Our History

Spyder History

Spyder History

50 years of continuous Porsche service...

John Gregory (Lisa's father) met Norman Hamilton one day in 1956. That fateful day, Mr Hamilton drove into John's service station in Flemington in a 356...in 1958 John sold his hotrod side valve V8 Ford Club Coupe & bought his first Porsche; the fifth Speedster to be imported into Australia by Norman Hamilton & Co. John promptly pulled the engine down to find out why this little engine went so hard & was such a great performer. Thus began the love affair to last a lifetime...& a continuing history of Porsche service. John was personally authorised by Porsche AG as a service agent in the early '60s. In 1962 John & Jean covered over 5000kms in a 356A Cabriolet on their honeymoon…in 1965 baby Lisa's very first ride was in a Bali Blue 356B Coupe & so began the Porsche love affair of the next generation…dozens of 356s & 911s later in 1974 Lisa was taken to school in a brand new 911.

John relinquished his Porsche service authorisation in the late 70s when he decided upon an early retirement to the family country property. By 1983, retirement had lost its appeal & John re-purchased his original Carrera Motors building in Flemington; Spyder's was back in town! Only this time there was another generation of the Gregory family joining the team - Lisa joined John & Jean in the family business... & in 1987 Lisa finished restoring her 356A Cabriolet.

In 1990 we welcomed a new family member... Mike Jacobson competed in the victorious all Porsche team in a Winton 24 Hour race & was twice smitten; by Porsches & Lisa! Mike had been "off the tools" for a few years & was missing the thrill of working on special vehicles. Mike joined Spyder Automobiles & quickly became John's "right hand man", learning the myriad of Porsche secrets from the master. In 1991 Lisa & Mike tied the knot with 5 very special Spyder-built Porsches as wedding cars...

Sadly, John & Jean are no longer with us; but their legacy, vision & passion for Porsches lives on in us & our children...the legend continues.

During September 2011 Lisa was diagnosed with breast cancer. On 26/10/2011 she passed away. Since that time I have been responsible for every aspect of the running of Spyder Automobiles. Having to learn the admin side of the business and adapting it to suit the market.

September 2012 saw the next big change. A change of address, to factory 6 / 15 Phoenix Street Warragul, a much newer building and twice the size! This has proven to be the best thing I could have done, and the future is looking bright! In addition to Porsches I am now servicing and repairing Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz and VW, models.