From the first moment Porsche started selling its inaugural 356 model in 1950, it was used in competition. Its light weight, reliability and build quality set it apart and, despite the limitations of its VW derived pushrod engine, it was successful in races and rallies across the world.
In 1955 Porsche decided to do something about the car’s power disadvantage and installed the newly designed 1,500cc four cam “Carrera” racing engine from the 550 Spyder into their revised 356A as a top of the range Carrera model. This gave the new car over 30% more horsepower and a top speed that nudged 200 km/h.
Initially produced as a single model, Porsche found it difficult to satisfy the conflicting requirements of Carrera customers who wanted to race their cars with those who did not. So, it developed two versions, a deluxe road car termed the GS, and a stripped-out racer called the GT. From a total 356A production run of over 20,000 cars, Porsche made only 439 356A Carrera’s. Of these, just 17 were built in right-hand drive.
History
This 356A Carrera GS was ordered in 1957 by Laurie O’Neill, the owner of the Porsche distributor in Sydney, Australia, as his personal car. It was a VIP special request via Hamilton in Melbourne who were the main importer. O’Neil was well known in the Australian automotive world for both his talent behind the wheel and the quality of his car collection.
It was anticipated that his Carrera would attract the right sort of attention to the Porsche brand, so it was ordered with an eye-catching specification. The colour specified was Glacier White, a subtly attractive shade that contains a slight hint of pastel green, hence the nickname for this car by its current owner as “Minty”. The interior was traditional red vinyl but “bench’ type front seats with headrests marked it out from the norm.
Other luxury options included “knock-off” chrome Rudge wheels, a sunroof, Telefunken radio and electrically operated aerial, US-style bumper overriders and front window air deflectors. Sadly, Porsche were unable to fulfil O’Neil’s wish for an in-car television to be installed. Regardless, the car was the very highest specification possible at the time and the best ever delivered to Australia, in recognition of Mr O’Neill’s efforts to sell Porsche cars.
Mr O’Neill retained the car in his collection for a number of years where it sat alongside other greats such as his Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing, Ferrari 250 LM, Ford GT40 and Jaguar XKSS. It passed through several owners before being sold to the Bowden family, well-known Australian collectors and dealers in classic cars. The Carrera stayed in their collection for the next 16 years before being bought by the current owner in 2014.
The car was shipped to the UK to join the owner’s substantial collection of exceptional right-hand drive Porsches. The car’s first restoration was now 30 years old and starting to show its age, so he commissioned internationally recognised 356 experts Sportwagen Limited of Southend, UK to re-restore the bodywork. While that work was underway, the engine was sent to Karl Hloch in Schorndorf, Germany to be completely rebuilt. The restoration took two years and was completed in 2018.
Specification and Condition
The recent restoration involved completely stripping the car and taking it back to bare metal. Sportwagen observed the chassis to be in generally good condition having spent its life in the dry Australian climate. There was evidence of the 1980s restoration work but the vast majority of the sheet metal was original.
The shell was repainted in the original factory colour of Glacier White. All the running gear was refinished to concours standards. The original vinyl interior had previously been reupholstered to a high standard in leather so this was refitted.
No expense was spared during the restoration process and the finished car now possesses that jewel like quality that the very best 356s exhibit. It has been sparingly used since completion and remains unmarked and faultless. In preparation for sale the car has recently been tuned and fully serviced by Maxted-Page Limited.
IF DESIRED IT WOULD SURELY GRACE ANY CONCOURS LAWN IN THE WORLD.
OUR THOUGHTS
Porsches as special as this one do not come along very often. The pinnacle of Porsche’s range when new, it has been cossetted by a succession of knowledgeable owners and remains remarkably intact to this day. It would be a challenge to find another right-hand drive Carrera, let alone one that still has its original body panels and drivetrain.
Conscious of the car’s significance, the current owner has trusted only the best in the Porsche restoration business to ensure that it runs and presents in the manner that it deserves. From the fit of the body panels and the quality of the paint finish to the unfussy idle from the fabulously intricate engine, the evidence of craftsmanship is omnipresent. If desired it would surely grace any concours lawn in the world.
The driving experience remains as it would have done for Laurie O’Neill in 1958 – a pure blend of Porsche’s best roadgoing options combined with that extremely special 4-cam engine and gearbox. Set up by the best in the business, it remains a sensational car to drive cross-country, in fact our most memorable drive this year was in this very car with the owner one summer’s morning.
We often measure cars in terms of how difficult they would be to replace. It is really no exaggeration to say that we cannot think how long it would take to find another right hand drive 356 Carrera with the combination of specification, history and condition boasted so elegantly by this special car.
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