The limited Porsche 550 Spyder series came out in the 1950s and was the marque’s first racecar to participate in Nürburgring, Le-Mans, and Mille Miglia races. The few surviving examples cost a fortune each, so collectors do their best to keep them pristine. In contrast, Vintage Motorcars has built a replica that you can actually drive.
The Porsche 550 ‘Selfish’ Spyder you see here is closer to a re-imagination of the original vehicle rather than a faithful reproduction. The original racer was a mid-engine model with the steering wheel to the left side. The Vintage Motorcars version actually leans a fair bit towards the McLaren F1 in terms of design, only having one seat in the middle. The steering system had to be completely redesigned along with the pedals and the controls layout. The fuel tank also had to be moved from its original position at the front end.
The cabin and trunk take advantage of orange leather and plaid trim. The wheels are styled to resemble the original Fuchs rims, and there is a new ‘Selfish’ badge in place where the Spyder dash logo had been.
The car comes powered by an opposite-cylinder VW engine with its displacement raised to 2.6 liters and output to 200 hp (150 kW). To emphasize the uniqueness of the project, the tuner sheets select engine components with genuine gold.
No acceleration data is available to us at the moment, but given the car’s curb weight of just 550 kilograms (about 1,200 pounds), we’d say it should go pretty fast even by modern standards.