1971 Volkswagen GP Spyder 718 RSK

The seller of this beautiful 1971, 718 RSK GP Spyder purchased the car in 2013. It was originally built around the period of 1996-1997. It’s based on a 1971 VW Beetle chassis, which has been shortened and heavily modified to create the lovely 718 RSK style racer, which replicates the car used by the Mexican Rodrigues brothers in 1959.

The body for the car was produced by GP Engineering which has been moulded from an original 718 RSK, and so has produced an excellent representation of the original. VW sourced parts have been used for the engine, transmission and suspension, which were fully overhauled before being used. The engine was built by Formula Vee specialists GAC, who overhauled the 1594 cc, Flat 4 VW engine, and tuned it to produce around the 90bhp mark.

When the seller purchased the Spyder in 2013, he spent the next 12 months overhauling and restoring the car to bring it up to the high spec you see here today. Since then it has only covered around 700 miles. In that time it has been on display a number of times at various shows including Race Retro show and the NEC Classic Car Show, where it stole all the attention on the Speedster & Spyder stand.

The Porsche 718 RSK is a beautiful looking car and, as mentioned, this has been moulded from an original 718 RSK body. It is therefore as equally as stunning as an original, with the added bonus of it not being made from aluminium so it doesn't dent. The body is made from fiberglass, and we must point out that when the seller completed the restoration in 2013/14, the body shop spent many hours on the Spyder, leveling off the body to give the finish of aluminium, like the originals. The end result is fantastic! An expensive and time consuming job, which was well and truly worth it.

Starting at the front of the GP Spyder, the bright metallic silver paintwork is in excellent condition, with no noticeable stone chips that we could see. The front nose section is moulded to wrap around into the wings and sitting pride of place is a Porsche badge. This section houses the headlights which are covered with a clear lexan type material, as was the original, and these are free from any cracks as are the indicators. Moving further up is the quick release fuel cap sitting inside a removable panel, which is undone from inside the car. Just above is the low windscreen. This has been built to the 1959 car, which used this size windscreen before being made to change it for a larger version.

From the side, the 718 RSK tribute looks lovely. The panel gaps are nice and equal and on the front wing there is the Mobilgas Pegasus decal. Now, as this car was built to replicate the Mexican Rodrigues Brothers 1959 car, they were under sponsorship at the time with Mobilgas hence the decal on each side. The decals have been lacquered over when the car was painted. Just below and on each side are some original badges from Wendler Bodybuilders who were contracted by Porsche to build the 718 RSK. All these little touches show a massive attention to detail has been taken during the restoration. The doors have matching windows to the front but taper slightly towards the back of the door, leading into the quarter panel and rear of the car. This section starts with two large louvered vents, there to allow cold air in, and moving around tho the rear the first things you will notice are the two larger re-chromed grills, which allowed the hot air out. Either side are the lights which are crack free and then there's the custom made stinger exhaust and a period looking number plate. The rear section lifts upwards towards the back of the car revealing the engine and gearbox. Also stored in there is the spare wheel.

The wheels are Porsche stud pattern 4.5j x 15, which have been powder coated to give a chrome finish and fitted with maxxis tyres, which are like new.

Inside, the GP Spyder takes you back to 1959 with the added touches of tan leather trimmed seats. Open the door and drop into the driver's seat, you are as close to the ground as the car will allow. There are some aluminum panels fastened to the edge of the sills to protect against scuffs when getting in and out of the car. The seats are in excellent condition and were retrimmed at the point of the huge restoration. Holding you nice and tight are some silver Sparco four point harnesses. The doors have a small panel fitted and have been trimmed to match the seats along with the tonneau cover which can either be used to fully cover the interior or used just to cover the drivers side should you get caught in a shower.

From the driver's seat you are faced with a period looking wood rim Motolita steering wheel with a Porsche horn push. Just behind is the purposely off-set rev counter (basically when it's vertical, that is 5500 rpm, so stop revving!). To the left is the oil pressure, oil temperature and fuel gauges, together with some lights to indicate when lights are on etc. Further again to the left and just into the passenger side is the odometer showing a reading of 12,254. The passenger has a foot rest to brace themselves against, should they feel the need to in the agile racer.

The floor in the Spyder has been made from chequer plate aluminum which adds some level of grip stepping into the car. Just behind the passenger seat there is a battery box with a built in voltmeter gauge, and just above is a battery isolator. Another thing to mention is during the restoration, the wiring loom was upgraded to ensure there were no gremlins hiding away, and so the electric side of things throughout the car are all working correctly.

The panel around the filler cap is removable and done so from inside the car via two clips. This allows access to the front suspension and a small storage area just big enough to hold the jack and a basic tool kit for the car.

The power unit of the VW GP Spyder is a 1597cc VW Flat four cylinder overhead valve engine, which has been built by GAC who specialised in building Formula Vee race engines and chassis. The engine is fueled by 2 x single choke Weber 34 ICT downdraught carburettors, which help push the engine to around 90bhp at 5,000 rpm. Gases are exited via the custom made stainless steel exhaust with the Stinger tailpipe exhaust, which sounds fantastic.

Coupled to a VW transaxle 4-speed gearbox, the gear change is precise and the car pulls through the gears well. There are no noises creeping in from anywhere to raise any concerns. Keeping the Spyder nice and firm in the corners, the front suspension is trailing link, torsion-bar sprung, with rear swing axle, and the car drives lovely just as you would expect from such an extensive restoration.

The car also comes quickly to a halt thanks to the Empi front disc brakes, which are a replica of the 718 RSK discs used in 1959. Porsche at the time were being out-braked out on the track, so the Porsche engineers cut the faces from brake drums fitted on the 718’s, and used these as the hub, with a brake disc mounted behind. This is why, when looking at the car from the side, it may look like they had drum brakes all round, but were actually discs on the front.

Originally built by an engineer in 1996-1997, the GP Spyder had a good start in life, which got better in 2013-2014 when the high level extensive restoration took place. It’s definitely worth mentioning again about the leveling of the body, which took it from a normal fibreglass body to the lovely smooth finished body, you wouldn't know it wasn't metal.

There is an abundance of paperwork for the Spyder including the instruction manual for the car when it came from GP Projects. Other receipts and invoices are for parts purchased over the years ranging from clips, fastenings, connectors to clutch kit, oil pressure, water gauge etc., This list could go on and on, but we will save that for some bedtime reading when you get your new toy.

The V5 is present along with fourteen previous MOT certificates. The last MOT certificate expired on the 19th October 2018. As the Spyder is registered on a 1971 chassis, this has qualified it as exempt for MOT and tax.

This 1971 VW GP Spyder is a fantastic tribute to the 1959 Porsche 718 RSK, raced by the famous Rodrigues Brothers. Based mainly on VW parts, this makes parts readily available and relatively easy to work on.

If you want a car to draw attention this is the one! It can be used reliably and will put a smile on your face every time you step into the Spyder. Perfect for the summer months, out for a blast in the early evening, or to a local classic car coffee morning, it’s sure to bring you plenty of enjoyment!

We estimate this beautiful tribute 718 RSK to reach between £21,000 - £28,000

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car is located at our Abingdon headquarters; we are open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm and to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing to make an appointment. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’