Intermeccanica Custom Coach Builders

…Vancouver’s hidden gem.  Over the last few years I’ve seen quite a few Intermeccanica cars on the road, I knew they were based on the Porsche 356 Roadsters, but wasn’t sure who made them, and never really looked into the company until I saw them featured on a car show. Shortly after that, I met the owner, Henry Reisner, at the Vancouver International Auto Show.  The company was actually located right in my backyard (not literally).  They were located in Vancouver, Canada and in an area I visited quite often (the company has since moved to New Westminster, BC Canada – even closer to the Unfinished Man headquarters).

A Little History on Intermeccanica Custom Coach Builders

The story of Intermeccanica began way back in 1959 when Canadian Frank Reisner and his wife Paulina set up shop in Turin, Italy.  At the beginning the company was selling aftermarket go-fast parts for cars, such as carburetors, intake manifolds, high performance cams, and free-flow exhausts.

The company got into building cars when an American race car importer asked the company to build a race car for Formula Junior Races.  The car was praised for its speed and made headlines on various news papers in the Chicago area.  Over the next decade and a half, Intermeccanica built various cars and partnered with major companies like Opel.  In 1975, the company moved to California and that’s where the next chapter of this company begins and the chapter we’re most interested in.

Intermeccanica as we know it today

While driving near San Diego, Frank noticed a used car lot filled with Porsche 356 Roadsters for sale and this is what gave him the idea of creating the now famous Intermeccanica 356 Roadster replica.  Frank partnered with Tony Baumgartner and started building these beautiful cars that have made Intermeccanica world famous.

Currently Intermeccanica builds two versions of the Porsche 356, the Speedster and the Roadster.  These replicas are not some run of the mill cars that are put together in a makeshift garage, the cars are hand built by mechanics with years of experience.  These cars would give some of the big boys a run for their money in terms of craftsmanship and build-quality.

These beautiful retro sports cars are built to customer specifications and can be ordered with pretty much any exterior color a customer’s heart desires.  The interiors are also custom built to owners’ specification with a variety of colors of leather, carpets, and convertible top materials.  The interiors feature soft touch material and leather covered dashboard and seats.  To maximize comfort, plenty of sound-deadening material is used.  You can also add optional modern amenities such as power windows with hidden switches, heaters, air conditioning, and even heated seats.

The Intermeccanica Speedster and Roadster can be equipped with a variety of engines that include air-cooled and water-cooled units.  Below are some of the engines offered with these classic cars:

• 1600cc Standard Engine:  This engine is a Volkswagen air-cooled unit that produces 72 horsepower.  50% of the cars sold by Intermeccanica are equipped with these engines.
• 1776cc “Super 90” Engine: This is a custom built engine inspired by the original Porsche 356’s engine and produces 100 horsepower and 110 pound-feet of torque.
• 2110cc High Performance Engine: This engine is a custom built Volkswagen T1 motor with 143 horsepower and 147 pound-feet of torque.
• 2332cc “Ultra” High Performance Engine:  A step up on the High Performance engine, this engine produces 171 horsepower and 168 pound-feet of torque.
• Also available is a 2.0 liter Volkswagen Golf/Audi engine that produces 117 horsepower and a turbocharged 1.8 liter VW Golf engine, producing 185 horsepower.

If you’re looking for a modern day sports car that has the great looks and curves of a classic car, a car that’s hand built to the highest quality, then the Intermeccanica Roadster and/or Speedster is the sports car for you.  You can be sure you’ll be the only one on your block with a unique roadster like this, and you’ll definitely be approached by strangers, both men and women, everywhere you go, asking you what type of a car this is and if you’d like their phone number ;).  The Intermeccanica 356 Speedster has a starting price of $39,900 and the 356 Roadster has a starting price of $56,590.

We would like to thank Henry Reisner for giving us a tour of the Intermeccanica workshop and letting me play with the Speedster for a bit, we will try to do a full review on the Intermeccanica Speedster in the coming months, if weather permits and the all the stars align.  In the meantime, head on over to Intermeccania’s official website and check out what they have to offer, read a little history of the company, and maybe even order one of these classic sports cars.