Beschreibung
Export 56 are delighted to offer sale arguably one of the rarest Porsche Speedsters ever built. Only 3 Right Hand Drive, 356 1500 Carrera Speedsters were built out of a total Carrera Speedster production of 152.
This beautiful example has just been awarded three firsts at Salon Privé in the coveted Porsche 70th Anniversary Concours. Chassis ‘83727’ won Best Open Top Car, Best Engine and the Duke of Marlborough Award ‘Best in show’!
EARLY HISTORY OF CHASSIS NUMBER ‘83727’
Chassis number ‘83727’, is the last of only three right-hand drive Carrera Speedsters built by Porsche out of a total production of 152 cars. All three were delivered to Australia. The first two cars built were ‘82459’, completed on 11th July 1956, and ‘83558’, completed on 5th July 1957. Both cars are still in Australia.
‘83727’ was built on 3rd September 1957 finished in Ruby Red with black interior, Rudge wheels, US bumpers, 1500 GS engine (number ‘P90885’) and gearbox number ‘16113’. The Porsche was delivered new to Irvin Rockman, a wealthy Australian hotelier. In 1958, Ken Tucker, a 356 collector, purchased the car from the O’Neill family via Diesel Motors (when it was registered ‘RO000’) and reregistered it as ‘BNV 333’. Ken sold the car a few years later to Australian yachtsman and Porsche enthusiast, Warwick Miller.
In the mid-1960s, Dr Edwards of the Royal Melbourne Hospital bought the car and ran it with a 1600N overhead-valve engine, selling it to Gary Rigg when he returned to Canada in 1970. The fate and whereabouts of the original engine are not known. The fact that the Carrera Speedster was intended primarily for competition has resulted in few retaining their original engines, as at the time it was cheaper to replace them than rebuild them.
Gary Rigg owned the Porsche until 1982 and then sold it to Trevor Keetly. Intending to race the car, Trevor restored it as a GT and installed engine number ‘P90897’, which he had bought in the USA. That engine belonged to chassis number ‘83794’, the fourth GT Speedster off the production line. Other GT upgrades included 60mm front brakes, 80-litre fuel funk, Sebring exhaust, roll bar, Spyder wing mirror, wide steel wheels, GT bumper trim, and a Derrington wood-rim steering wheel. The original gearbox, which was retained, was rebuilt by Charles Appel, and the engine by Rennsport International USA.
RECENT HISTORY AND RESTORATION OF CHASSIS NUMBER: ‘83727’
The car was purchased by a UK Porsche collector in November 2011. There was very little information available on the kardex so the new owner embarked on an information gathering exercise.
Mike Smith of PR Services while on a trip to the factory looked at the Reutter Book build codes. It established that the car was Ruby Red with Black vinyl seats, Oatmeal carpet, White hard top and a black vinyl tonneau cover. Steve Heindrichs in his books “Porsche Speedster Type 540” confirmed it was an original Right Hand Drive car.
In March 2013 the new owner was anxious to get the car back to as original as practical while maintaining the GT upgrades. He employed the services of Classic Porsche restorers Sportwagen and Maxted-Page & Prill Ltd to undertake the restoration.
Blasting the chassis revealed heavy lead filler used to build the extremities of panel edges and fill low areas and where repairs did not follow the correct shape of the body. A full restoration was the only option with a car of such value.
The outer panel work was removed and rebuilt as necessary followed by repairs of the internal panel work. Localised repairs were feasible in most case so no panels needed replacement. To further the GT upgrade a louvred engine cover with air boxes completed the restoration in 2013.
Between 2012 and 2014, chassis number ‘83727’ was returned to its original Ruby Red livery, black leather seats with corduroy inserts. Adding to the GT upgrades, a louvred engine cover with air boxes was also fitted. In total, some £100, 000 was spent on the restoration.
In recent years the car has been serviced and maintained by Classic Porsche specialists, Export 56.
CONCOURS WINNING CAR
Over the past 25 years Chassis number ‘83727’ has been awarded first as several of the world’s premier events. In Australia, the car had won the 356 Registry Award for 1992, 1993, and 1994 and the Inaugural Master Class award in 1996. In 2014, ‘83727’ won the ‘Best of the Show’ award at Hedingham Castle Porsche Classic event.
In September 2018 ‘83727’ was entered into the Salon Prive 70th Anniversary Porsche Concours winning three first place awards including the Best Open Top Car, Best Engine and the coveted Duke of Marlborough Best Car in Show!
This car has also featured in several publications, namely Australian Classic Car Yearbook (2004), Christophorus magazine (January 2006), Unique Cars (November 2006), Precious Cars (Autumn 2006), Motor (December 2006) and Just Cars (January 2007). Classic Porsche Magazine will be running a seven page featured in Issue 58 (December 2018).
This multi-award winning 356 Carrera Speedster is one of only three original factory Right Hand Drive cars ever built and is the subject of a short film which can be viewed on our YouTube Channel.
- details above
For more information about this spectacular 1957 Porsche 356A GS Carrera Speedster for sale in Newport Pagnell, or to arrange an appointment, please contact our sales team on the details below or the details below.
