Speedster conversions: your opinion please

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This pair of speedsters struck us at last weekend’s Interclassics show in Maastricht. They make a lovely back-to-back, but what exactly are they? Surely not a real Rennsport 190 SL and ‘Sebring’ Barchetta Giulietta?

They surely aren’t. The Mercedes was born as a US-spec 190 SL of 1955-vintage that was more recently turned into a SLR replica albeit without the alloy doors, special wheels and seats but with two Webers, sports exhaust system and modified suspension. It's an eye-catcher nevertheless that may appear to come straight from the Carrera Panamericana? Well, the total number of 190 SLs made (25,881) does leave plenty of room for modifications and while only 7 or 8 real Rennsports ever appeared, the number of replicas must by now easily have tenfolded?

The Alfa underwent similar changes. It came to the world as a Giulia Spider in 1962; again in the US where, by the 1980s, it was turned from road car into race car. Used extensively on the tracks of the East coast, it raced for over three decades before returning to Europe, restored once more. That means that, by now, it must have been in its barchetta guise for longer than it was a standard factory Spider. For the record: 27,437 Giulietta- and Giulia Spiders were built; just 24 Barchettas ever materialized, again with alloy bonnets, boot panels and doors with no handles.

Now, what do we think? This is a relatively easy way to turn everyday roadsters into mean-looking speedsters. Remove bumpers and hubcaps, and replace the windscreen by an aeroscreen, ad some go-faster stripes and there you go. The cost will be a fraction of finding and securing a real SLR or Sebring. But should they really be compared to these?

(Words and pictures Jeroen Booij)

 

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