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 356 Porsche Speedster |
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In 1955 The four cam engine had already shown the world its
race qualities. The engine used in the Porsche 550 Spyder had
success in different places all over the world. A series of
Porsche 356's with the four-cam 1500cc engine was planned. In
a 1955 factory document, the four-cam engine was offered only
as an option for the Porsche 356 Speedster. In reality all 356
models would receive the engine. 14 pre-A Porsche 356 Carrera
Speedster were made in 1955. It is very difficult to define
the exact specification of these first models. They were regular
Speedsters equipped with the four-cam engine and different options,
built to the buyers' needs. The very first cars did not carry
the Carrera name as it was not used by Porsche back then. At
the Paris Salon in October 1955 the first pre-A speedster with
Carrera badging, believed to be # 81060 (pictured below), was
shown to the public.
356 Carrera Speedster
In 1956, the Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster was a full production
car and was mentioned in the brochures. The cars did not differ
a lot from their non-Carrera (1600cc and 1600cc Super) counterparts
except for their engine of course. The Carrera 356's were misunderstood
and misused by some. Regular Porsche owners were not used to
revving their cars up to 6000 rpm and more. However, the Carrera
engine was a (slightly) tuned-down racing engine built to perform
in the higher rev-ranges. Using the cars in city-traffic was
not a good idea and some owners replaced their broken engines
with regular pushrod versions.
In 1957 Porsche decided to split the Carrera range in two, to
suit buyers' taste. The 356 Carrera GS was the luxurious version
and was an improvement on comfort and utility. The engine became
more flexible on the GS model. The 356 Carrera GT was the striped-out
racing version devoid of trim items. It was lighter, quicker
and later it gained a larger fuel tank, bigger brakes and they
threw out the heating system. The 356 Carrera Speedster GT was
used by professional racing drivers and amateurs on both sides
of the Atlantic. The cars were entered in European races such
as the Mille Miglia and the Liege-Rome-Liege. In the US the
cars were entered in many competitions such as the SCCA up until
the early sixties.
On march 11 1957 Porsche used a 356 Carrera Speedster to break
the 1000 miles, 2000 km and 12 hours records at the Monza Speed
Track in Italy. The car averaged 116mph (including regular changing
of driver) with a 1500cc engine! Here's a picture of the record
breaking car ;
The 1958 and 1959 models used a new 1600cc engine to improve
the performance. The differences between the GS and the GT remained
as before, but the GT versions received aluminum doors and deck
lids. 48 Porsche 356 Carrera Speedsters were made these two
years. The last 32 were made in one batch in 1959. At that time
no regular 356 Speedsters were available because Porsche replaced
them by the Convertible D. Today some 356 Carrera Speedsters
are still used on the track but others reside in museums and
are kept in concours condition. A good restored Porsche 356
Carrera Speedster can be yours nowadays for 150.000$.
You will find a genuine inventory of speedsters out there at
Johan Wellens website. Check
it out.
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