Vehicle Description
Speedster: (spEd!stur) n. 1. One who drives very fast. 2. A fast
car. 3. An open, two-seat model Porsche enthusiasts love.
Okay, okay. No dictionary lists that third definition.
But...I think we all can agree as Porsche fanatics that the Typ 356
Speedster popularized Porsche, especially here in the U.S., the
market for which it was intended, starting in the mid 50s. Winning
races with pre-A coupes and cabriolets equated to great
advertisement that led to a more conventional dual-purpose open
sports car for the privateer market. Being able to manufacture and
deliver this affordable Speedster (approximately $3,000) to the US
was the root cause of what we all enjoy today within the Porsche
brand. This was an era of when cars were fun and with your sports
car came a lifestyle. Johnny von Neumann Maxie Hoffman understood
this and pressed the factory to design it, assemble it, and ship it
to the U.S. We can all thank the Speedster when we're out on our
weekend drive, or at a PCNA event, or pulling into a cars and
coffee, or showing at the Concours, or sharing our hobby with our
families. The Speedster represents one of the most important sports
cars in the history of the automobile. At the hands of Paul Newman
and Steve McQueen and James Dean, racing them and using them in
their films, the car became a legend. And there's no doubt it will
remain a favorite and cornerstone in Porsche collections for many
years to come.
Chassis 84893 is a wonderful concours-restored example from the
last year of the pushrod Speedsters. A collector out of Chicago
commissioned its restoration-in black-10 years ago. Five years
later our client acquired chassis 84893 and essentially had it
re-restored and returned to its most popular factory color
combination of Meissen Blue over Red. At this time, he chose to
take advantage of the opportunity to dot every "i" and cross every
"t", and they did just that. They attended to the details that many
restorers and owners overlook such as correct VDO gauges, VDO fuel
sending unit, authentic light lenses all around, correct bezels,
and even going so far as to find and install the acorn nuts used on
the over-riders.
We've certainly had some stunning 356 Speedsters over the
years-some of the best in the country, if we may say it-and chassis
84893 ranks right up there. It is fully up to our standards, and
from our experience looking at and driving chassis 84893, they had
to have started with a good car when it underwent restoration.
There are nice consistent gaps, the car retains its original front
and rear deck lids and door panels, and overall, it just presents
beautifully. The paint is in excellent condition and the interior
is barely worn in with authentic carpet and correct red leather.
Since its refreshening, chassis 84893 hasn't been driven much and
it is everything you would want in this iconic Porsche.
As someone recently told me, "If you can't be happy with a Meissen
/ Red 356 Speedster, then you can't be happy".
