The Porsche 550 Spyder returns in an unexpected form: smaller, fully electric and intended only for private property. The new Porsche 550 J is built by hand in the United Kingdom by Hedley Studios, with an official Porsche licence, and production will be limited to 250 examples.
The “J” stands for “Junior”. The car measures about 2.9 metres long and 1.2 metres wide — 80% of the historic model’s dimensions — but can accommodate two adults. The announced starting price for the British market is equivalent to about €80,000 before taxes and options.
Photo: Porsche/Hedley Studios, via Motor1.
Electric motor of up to 16 kW and a top speed of 80 km/h
The standard version uses a 48-volt electric system and develops about 8 kW, equivalent to 11 hp. The RS package raises power to 16 kW, or about 22 hp, and top speed reaches around 80 km/h.
In the base configuration, the announced range is about 48 km. The RS package adds batteries and extends the operating radius to around 80 km. It also includes adjustable Bilstein dampers, drilled Brembo brake discs and other chassis changes.
Photo: Porsche/Hedley Studios, via Motor1.
The body is made of carbon fibre and mounted on a tubular steel frame. Porsche lists disc brakes at all four wheels, Brembo calipers, Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs. The car weighs about 330 kg in the standard version and 350 kg with the RS package.
Interior for two adults, without modern screens
The cabin reproduces the atmosphere of a 1950s racing car. The Nardi-style steering wheel, circular instruments and mechanical switches are made specifically for this project. Even the lever that would have operated the choke on the original car has been turned into a drive-mode selector.
Photo: Porsche/Hedley Studios, via Motor1.
The batteries and electric motor sit behind the seats. The layout is meant not only to free space at the front, but also to recreate the mass distribution of the mid-engined 550. The two seats can be specified in contrasting colours, and the personalisation programme includes Porsche Paint to Sample shades and competition-inspired graphics.
Photo: Porsche/Hedley Studios, via Motor1.
It cannot be driven on public roads
Despite dimensions and performance that clearly go beyond electric toys, the 550 J is not homologated for public roads. Porsche describes it as a collector’s object that can be driven on private land and private roads.
Hedley Studios used original drawings, a 3D scan of a 550 and access to Porsche archives. The proportions were not simply scaled down mathematically: the steering wheel, instruments, body, chassis and wheels were redesigned to work at the new size.
Photo: Porsche/Hedley Studios, via Motor1.
The car being honoured has a particular place in the brand’s history. The Porsche 550 Spyder was the first Porsche designed specifically for competition. In the 1954 Carrera Panamericana, Hans Herrmann and Jaroslav Juhan finished third and fourth overall and won their class after a 3,077 km route.
Technical data and the production limit were confirmed by Porsche Newsroom. The photographs used come from the Motor1 gallery, and orders for the 250 cars are already open.
