Porsche 356 A 1600 Super Speedster
Highlights
- One of only 73 Speedsters finished in Fjord Green
- Delivered new to the United States of America, where it remained from 1958 until 2018
- Benefitting from a number of thoughtful and discreet performance upgrades, enhancing the real-world useability of the car
Versatility is King
As useable and versatile classic cars go, there are few that trump Porsche’s cult-classic 356 Speedster. Its sleek and simple silhouette exudes Hollywood glamour, its air-cooled four-pot engine is best described as metronomic and its rarity all but guarantees entry to the world’s greatest classic road rallies. Think the Colorado Grand and the Modena Cento Ore. It’s as adept prowling Sunset Boulevard as it is bombing across an Alpine pass with the crisp winter air blowing through your hair.
The Speedster was famously the brainchild of Max Hoffman, the shrewd and charismatic East Coast importer of prestige European cars. Hoffman recognised that a sportier and more rakish version of Porsche’s drop-top 356 would prove popular in the United States, more specifically in the warmer climes of Southern California. And he was right: the resulting Speedster was a smash hit, selling by the boat load. If you were a someone in Los Angeles in the late 1950s, you were most likely cruising around in a Speedster.