SOT/ i really like the 356 replicas, I would totally drive this one Options

[ww914]

"Daddy - do you like the red trees, or the lellow ones?"

From my three year old last fall. Perfect day for a short drive with two perfect sets of pig tails - both strapped under the same seat belt (shhhhhh..... we just went around the block..... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/busted_cop.gif) ). Doesnt get much better than that in my book. If you buy it, you wont be dissapointed!

Hey Scott, does this look familiar?

[Scott S]

Ha!
Well, there you go! I would not want to drive that one to the grocery store......

I have been thinking of putting the bumpers on the car for a while - perfect!!



**EDIT** thats a fake one too!!!!!!!! Rear hubs are beetle, headlights have "rossi" lights and the wiper arms are also beetle.(I had to blow that pic up HUGE to see that stuff). doesn't matter - cool car!

[zambezi]

The real ones drive nice. I have never had them feel squirely at 70 or 80. Even a stock engined one gets up and goes nice. They are no drag car but on the highway they easily cruise 70 to 80.

I like replicas too though. Especially the spyders.

[eric9144]

Nice cars Zambezi! That 550 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/drooley.gif) and the bug in the background too (IMG:style_emoticons/default/drooley.gif)

[Drums66]

......Every car in the yard.......COOL

[Scott S]

The real ones drive nice. I have never had them feel squirely at 70 or 80. Even a stock engined one gets up and goes nice. They are no drag car but on the highway they easily cruise 70 to 80.

I agree. My little car drives very nice - but on an interstate in traffic I feel that every SUV (or bus) is just a tornado on wheels. As well, our roads are very rutted from the snow/thaw - and you can probably guess that the ruts are a bit wider than the track of a speedster - ha!

My car came with what I am guessing is a lower end Kumho (seem to have soft sidewalls). Just a 165. Once they wear out, I am sure replacing them will make a significant difference.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[scotty b]

the real deal (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

[Cap'n Krusty]

I've owned a number of speedsters, back when they were cheap. I've serviced and driven any number of replicas, including a repop Convertible D that was factory built in Canada. They're just not the same thing. For a Poseur, they're fine, but I can show you how to spot a fake from across the parking lot. Same for Spyder kit cars. Having worked on and driven the real deal, the kits, while pretty nice, just don't get it. Fiberglas kits just don't feel like steel or aluminum, and kits are, well, kits.

As for the '72 Ghia being better than a '56 Speedster, good luck with that one. Although the Speedster had swing axles, it had about one and a half times the HP, shorter gearing, about 10 times the brakes (Porsches had more brakes than the Vettes of the same years), a lower CG, and a substantial weight advantage. Cooler, too. And better seats.

The Cap'n

[Cohibra45]

I've owned a number of speedsters, back when they were cheap. I've serviced and driven any number of replicas, including a repop Convertible D that was factory built in Canada. They're just not the same thing. For a Poseur, they're fine, but I can show you how to spot a fake from across the parking lot. Same for Spyder kit cars. Having worked on and driven the real deal, the kits, while pretty nice, just don't get it. Fiberglas kits just don't feel like steel or aluminum, and kits are, well, kits.

As for the '72 Ghia being better than a '56 Speedster, good luck with that one. Although the Speedster had swing axles, it had about one and a half times the HP, shorter gearing, about 10 times the brakes (Porsches had more brakes than the Vettes of the same years), a lower CG, and a substantial weight advantage. Cooler, too. And better seats.

The Cap'n

Obviously didn't read the article.....

I have a copy if anyone wants to know any specifics.

"In the all-important handling test the Ghia devastated the Speedster. It was able, even on its standard-issue tires, to duplicate the Speedster exactly. VW's double jointed rear axles and semi-trailing arm suspension (adopted in 1968) are what make the difference. It works better than the Speedster's rear suspension. On the skidpad both cars generated identical 0.73 G lateral acceleration--with the Ghia exhibiting less understeer than the Speedster below that maximum, and neither prone to making the transition to oversteer without giving forewarning." "In terms of absolute handling performance, the cars were very nearly equal--even to the extent of sounding alike as both produce the same reassuring whonks and thumps as the suspension works to keep the wheels on the pavement--but the Speedster does it without straining while the VW seems a bit unfamiliar to its role as a sports car. However, under braking, just the opposite is true. It is the Ghia which stops as if it were second nature, while the Porsche is uncertain. And in this case the Ghia not only feels better, the test results show that it was significantly more capable."

Just a couple quotes from the article. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

BTW, about the hp/tq figures, the cars tested were a "normal 1600 Speedster" and a new 1972 KG. The Porsche 1600 made 70bhp @ 4500 rpm (SAE gross) and 82 lb-ft @ 2700 rpm (SAE gross) while the KG 1600 made 60 bhp @ 4400 rpm (SAE gross) and 81.7 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm (SAE gross).

The Porsche even had Continental 165HR-15 radial ply tires vs the Ghia Continental 5.60-15 bias ply........ (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

[Bullethead]

the real deal (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

Yow. That's not only gorgeous but seriously special. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pray.gif)
Carrera Speedsters with their OG engines are pretty scarce... so many had swaps when they were cheap, nobody would have imagined $100K for those lumps.
Now of course it's big bidness. Even though I've seen a bunch of 'em in the last decade, whenever a lid opens to show one it's hard not to drool.

I've owned a number of speedsters, back when they were cheap. I've serviced and driven any number of replicas, including a repop Convertible D that was factory built in Canada. They're just not the same thing. For a Poseur, they're fine, but I can show you how to spot a fake from across the parking lot. Same for Spyder kit cars. Having worked on and driven the real deal, the kits, while pretty nice, just don't get it. Fiberglas kits just don't feel like steel or aluminum, and kits are, well, kits.

As for the '72 Ghia being better than a '56 Speedster, good luck with that one. Although the Speedster had swing axles, it had about one and a half times the HP, shorter gearing, about 10 times the brakes (Porsches had more brakes than the Vettes of the same years), a lower CG, and a substantial weight advantage. Cooler, too. And better seats.

The Cap'n

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) This. Unlike many in the 356 world, I've no problem with replicas... hell, I'd own a Martin & Walker 904 or WerksCars 906 tomorrow if I could.

But apart from a handful of manufacturers like Intermeccanica or Beck, most Speedster copies are lacking. The majority just look good. Sure, beautiful shape and if you like them, great... that's reason enough to cruise one. But that's all you can do with it. It's not anything like the engineering and construction of what it mimics. BTW,
I run against real Speedsters in historic and vintage... tell guys like Skirmants their cars are slow and don't handle. Better yet, try to keep up with them in that class.

So, after reading this http://www.karmannghiaconnection.com/72roadtest.html it was a reminder of why I skipped Car & Driver in favor of Competition Press and R&T back then. Forty years on, comparing a 356 to a KG is still ridiculous. Sixteen years of automotive development is huge... it's not a serious comparo, just fluff to pump
up Karmann Ghia sales. Bet VW America was happy to suggest such a "test".

Anyway, I prefer hardtops. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sunglasses.gif)

[Scott S]

Wow. I go away on vaca for two days and return home a Poseur. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)