which replica offer the best ratio in term of quality/perf/pleasure/bucks

That's a very touchy question, it has caused some flame wars between owners. Each car company has its good and bad points and you should read the first Forum Topic under NEWBIES, "Ready for a Speedster Replica, Everything You Need To Know" then visit the builder or at least find someone nearby that owns one to check it out for yourself.

That will be kind of a problem, I am living in Belgium, and the only funny guy how sell Vintage Speedsters here, sell them twice the american price!!!

I red on the forum that Intermecanica is one of the greatest, with JPS, and that Vintage is the biggest manufactor, but what I want to know is owners opinions

As low as the US dollar is against European currency - buy one in US and ship it yourself. Depending on how your vehicle registration laws are - it might be better to import an incomplete kit and finish it there. This would probably also save on import duty. Also look at Makers tab here - there are several UK manf as well as French and German.

TALK TO JOHN AT JPS
IT SEEMS EVERY OTHER CAR HE BUILDS HE SHIPS TO EUROPE. HE HAS TWO GOING OUT THIS WEEK

Check out the Intermeccanica at http://www.speedon.nl/intermeccanica/nl/home I think this is the European dealer.SPEEDON CARWORKS

Fultonstraat 1
6716 AX Ede
0031654694739 Mischa

info@speedon.nl

I love my Intermeccanica Roadster. If these guys are really dealers, you can see one there?

Many thanks for your answers

Buying one in the US is my only option, it's close to 20000$ in excess here

What do you guys think about Vintage, wich is if my informations are correct one of the cheapest

Speedster Manufacturers ranked by overall quality versus price:

1. Intermechannica
2. JPS/Thunder Ranch/SAS (all about equal in quality and price, but all customize to individual customer requests, which is costly))
3. Beck/Special Edition
4. Vintage Speedsters
5. Everybody else

Average pricing for various Speedster Manufacturers (all pricing in U$D):

Intermeccanica: $45,000
JPS/Thunder Ranch/SAS: $35,000
Beck: $30,000
Vintage: $25,000

This is just my opinion, based on what I've learned in 10 years of messing around with Speedsters. Others may disagree.

Gordon

For the money I would go Beck/Special Edition. No question.

I'll echo Tom's sentiment. While a JPS may have some better fit and finish details, the mechanical side of the Beck is excellent, and the engineering is as well. I'd put the Beck and JPS on equal terms with different qualities. The SAS is in a differnt class due to the drive train design, but those I've seen are beautifully made. ThunderRanch seems very rare, and I've not seen one in the flesh.

Have to agree with Tom and Lane. I have an 06 Beck and I think the quality/price ratio is second to none. Just my opinion.

Great chance for everyone top prove they made the smartest buy!

My research led me to Vintage and I'm happy with that decision. Best bang for the buck. Easy to registerr and insure thanks to the proven VW pan with a VIN.

Sure I like Intermechannica---georgeous and a real daily driver----but the price---yikes.

They are all beautiful cars though!

Odd no one mentioned the nice cars that Automotive ledgends builds and such a great bargain price. And the service---fabulous.

---Jack

Be carefull, Jack. You'll hurt your tongue pressing it into your cheek so hard ;-)

My opinion is based on all the information on this forum, additional Internet research, a ride in a single VS Speedster, a visit to the VS shop and a discussion with Kirk, who I felt was very open, honest and trustworthy. My decision to go with VS was based on all these factors, but pretty much came back to the price, quality, quick delivery (less than a month) and the fact that only VS made a "super wide body" version. I'm VERY please with my decision.
Troy

Obviously my opinion would be heavily biased so I'll save it ;)

I will mention this: I have a few dealers in your area that are former dealers of belly pan cars. They began running into problems with registration, especially in the UK, Germany, and Belgium. Seems that in some cases (not ALL the time) they would not recognize the car as a VW Beetle and would require a different method of registration which was very difficult/expensive.

I will also say that, at least for our cars, the majority of the cost difference is because of a few things in particular. The largest being the cost of modifications required to meet SVA (Beck is now SVA approved in UK, which is recognized throughout EU). Other costs are obviously transport (minor), tax, duty, etc, etc...

