Vehicle Description
1961 Porsche 356B Super 90 GT
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One of nine Super 90 GTs produced in 1961, one of 14 total examples
built
Matching numbers engine and transmission
Has original matching lightweight body panels, original GT parts
from factory
Award-winning nut-and-bolt restoration by 356 specialists Willhoit
Auto Restoration
Has copy of Kardex, and Porsche Certificate of Authenticity
Best in Show at the 2015 Dana Point Concours, 1st in class at
Concours on the Avenue
Close to 40+ years spent with one owner
Porsche has been known to be one of the most flexible and agile car
manufacturers for decades, making special variants of their beloved
cars based on racing requirements and client requests. The 356s
were no different, with many of Porsche's clients in the early 60s
wanting a lightweight, nimble and powerful variant that would be
excellent at road racing. While the 4-cam examples of these
variants are often the most widely known to drivers, collectors and
connoisseurs alike, there remains one version of the 356 that even
today remains almost a myth: the 356B Super 90 GT.
Super 90 GTs were a rare form of 356, with only 14 ever produced
with this example being one of nine built in 1961. Originally
intended to carry 1600cc 4-cam engines, Porsche was running low on
their motorsports engine and ultimately decided to put their "hot"
pushrod 1600cc Super90 engine into the car. They were so much in
common, in fact, that you could easily drop a 4-cam Carrera engine
into the car with minimal effort. All Super 90 GTs were built as
Carrera GTs, and only as Porsche delivered them they were installed
with the pushrod 1600cc engine. They even had the Carrera coil
switches in the dash that went unused. The car had all of the same
tricks as a Carrera GT, with lightweight aluminum body panels,
light weight steel/alloy wheels, a factory roll bar, an 80-liter
(21 gallon) fuel tank, heated windshield, plexiglass windows, and
very minimal soundproofing and undercoating. The results paid off,
with the 356B Super90 GT weighing in 200 pounds less than a
standard coupe, and 150 pounds lighter than its 4-cam counterpart
due to the lightweight pushrod engine used. These exceedingly rare
356s were basically Carrera GTs with Super 90 engines, completed
and delivered by the Porsche factory.
This Super 90 GT finished production at Porsche on April 6th, 1961.
It was optioned in Silver Metallic over black leatherette and it
was first sold by Competition Motors in Hollywood, California.
Remaining hidden for years, the car was finally purchased by a
family in the 1970s who owned the car for close to 40 years, stored
and tucked away from the world. In the early 2010s, future owner
Mike Tucci spoke to his friend during a game of tennis about a
friend that wanted to sell his old Porsche. He said that it was a
Super 90 GT so then Tucci did some research on the car and spoke to
356 expert, John Willhoit. Willhoit did some investigating and
confirmed that the 356 was indeed a real, and extremely rare, Super
90 GT. Tucci was sold and purchased the 356, sending it to Willhoit
Auto Restoration for a complete nut-and-bolt restoration to bring
the GT back to its original delivery condition.
Willhoit Auto Restoration was chosen to perform the careful
restoration of his car due to their amazing track record of
restorations and being experts on the Porsche 356 platform. One of
the unique parts of the restoration was that the car contained
almost all of its original period-correct GT parts. Matching engine
and transmission, factory roll bar, alloy wheels, 80-liter fuel
tank, gauges, and other special pieces stayed with the car during
its time in storage. With the items cataloged, the Super 90 was
disassembled down to the last bolt, all paint stripped down to
reveal the factory sheet metal. When the car was stripped, it was
revealed that the 356 had retained all of its matching original
factory aluminum lightweight panels: hood, decklid, and both doors.
It was also revealed that the Super 90 had the same tar-paper
insulation in the engine bay, just like the Carrera GTs. The expert
craftsmen at Willhoit Auto Restoration then went to work, repairing
and metalworking the car until the car was perfect. Primed then
blocked to concours-level standards, with the 356 finally painted
in the stunning Silver Metallic just like it came from the factory.
Special care was given to applying the correct type and amount of
undercoating, used minimally in period to save weight.
With the cosmetics well under way, the mechanicals of the car were
thoroughly addressed. Every single system was gone through, every
component checked, and every piece on the car refinished or
replaced so that it was as close to as it was when it was delivered
from the Porsche factory. The matching engine and transmission were
completely rebuilt to ensure trouble-free driving for years to
come. The entire interior was gone through, with period-correct
alloy seat shells for the GT pulled from Willhoit's own collection
to complete the interior. The spartan interior is a thing of
simplicity: little soundproofing, black paint, with only a few
gauges to tell the driver what's happening. Once all components
were checked, assembled and approved, the lightweight 356 swiftly
went together into a future award-winning machine.
Finishing the restoration in 2015, the car would not disappoint at
the shows it attended. It won 1st Place on three separate
occasions, taking Best in Show at the 2015 Dana Point Concours
d'Elegance, 1st in Class at the Concours on the Avenue, and 1st in
Class at Werks Reunion. Mike Tucci, proud of the car, decided that
he was satisfied with the car and sold it to its most recent owner,
who kept the 356 and drove it sparingly.
Upon arriving at Canepa, the Super 90 GT is a true neck breaker. A
concours quality and show-winning restoration from some of finest
people in the business, an exceedingly rare example of early
Porsche performance cars, and the remarkable fact that it still
retains all of its factory-delivered drivetrain and lightweight
body panels. Being only one of 14 ever built, this Porsche 356
Super 90 GT drives like a dream, will only appreciate over time in
all aspects, and will let the future owner join a very special
group of individuals: owning a 356 that was destined to be Carrera
GT, but instead became an even rarer part of Porsche's history.
