Chamonix

Company Profile

Chamonix (Chamonix NG Cars) is an elite Brazilian specialized automobile manufacturer headquartered in São Paulo. Founded in the 1980s, the brand achieved legendary global acclaim for engineering and handcrafting some of the world's finest, most dimensionally precise fiberglass replica and tribute cars of classic 1950s and 1960s Porsche sports models, seamlessly blending iconic vintage styling with modern air- and liquid-cooled Volkswagen powertrains.

Official Corporate Name: Chamonix NG Cars (Historically incorporated as Chamonix Indústria e Comércio Ltda.)

Founders: Milton Masteguin (co-founder of the legendary Brazilian sports car titan Puma) and Chuck Beck (a prominent American aeronautical technician and race car designer)

Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil (with historical manufacturing roots in Jarinu, SP)

Founded: 1981 (Reorganized as Chamonix NG Cars in 2011)

Core Business: Premium handcrafted tribute sports cars, authentic Porsche replicas (Spyder 550, 356 Speedster), and specialized fiberglass composite bodybuilding.

Company History

The DNA of Chamonix stems from a masterclass partnership formed in 1981. Co-founder Milton Masteguin brought 28 years of elite automotive experience from Puma Cars, Brazil's premier mid-century independent sports car manufacturer. He partnered with Chuck Beck, a visionary American engineer, with the explicit mission to give life to flawless tribute cars.

Production commenced in 1982 with their premier masterwork: the open-body Chamonix Spyder 550.

The Proprietary Process: To achieve a standard that satisfied global collectors, Chamonix pioneered a specialized "hand-laying" manual pressing fiberglass lamination process. This technique eliminated surface undulations and thickness variations, keeping the body ultra-lightweight while offering superior dimensional control.
Global Expansion: In 1991, following massive export success into the highly demanding United States and Japanese markets, Chamonix expanded its portfolio to replicate the Porsche 356 family, debuting the Super 90 Cabriolet B and, in 1993, the highly coveted Chamonix 356 Speedster.
The Structural Evolution: Under the skin, early variants utilized enhanced Volkswagen air-cooled boxer setups. Later models, particularly after the company rebranded to Chamonix NG (New Generation) Cars in 2011, utilized advanced modern tubular spaceframe chassis mated to high-performance water-cooled VW engines.

The brand currently operates under the Athos Cars corporate banner, continuing its heritage of high-grade artisanal restoration and bespoke manufacturing.

Historical Significance

Chamonix is internationally revered not just as a standard replica maker, but as a premier automotive tier-one crafter. In the early 1990s, global recognition peaked when the Chamonix Spyder was independently tested and officially crowned by leading elite motoring journals—Germany's Auto Motor und Sport and North America's Road & Track—as "the best replica vehicle in the world."

Furthermore, Chamonix holds immense historical weight within Brazil's industrial heritage. Following the economic protectionism of the late 20th century, Chamonix proved that the Brazilian domestic workforce could successfully manufacture collector-grade luxury items capable of passing strict European and American safety and build quality standards. Today, a vintage Chamonix-built 356 Speedster or Spyder 550 commands premium prices in global classic car auction blocks, viewed as a distinct work of automotive art.