- Hedley Studios has teamed up with Porsche to create 250 shrunken 550 Spyders.
- The UK firm also makes similar-scale EVs for Aston, Ferrari, Bentley and Bugatti.
- Base 550Js get 11 hp and 40 mph vmax; optional RS Pack gives 21 hp, 50 mph.
Camo-free sightings of Porsche’s new Boxster EV point to a debut later this year and a 2027 on-sale date. But if you’re dead-set on a brand new Porsche-branded electric sports car for less than $100k and can’t wait that long, there is another option. The snag is you’ll only be able to cruise it to the end of your driveway and back.
It’s called the 500J, and it’s from Hedley Studios. They’re the folks who previously went by the name Little Car Company and built electric-powered scale replicas of classic legends for the likes of Aston Martin, Ferrari, Bugatti and Bentley. As with those previous projects, the 550J was created in partnership with the automaker using real technical drawings and specifications stashed in the archives.
Related: Porsche’s Boss Saved The Electric 718 And Is Eyeing A Car Above The 911
The original Porsche 550 was built between 1953 and 1956 and is most famous for either being James Dean’s last ride, or a motorsport giant killer, depending on your interest in pop culture and racing. On the track, it used its tiny 1,213 lbs (550 kg) curb weight and 109-133 hp (110-135 PS) 1.5-liter boxer engine to score wins at major events like Le Mans, the Mille Miglia, and the Carrera Panamericana. Only 90 were built, and they’re now worth anything from $1.5 million to $5 million depending on racing provenance.
Hedley’s flyweight 728 lbs (330 kg) 550J is based on the later 550 A, which arrived in 1956 and replaced the original ladder chassis with a much stiffer steel spaceframe. But instead of the original’s aluminium body, the scale tribute gets a carbon fiber suit. And instead of a Type 547 Fuhrmann four-cam, there’s a single electric motor behind the rear seats.
Drilled Rotors But Only 22 HP
In stock form, that motor delivers just 11 hp (11 PS / 8 kW) and a 40 mph (64 km/h) top speed. But spring for the optional RS Pack and output is boosted to 22 hp (22 PS / 16 kW), and the top speed to 50 mph (81 km/h). Going the RS route also brings drilled brake discs and adjustable Bilstein dampers, while also lifting the electric range from 30 to 50 miles (48-81 km).
Which sounds fairly pointless since, unlike some of Hedley’s other cars, this one can’t be used on the road. And that, together with a price that’d net you a nice used Porsche, ought to make it the kind of niche trinket that sells in handfuls. But Hedley plans to build 250 of these, each costing £69,500 ($93,800) before taxes and personalization requests. Besides adding the RS Pack, buyers can option theirs with period liveries and even paint-to-sample colors, just like on a full-size Porsche.
Barmy Not To Get A Beck Instead?
The idea of shelling out six figures on what is really just a beautifully crafted toy probably sounds as ludicrous to you as it does to me. But saying that you’d rather spend that $94k on a brand new full-size Beck 550 at Indiana-based Special Edition misses the point.
Seriously rich people live in a different world where they can have both to keep their real 550 company, and throw in a Boxster Electric order for fun. Hedley Studios is just helping them do some of the crazy things we’d all do if we had too much money. What do you think the company’s next scale replica should be?