Here's a link to much higher quality copies of the same pictures in my posting, plus several more.

http://kvanasx.hopto.org/speedster.htm

Troy

I'd say that openly asking this question isn't going to help much since almost invariably everyone will just push the car they already own which is definitely biased. Gord's post is probably the most un-biased one. Also read the sticky on "Ready for a Speedster Replica" and that'll help you a lot more than asking us. Regardless of the maker you choose they all share the same beautiful looking design so you can't go wrong with any of them. Good luck.

My post is not to push Intermeccanica as "best". This guy is in Belgium, right by the IM dealer that I referenced. I figure, as long as he is in the neighborhood, why not get a look see, and a drive? I think IM builds beautiful, well made, very daily driveable cars. Are they the best? For a guy that is 6'3" tall, wants to drive the car on 2-3,000 mile road trips, wants roll up windows, a top that really works as a top in bad weather, then I think IM is best. I have looked at Vintage, and think that if I was not so tall, wanted a car for weekend or week trip in great weather, it is great value and a great car to own. The cars fill completely different needs. The different companies build different products. It is nice to have a choice. I would like to see some of the Beck Speedsters. I have not had the chance so far. I have seen a Spyder and it was very nice. I was just offering the original poster a chance to see IM up close and personal if in fact that dealer is there in his area. Having owned 2 "real" 356s, I would not trade my car for an original. Resale value aside!

Except for pictures of a few crispy critters, I have not seen an ugly Speestser replica yet. All the turn-keys will be nice looking machines. Go over into the home-built kit arena and maybe you can find a dog, but most of these are very nice, and a few are exceptional.

Hmmmm....I have seen an ugly one or two...LOL

1. Intermeccanica....Best Body, Best Prep, Best detail, but the most expensive....VW, 911, and VW watercooled cars. Also they offer low down payment with the rest due at delivery, this means less risk and less outlay until you have a hard asset, this can be very important.

2. Beck....very close to the IM in many regards, but may be less money depending on what your doing. Watercooled version status? Also they many times have quicker availability, and may be more convenient depending on where you live.

3. Specialty Autoworks....Best drivetrain, but you would really need to buy someone elses position, or hope SL doesn't die of old age before you get your car.

4. JPS....a better finish Vintage car.

5. Vintage....best price, but you have to be willing to accept the shortcuts and limits needed to keep this best price.

6. Thunder Ranch, and others....don't produce enough cars to be able to tell you what you can expect.

7. Anyone else....complete waste of time.

Steven,
I'm hurt! You mean to tell me that you don't rank Streetbeast up there with Intermeccanica! Please say it ain't so!!
Spdstr57

when you are located in europe, there is also

Tygan speedster (i am building one https://www.speedsterowners.com/forum/readmsg.asp?t=12741 )
http://www.tygan.com/

Pilgrim speedster
http://www.pilgrimcars.com/newmag/speedymain.html

both in the UK

Yeah, what AL said :)

One change, Steven.

Streetbeasts - Only when built by Merklin the Magician.

Lane,
Don't you mean "Merklin the Machinist"? Or perhaps "Merklin the Fabricator"? He should be receiving royalties from Streetbeast for taking 1200 lbs of deformed metal and fiberglass, and turning it into Gold! Al rules!! Do my eyes deceive me, or did I see Streetbeast advertising(using Jeromes' Speedster)again in the most recent edition of Kit Car Builder?
Spdstr57

There's nothing like a satisfied customer, kinda like an after sex Marlboro !
I am well into my own CMC flared renovation "due" for Carlisle, some neat stuff has been done so far that you'll like.
Tnx for the kudos guys it's appreciated.

How about JPS guys

From what I have seen, those cars are much better than Beck's

I don't believe that.

Look elsewhere on this site for the "It's Red" and "It's Green" threads. JPS seems to have a LOT of initial quality (and some design) issues when their cars are first delivered, then the customer has to work (and/or argue) with JPS over time to get things made right.

I have not heard of this sort of initial quality issues with Beck cars, at least if purchased direct from Special Edition in Indiana and not from a third-party dealer.

Having said all that, JPS has an earned reputation for very good body fit and some high quality paint finishes. Those require a lot of manual effort and the customer pays for that in the end.

Tom Dewalt should chime in here. He owns a nice Beck Speedster and the second JPS Coupe. It's the green one all over the JPS website. He should be able to provide some good comparative information.

EDIT: He already did earlier. Any more input, Tom?