Vehicle Description
Chassis No. 100913
Engine No. 90816
Transmission No. 15148
Body No. 913
This exceptional 1957 Porsche 356 A Carrera GT/GT Coupe, chassis
number 100913, represents one of the rarest and most significant
competition Porsches of its era. Built specifically for competition
with the legendary Fuhrmann four-cam engine and lightweight
components, its authenticity is confirmed by original factory
records, comprehensive correspondence, and an award-winning
restoration to the highest standards.
Chassis 100913 was completed on 25 June 1957 and delivered new to
U.S. Porsche importer Hoffman Motors of New York on 28 June 1957.
The car was specified in Silbermetall (Silver Metallic R 608) with
Schwarz Kunstleder (black leatherette) interior, as one of only 26
Carrera GT/GT Coupes built in 1957, as per Porsche Carrera: And the
Early Years of Porsche Motorsports by Rolf Sprenger and Steve
Heinrichs.
According to its Reutter Certificate of Production and factory
Kardex warranty card, the car was designated as "erleichterte
Karosserie in GT-Ausf�hrung" (lighter body in GT version),
identifying this example as a true factory lightweight. As such,
chassis 100913 left the factory with distinctive competition
features including a lightweight interior, no undercoating,
Plexiglas door, side, and rear windows instead of glass, Speedster
bucket seats, no backrest on rear seats, no heater system, and
lightweight bumper mountings. Additional competition components
included a sport exhaust system which increased the type 547/1
engine's output to 110 horsepower, and an 80-liter (21.1-gallon)
fuel tank ideally suited for endurance racing. The Kardex notes
that the car was also equipped with sealed-beam headlamps, original
transaxle number 15148, and a factory-fitted limited slip
differential.
The competitive career of 100913 began almost immediately after its
arrival in the United States. Its debut came at the inaugural
Virginia International Raceway (VIR) event in August 1957 with Dr.
Dick Thompson at the wheel. Thompson, a Washington D.C. dentist
known as "The Flying Dentist," campaigned the car for Hoffman
Motors, finishing 7th in its class in front of a crowd of 5,000.
From August through December 1957, Dr. Thompson campaigned 100913
at multiple events including SCCA National Virginia on 4 August
1957, where he finished 3rd place; Montgomery Preliminary on 17
August 1957, finishing 3rd; SCCA National Montgomery on 18 August
1957, finishing 8th; Nassau Tourist Trophy on 1 December 1957,
finishing 16th; Nassau Memorial GT on the same day, achieving 4th
place; Governor's Trophy on 6 December 1957, placing 13th; and
Nassau Memorial Trophy on 8 December 1957, where he finished
10th.
In a 1978 interview, Thompson recalled: "The Carrera was brand new
and was imported by Hoffman Motor Co. in New York. Hoffman
outfitted the car with Webers and a gutsier cam. Probably the first
Carrera fitted with Webers." He continued to explain that the car's
close ratio gears were installed at the track by factory mechanic
Heinz Beda prior to the Bahamas Speed Week races.
The highlight of the Carrera GT/GT's racing career came in March
1958 when it was campaigned as a factory entry by Porsche KG in the
12 Hours of Sebring. Two legends of Porsche motorsport were at the
wheel during the event. Herbert Linge, who started at Porsche as
early as 1943 at the age of 15 as a mechanic and grew within the
company to be a co-pilot, race winner, and staunch safety advocate
with the German ONS was behind the wheel. So too was Porsche's
longtime Racing Manager and PR Director Fritz Huschke von Hanstein.
Nicknamed "The Racing Baron," Porsche described von Hanstein as a
"man of the world and self-assured elegance, matched with a gift
for rhetoric and mastery of many languages." The hand-picked duo
was perfectly matched for the car that finished 10th overall and
1st in class! This significant result has been confirmed through
factory correspondence with Porsche of America, instantly elevating
its status in the annals of endurance racing.
On 28 March 1958, chassis 100913 was sold to its first private
owner, Michael Cappiello. Under Cappiello's ownership, the car
continued to race successfully in SCCA events from April through
November of 1958, with documented competition at venues including
Marlboro, Lime Rock, Montgomery, and VIR, consistently finishing on
the podium. After its glittering racing career, chassis 100913
passed through eight further documented private owners from 1958 to
1988, with comprehensive correspondence on file documenting each
owner's endeavors to uncover the history of the rare lightweight.
By the early 1980s, the car was in the hands of Glenn Herman, a PCA
Manhattan Trophy winner and former head concours judge who
corresponded with the factory in 1988, confirming its original
build details.
Mike Curnow purchased the car from Glenn Herman in 1988. Curnow
recalled in a 2022 Porsche Panorama magazine feature article (Issue
780) that the car was "in pretty nice shape," and enjoyed driving
it for a number of years before it "developed a starting issue."
Thereafter, the car remained largely dormant in Curnow's ownership
for the next 30 years, stored under a car cover in his garage.
The current Texas-based owner entered the picture in early 2014 and
spent three years pursuing the car. After numerous visits and
persistent negotiation, he finally acquired the car from Curnow in
February 2018, emerging from storage for the first time in nearly
three decades. He immediately commissioned a comprehensive
restoration to the highest standards while prioritizing
preservation of the car's remarkable originality. The car was
transported to Speedsport Tuning in Danbury, Connecticut, where
four-cam expert Jeff Adams removed the original, matching-numbers
engine and conducted a complete rebuild. Through this process,
Adams verified that all of the internal engine numbers matched
factory records.
Specialists from across the country had a hand in the comprehensive
restoration. Roy Smalley of Euroworks undertook the meticulous
restoration of the original Reutter coachwork, still bearing the
body number "913" on the front trunk lid, engine compartment lid,
both doors, and door hinge covers. Palo Alto Speedometer renewed
the instruments to factory specification. Christensen Plating Works
in Vernon, California, executed the chrome work and plating. The
transaxle was expertly rebuilt by Vic Skirmants of 356 Enterprises
in North Branch, Michigan. The special lightweight interior was
carefully trimmed by Autos International, Inc. of Escondido,
California, while Mike Doyle supplied the proper interior
materials.
The entire restoration process took nearly three years, faithfully
returning 100913 to its factory livery with Silver Metallic
paintwork and black lightweight interior. All of the original
stampings also remain intact and verified, including chassis number
100913, engine number 90816, transaxle number 15148, as well as its
special lightweight factory equipment. The car made its
post-restoration debut at the 26th Amelia Island Concours
d'Elegance in 2021, taking first in the Sports and GT Cars class.
It subsequently won the Porsche Four-Cam Class at the Radnor Hunt
Concours d'Elegance in September, followed by Best in Class at the
Hilton Head Concours in November of that year. Most recently, the
Porsche's originality and impeccable restoration were recognized at
the 2024 Greenwich Concours d'Elegance where it won a Porsche
Carrera class award, followed by a class win in "The Art of Driving
Collection" at ModaMiami 2025.
Chassis 100913 offers a ...for more information please contact the
seller.
