Sorry Erik. I just got back from Carlisle. (Import and Kit Car Nationals) Yes we have a replica. Built by a now defunct company Stuttgart Spyders out of Long Beach, California. It is definitely a fair weather car. My wife wanted one because she is a huge James Dean fan so I obliged. I can't afford the real one with the wages the Marine Corps pays me, anyway!
The specs; mid-engine, it weighs about 1300lbs, has a CB Performance 1915cc VW Type 1 engine in it with all the bells and whistles that you can throw at a VW Type 1 and makes about 125hp. Koni rear shock with what is called a DeDeon swingarm type suspension in the rear. Standard bug suspension in the front with Koni shocks. Disc brakes all the way around. It sounds pretty good and goes pretty good. 0-60 about half as fast as a sportsbike and it will cruise at 90 with no problems. I have had it up to 115 without any issues as well. I have gone on a couple of spirited drives with the local PCA and the car had no problems whatsoever keeping up them. I like it because I can work on it and I like tinkering. One thing, there are no amenities in this car. If you get cold, dress warm, if it rains, pull over or keep hitting it, wanna listen to the radio, bring an iPod. I like the sound of the Weber 44IDFs next to my head myself. Old school I guess. Some other options that I have seen are a bigger Type 1, a Type 4, Subaru engine, and Porsche. Someone on the West Coast supposedly stuff a 3.6 in there! It's my wife's car so it's babied pretty much and rubbed with a diaper and generally taken to local car shows and then stowed again.
A good source of information for the replica Spyder is www.spyderforums.com. I have spoken with most of the builders of these cars and have met a couple personally. I don't recommend Vintage Spyders as Greg Leach is not a very good business man, he is slow, and not a very good communicator, but if you're willing to wait a few years he supposedly will build you a good car. If I were going to pick a builder I would go with a broker or I would buy a Special Edition (Beck) or Thunder Ranch. According to Carey Hines of Special Edition the current wait for one of theirs is about 10 months.
I don't have much experience with a real 550 as Porsche only built 91 of them. They are a true race car. From what I have read, you pretty much have to stay on the pipe in order for the car to run right, they rattle like an old tin can, and are notoriously hard to work on.
Here is a short video from this weekend of a parade of replicas. (Spyders, Speedsters, 356s)
Sorry for the long post. Any other questions please don't hesitate to ask.
Stephen
