To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys' Amelia Island event, 8 - 9
March 2019.
Estimate:
$225,000 - $275,000
- In current ownership since 1975
- All-original body panels; 61,744 original miles
- Comprehensive rotisserie restoration
- Includes copy of factory Kardex
- Porsche Production Specifications certificate
Porsche's 356 Speedster has become an icon, and the number of
undiscovered examples of these little jewels shrinks year by
year.
Porsche Speedsters were introduced in 1954 to fill U.S. distributor
Max Hoffman's demand for a less expensive model to compete with the
popular British and Italian imports then dominating the growing
American market. Porsche responded with a stripped two-seater with
a base price of just under $3,000. The 356 Speedster was an
immediate hit with American enthusiasts.
This beautifully restored Speedster had belonged to a Chicago-area
foreign car dealer who had disassembled the car for restoration,
but by mid-1975 realized that he was never going to complete the
project. Unfortunately, he had lost track of the original 1500 S
70-hp engine. The car then passed into the hands of the current
owner in Alabama. A 1958 Normal engine was located and rebuilt by a
local German air-cooled specialist, and uprated with a "big bore"
kit, hotter cam, and other modifications. The new owner had given
the car a "quickie" paint job to suffice until he could get to a
proper restoration. That's where things stood for another 40 years.
In 2004, the owner began five years of researching every detail of
what would be required to begin a top-level reconstruction.
Thereafter, an additional five years was spent on a complete,
rotisserie, bare-metal restoration.
"The paint is the original Speedster White and it took me almost a
year to get the actual Glasurit paint code, which the car has,"
says the consignor. More than 450 hours were spent on preparation,
painting, reassembly, and the panel gaps are perfect in all
respects. Although this Speedster is believed to have spent its
early years in Illinois, it showed minimal corrosion in the usual
suspect areas. The floor panels and battery box were intact but not
perfect, so they were replaced. The doors and both lids were found
to be numbers-matching and undamaged, and the nose and tail clip
seams appear untouched.
The seats and interior were correctly reupholstered in red
leatherette. There is a new fabric top with new side curtains,
fresh 1955-specific rubber front floor mats and other rubber items.
All the instruments were rebuilt, and all the original exterior
trim pieces and badges were re-plated. The interior knobs and
switches are refurbished originals. Porsche supplied both a new
Sigla windshield and the owner also acquired NOS heater canisters.
The original four-speed gearbox was overhauled by the
well-respected Mike Robbins. The wheels are the correct 16-in.
diameter examples, fitted with Michelin radials for better
handling, but a set of period-correct Dunlop bias-ply tires is
included. Since the restoration was completed in 2014, the owner
has driven this Speedster less than 1,500 miles and only in dry
weather.
Certainly among the finest Speedsters anywhere, this low-mileage
example is supplied with a partial tool roll, correct jack, spare,
restoration invoices, and books. This Speedster can be immediately
enjoyed by its next fortunate owner and needs nothing more to be
concours ready than to drive it on the show field.To view this car
and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM
website at rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/am19.