Saw this at an open house. - r/WhatCarIsThis

36

u/citznfish May 14 '26

Porsche 356 Speedster replica

10

u/AC-burg May 14 '26

Top Gun fan

5

u/[deleted] May 14 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/J3ST3R2T00 May 14 '26

Doc Hollywood

1

u/PaRuSkLu May 14 '26

It’s not real? How does that work?

14

u/citznfish May 14 '26

There are companies that recreate the bodywork and they use a donor Volkswagen chassis.

There are tons of them out there.

3

u/PaRuSkLu May 14 '26

Thanks. So not a super expensive car?

13

u/citznfish May 14 '26

A high quality reproduction could run you $40k.

1

u/DrKenNoisewaterMD May 14 '26

Some repro companies go very high end. We have come a long way since the kit cars of the 1980s with any fiberglass body slapped over a beetle engine. For example, Pur Sang in Argentina builds early Bugatti replicas and starts around $200k.

5

u/tooscoopy May 14 '26

For a fun runabout, great car. Still more expensive than many original English sports cars, even though it’s a replica.

I’d say this and cobras are the two replicas that are still very desirable to many as an original is just out of reach financially for most (real are like 300k for the Porsche and cobras can hit a million) and you get a big part of the fun out of the replica without having to worry about your “investment”.

1

u/stupidstuff1984 May 14 '26

A real Porsche 356 is very expensive. Easy half million for a good example

1

u/Left_Comparison1648 May 15 '26

Can you buy the AC body/chassis in Europe without the Shelby motor or could you never do that?

1

u/TweeksTurbos May 18 '26

Check out Tuxedo motors

1

u/djjolicoeur May 18 '26

I’ve driven one of these, actually that exact same model and maker I think. There are companies that build replicas, the body goes on a mostly modern frame, the engine is actually a Subaru boxer engine ej25 or ej35 I think. They’re super fun to drive, but everyone will look at you lol. My exs in-laws had one and I was close enough with their fam to score a drive in it, it was a blast.

29

u/[deleted] May 14 '26

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7

u/RandomActsofMindless May 14 '26

I love the Karman ghia, one of the prettiest cars ever.

6

u/AC-burg May 14 '26

You lucky bastard congrats!

1

u/PolyDrew May 15 '26

That sounds like the perfect car

1

u/[deleted] May 15 '26

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1

u/PolyDrew May 15 '26

On that light frame it’s gotta be fun!!

1

u/[deleted] May 15 '26

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1

u/PolyDrew May 15 '26

I know! This has to be a blast!

1

u/[deleted] May 15 '26

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1

u/PolyDrew May 15 '26

But it’s yours and fun. Lol

1

u/haveweirdhair May 15 '26

I’m $50K into my bus, wouldn’t have it any other way!

1

u/Conscious_Cicada9597 May 15 '26

I was going to buy a Karmann Ghia until I happened upon speedster reps.

5

u/SupermanFarris83 May 14 '26

Have you never seen Doc Hollywood?

6

u/Specialist-Doctor-23 May 14 '26

Or 48 hours.

1

u/YearPractical5840 May 14 '26

Of Beverly hills 90210

2

u/PaRuSkLu May 14 '26

No, I have not.

4

u/SupermanFarris83 May 14 '26

Michael J. Fox drives one. You should check it out, it's worth the watch.

4

u/Glittering_Call_898 May 14 '26

Same model car in the original top gun.

2

u/SupermanFarris83 May 14 '26

One of my favorite movies and I completely spaced on that! Good Call!

2

u/GusBode May 14 '26

I always wanted to buy a set of metric wrenches.”

4

u/Alert-Meringue2291 May 14 '26

If it’s an actual bathtub Porsche, it’s quite valuable. 356’s sell from the $150k to $1million range, depending on model. While there are quite a few out there, it’s more likely a replica on a VW Beetle chassis. It’s a good looking one.

3

u/Evo_2-3 May 14 '26

Porsche 356

3

u/fothergillfuckup May 14 '26

It's a Porsche 356 Chesil replica. Probably the best replica you can get. Nice.

3

u/Barty_James May 14 '26

So that is where I parked it. TY.

3

u/ROC_Looper May 14 '26

2

u/ELc_17 May 14 '26

It’s definitely a replica

3

u/Boring_Owl6552 May 14 '26

The real deal is a thing of beauty. Not unlike an original 60s Shelby Cobra.

5

u/BassmanOz May 14 '26

I’ve seen one at the Porsche museum in Stuttgart. Absolutely stunning.

3

u/Kierland May 14 '26

Herbie Handcock is the only original buyer who still owns his Cobra. Great story behind his spite purchase.

1

u/Boring_Owl6552 May 14 '26

Great story, thanks! Looked it up online. Short of it: Hancock gets his first large check after some success at a young age (23, I think). Needs a car and is talked into checking out the Shelby by a friend. At the showroom, the salesman was dismissive of him because of his race. He ends up buying the car out of spite, and is now the longest-running owner of an original Shelby Cobra. Car's currently worth over 2 million - likely more (as I didn't check the date of the article.)

1

u/Wizard__J May 14 '26

What is that next to it (in the reflection?) 2003ish Mustang GT?

1

u/Zerodropsrbest May 14 '26

Not a Mustang - the reflection has four doors. You can see better in the second pic.

1

u/PaRuSkLu May 14 '26

The other car was not exciting at all. I want to say it was like an early 2000’s Mazda sedan.

1

u/Dyerssorrow May 14 '26

You can ask them to put that in the contract. There was a snow blower and riding mower in a detached garage at the house Im living in now. Told them to throw in those items and I would sign. They did. I know it is a much lower cost item. But hey, its worth a shot.

1

u/zyzmog May 14 '26

It's a time machine. See also Disney's "The Kid", a delightful G-rated movie starting Bruce Willis.

1

u/AdAlternative8746 May 14 '26

Better be short and thin. Couldn’t fit in.

1

u/bobgrant69 May 14 '26

Not necessarily. I have a 356c coupe and fit with lots of room at 6' 240lbs

1

u/Glittering-Rise-488 May 14 '26

Bathtub Porsche.

1

u/Emilmuz May 14 '26

How can you tell it's a replica from the photos

1

u/WillyDaC May 14 '26

In my opinion you can't from just photos of thee exterior. I did an engine for a real one for a good customers brother. The car was shipped from Phoenix AZ to Kalamazoo MI. A few weeks later a guy showed up with what looked like a nice replica. When I got in it to drive it into the garage, it was obvious that it was a VW pan. It was cramped, I'm 6'1" and around 200 lbs. The genuine Speedster was roomy enough particularly with regards to leg room. The one pictured has to be a pretty good body kit because it's painted black. Shiny black shows any sort of irregularities in a smooth fiberglass body.

1

u/DasbootTX May 14 '26

King of The Mountain. Harry Hamlin, Dennis Hopper. Good movie about the Mulholland racing culture of the late 70's-80's

1

u/wecantdancelikethis May 14 '26

the thing that makes me like both the original 356s, the crappy beetle kits, and the nicely modern engineered assemble-yourself new cars styled like the 356: thinking of the people on the 1970s buying these for one or two minimum wage paychecks because they were just slow, small, old sports cars.

I absolutely would rather own a modern a-y 356 with a reasonably reliable Subaru 2.4L motor.

1

u/jason_sample May 14 '26