knows that IM speedsters come standard with power windows. So if you order an IM speedster with a hard top you will get a soft top with power windows but Henry will have to order Gaspar side windows for the hard top or use side curtains. That defeats the whole purpose of having a perfectly sealed weather free speedy. So the only way to have perfectly sealed 356 is a convD with hard top. Though I think most IMs with soft tops, speedys or convD, are pretty well sealed.
For me a speedster is a no go as I just can't get in.... The D ...IM lends itself much more to what you want to do Phil expecially with the water sealing wanted... Hoping to see your glass top sometime if I ever get to Carlisle.
Ray
I have the most civilized 356 replica I have ever seen. Hard top, bullet proof vw/audi crate engine, AC, 6 speaker stereo with blue tooth. Bought the car used. I should be, and I actually am very satisfied with it. But I cut my teeth on 2 spyders in the late 90s and early 00s. I really miss that hard push in the back and predictable handling. I want a car that's fast but my current car has kind of spoiled me, particularly the weather protection with the hard top. Thinking about adding a spyder and keeping my convD. But I'm also trying to create a car with Henry that can satisfy my lust for performance but can remain relatively practical.
Thinking of an ultralight IM 1958 outlaw Carrera speedy with naturally aspirated suby power. Talking to Henry about aluminum wide 5's with 911 brakes and front suspension. He is currently working with this setup with 2 other clients. Will forgo AC and stereo and anything else we can think of to lose weight. Just thought a speedy hard top might be nice to add weather protection. Looks like that might not be possible. Still got a couple of years before I can afford it. I can dream.
Phil, i'll PM you
Phill no need to delete the radio for weight, this is only 14oz.
Meh. Radio and speakers are like 6 pounds all together, but if you leave out the sound deadening that makes them listenable you probably save another 60-80 lbs.
There really is a tradeoff when saving weight. Almost every pound you lose is a pound of comfort.
So. N/A Suby 2.5 is an easy 180 hp. If you tip the scales at 1850 lbs you're right in the 10 lbs per hp ballpark. That's a bit better than an S2000 and a pretty fast ride.
Still only a quarter what you'd get with an Ariel Atom though. . . .
Re: 10 lbs/ hp
If I've got a 5000 lb vehicle with a 500 hp engine, my 230+ lb butt isn't going to effect the ratio much.
If I've got a 1000 lb vehicle and a 100 hp engine, it is.
It's good to remember that we have to sit in these cars to drive them, and generally it's more fun with a passenger. That's 350 lb addl. weight in my case, which means I better come up with 35 hp somewhere to make up for it, or I'll be found wanting should I decide to be a stoplight hero.
Me (230)+ my babe of a wife (120)= 350 lbs
Stan Galat, '05 IM, 2276, Nowhere, USA posted:
Me (230)+ my babe of a wife (120)= 350 lbs
Nothing like quickly saving face ...well done Stan ! :~)
"Thinking of an ultralight IM 1958 outlaw Carrera speedy with naturally aspirated suby power. Talking to Henry about aluminum wide 5's with 911 brakes and front suspension. He is currently working with this setup with 2 other clients. Will forgo AC and stereo and anything else we can think of to lose weight. Just thought a speedy hard top might be nice to add weather protection. Looks like that might not be possible. Still got a couple of years before I can afford it. I can dream."
Phil: It took me a few years to realize my dream, and I didn't even know what it was at the time, but I ended up with the car I really wanted (even though I didn't know it was what I wanted). It took a couple of drives in two S6s belonging to Henry's customers to convince me that this was the car I wanted.
Anyway, what you are proposing sounds like a great driving car, and that's where the dream comes true. Looks only take you so far - it's all about the drive. 
I swear I've seen a spyder and hardtop combo. It may take some fudging. Windows may be the biggest challenge...never say never!
It can be done though.
Beauty is only skin deep (they tell me), but 30 years ago I married the prettiest girl who would have me. I can't remember regretting it.
I'm pretty sure I'd regret those hard-tops.
