· Porsche 550 Spyder's replica
· Made in Argentina
· 720 kilogram, 190 km/h
· Soon for sale in US market
· Our man in Argentina takes it for a spin

AT THE DON Torcuato's Airport in Buenos Aires, surrounded by flying machines, pilots and jet fuel aroma, there is an old hangar were a small team of seven engineers and mechanics make the best sport cars of Argentina. The JVA group, founded by the publicist Jorge Vázquez, specialized in replicas of the best sport cars of the history and this year they are shipping the first cars to the US market.

The original Porsche 550 Spyder was released at the 1953 Paris Motor Show. The light, small plastic body designed by Wilhelm Hild and mid mounted 1.5-litre flat-4 engine conquered the first great victories for the Porsche motor sport history, like the overall win at the 1956 Targa Florio with Umberto Maglioli and Huschke von Hanstein at the wheel.

The 550 kilos and 135 bhp car humiliated many times bigger and more powerful cars like the Maserati 300 S and the Ferrari 860 Monza. Sadly, what really made this car world famous was the tragic end of James Dean and his mechanic in a silver 550 Spyder (the `Little Bastard´) that crashed against a big-black Plymouth in a lonely road in Salinas.

There are no original 550´s in Argentina; only Sterling Moss drove one at the 1958 "Mil Kilómetros de Buenos Aires". Today, a well-kept unit may cost around U$ 500,000 in the classic market.

By Carlos Cristófalo


· REPLICA FROM Argentina – soon ready in the USA – read on next page