This is the Porsche Carrera 2 teak rimmed steering wheel to fit 356 B&C. I will be so bold as to say this is the first and only accurately crafted teak replica rim ever produced. This is the result of three years of study and process development.

The teak Carrera 2 wheel was produced by VDM and the rims were made in the 1960s at a shop operated by a gent named Zimber. These were a limited production and the originals are much coveted today. The rims required special tooling, which is one of the reasons they have never been accurately reproduced until now. I have had cutters custom made specifically for this rim and the complex joints found 36 times in each rim. But it's more than just getting the joints right; to do this rim accurately it has to have just the right amount of imperfection.

The rims were constructed of four layers, three teak and one ebony, always in the same order. Nine separate wood segments made up each layer, each having the very steep v-joint. If you were to take the time that I have to study several original examples, you would find that there were inconsistencies. The joints pointed in different directions, sometimes the point of the V-joint didn't even appear throughout an entire layer. As a rim maker and craftsman, I understand the reasons for these inconsistencies. The layers were resawn from larger rings and then surface sanded to proper thickness. Many times the V was not centered in the layer, and sometimes not even present, leaving only a slanted scarf type joint. The top layer is most interesting in that it took on slightly different appearances from rim to rim.

You'll notice on the top layer there is a "tongue", as I call it. This tongue's shape is the result of where in the layer the V-joint appeared. When the V was toward the top, the tongue was rather short, and sometimes barely present; if the V was toward the bottom half of the layer, the tongue would be very long. On many rims the tongues were of different lengths and appearances due to the resaw and surfacing processes lacking precision.

I have made this replica rim to incorporate all of those inconsistencies at random in order to create the most accurate replica rim possible. Not only the joints, but the shape is correct, from the curves to the finger indents. This rim by Mike Lempert is truly indistinguishable from an original - not just by my claim, but factually. Other attempts at replication that I have seen not only get the joints wrong, but the rims are usually too fat and incorrectly shaped. Please study the pictures to get the best appreciation for the level of craftsmanship that went into this rim.

The wood is genuine teak (Tectona Grandis) and a fine macassar ebony. All joints are bonded with black adhesive as original. The finish is hand a rubbed hybrid varnish over a tung/resin mix which provides a fine, furniture-like finish, yet is very durable.

Please make comparisons using pictures of the original rim in the below gallery and pictures from my replica in the other galleries; I'm sure you'll agree that this is an excellent and exceedingly accurate replication.