The Intermeccanica Roadster is the Vancouver-built replica of the 1959 Porsche 356 convertible, the model on which the company has relied since it moved to Canada. It is the direct descendant of the replica programme that Intermeccanica began in California in 1975, after the end of its own Italian grand tourers.
Intermeccanica Roadster at a glance
| Maker | Intermeccanica International Inc., Vancouver |
|---|---|
| Type | replica of the 1959 Porsche 356 convertible |
| Production | from the move to Vancouver (1982) to the present |
| Replica programme began | Santa Ana, California, 1975 |
| First replica | Porsche 356 Speedster, 1976 |
| Related models | 1958 Speedster, turbo look versions |
| Other product | Volkswagen Kübelwagen Type 82 replica |
| Company founded | Turin, 1959, by Frank and Paula Reisner |
| Company base | Vancouver since 1982 named Intermeccanica International Inc. |
| Current head | Henry Reisner |
Based on the English and Italian Wikipedia articles on the company; neither has a separate page on the Roadster, so the article is shorter than usual and uses only what those pages say about the model.
History of the Intermeccanica Roadster
From Turin to California
Intermeccanica began in Turin in 1959 as a maker of tuning kits, then built racing cars and bodies: the Formula Junior of 1960, the aluminium Puch-based coupé, the Apollo GT, the Italia and the Opel-engined Indra. That phase ended when General Motors changed its policy in 1974 and the company lost its supply of Opel mechanical parts and Chevrolet engines along with part of its distribution. Intermeccanica moved to California in 1975, first to San Bernardino and then to Santa Ana, and started to build replica cars such as the Porsche 356 Speedster of 1976 and the Checker Taxi of 1979.
The move to Vancouver
The economic crisis in California at the end of the 1970s forced the company to move again. It settled in Vancouver as Intermeccanica International Inc., the name and place it still uses, and there it produced a replica of the 1959 Porsche convertible “D”. With this model the company repositioned itself on the Canadian, American and Japanese markets. The car has been kept in production ever since, with modifications and technical updates rather than a replacement.
The Roadster today
The Roadster remains the company’s central product. Around it Intermeccanica offers a 1958 Speedster and turbo look versions of both the Roadster and the Speedster, and since the mid-1990s a replica of the wartime Volkswagen Kübelwagen, the Type 82. Frank Reisner died in 2001; his son Henry, who had worked in the family business since his school years, took over and is the company’s president.
Design and features
- 1959 356 convertible body: an open four-seat body modelled on the late Porsche 356 cabriolet.
- Hand-built in Vancouver: production is small-scale and has stayed in the same city since 1982.
- Turbo look option: a wider body with turbo-style arches offered alongside the standard car.
- Continuous development: the model has been updated over the years instead of being replaced.
Intermeccanica Roadster versions
- Roadster: the standard replica of the 1959 Porsche 356 convertible.
- Turbo look Roadster: the same body with wider turbo-style arches.
- 1958 Speedster: the open Speedster offered next to the Roadster.
- 356 Speedster replica: the model that started the replica line in 1976.
The Roadster is the stablemate of the 356 Speedster replica; the company’s Italian years are covered in the article on the Intermeccanica Italia. More cars are in the Intermeccanica collection.
Video: 356 Intermeccanica Roadster Subaru
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Intermeccanica, English Wikipedia: Roadster description, current range, company history
- Intermeccanica, Italian Wikipedia: move to Vancouver, 1959 convertible replica, markets
