My spyder is still for sale - but reduced in price

[mightyspyder]

Absolutely the most fun I've ever had without being horizontal… My much loved right-hand drive Martin & Walker Technic replica 550 Porsche spyder, registration number A7 SPY, will be for sale sometime in early June. Stunning metallic silver with black seating, it has Pirelli P-4000s on 15" wheels and has covered under 12,000 miles in total since being built. Redefining the idea of a minimalist car, the 550 has an open cockpit with aeroscreen, the engine mounted amidships. Not unlike a Lotus 11, the Spyder is living proof that SIZE does matter. In their original form, these featherweight 1.5 litre cars were true dragon slayers; innumerable racing successes included many placements well ahead of far larger and more powerful machines, such as the 4.5 litre Maseratis and Ferraris of the period. Not unlike a Monoposto, the low centre of gravity and race-bred suspension setup communicate the feeling of driving a Formula Junior car with zero body roll. If you ever wondered what it's like to drive a kart at over 100 mph, the wind in your face, the tarmac beneath your bum, here's your chance to find out!

So, what’s lurking behind the aluminium grills, you might wonder? Quite a surprise! Instead of the highly vulnerable 1950s four-cam motor, a ‘breathed upon’ horizontally opposed flat four Alfa Romeo 33 Green Cloverleaf Boxer has found its way into this Spyder. Most worthy of a dual-purpose car, the main assets are high compression, superior oil pressure and the absence of oil leaks. In its current state of tune the 1500cc engine, skilfully developed by Alfa specialists, Brunswick Motorsport, develops around 145 bhp using mechanical magic, a mapped OMEX electronic management system (fit and forget), 40 DCOE Weber carbs and a Holbay cam. By winding its close-ratio five-speed box fully through the rev range, it can run rings round modern tin-tops and somewhat frighteningly turn around 130 mph in top. A huge build and maintenance file reveals just how much this car cost in time and labour to construct; certainly far in excess of my selling price, which is just £12,000. For those who do not know the M&W Technic, it is most unlike many kit cars in that it is NOT built on a Beetle platform, but is a proper sports cum racing car, rather than just looking like one. The car is built around a TIG welded tubular steel chassis with rear suspension by De Dion axle, radius rods and Panhard rod, coil springs, rack & pinion steering., It bears an uncanny resemblance to the original in design and especially handling. Low, lean and mean, this car is well instrumented and boasts a period Mota-Lita wood rim steering wheel. One thing it does NOT have is sissy carpets but, like the original, remains rather sparse in it’s cockpit. For me, it’s a personal thing.

Though clearly a replica [marque enthusiasts will note that it is right-hand drive and clad in GRP] this Spyder looks so mind-bogglingly right on the road that you can almost hear people’s necks crack when — in disbelief — they watch it disappear over the horizon. It’s fast enough to frighten the timid, yet handles like a well-mannered sports car should, with no vices. Only my sense of responsibility — or is it fear — prevents me from exploring the car’s performance potential to its fullest on every occasion. Though it can be scarily fast, I’ve never felt I was overstepping the car's safety limits, though I did once have a ‘moment’ when a seagull dive-bombed me in kamikaze fashion while I was travelling at an indecent rate. Now that WAS scary!

Detail and photos will be provided via e-mail in jpeg form to those of serious intent, while sensation seekers will get short shrift. Do please ascertain that your financial status is sound and that buying and insuring a car of this nature (I pay £300 for limited mileage, but I am well over 25) is not beyond your purse BEFORE making any hasty move. The car is garaged in Sussex, but within reason I will drive it to any chosen location, always providing it is not pouring with rain, which is when touring in any open-topped car becomes quite ugly…. So, if paying only £10,000 for a car you’ll quickly grow to adore appeals, call me, David White, on 01424-842380 or e-mail mightyspyder@onetel.net
_________________