1956 Porsche 356A 1500 GS Carrera Speedster
Only 151 examples of this extraordinary machine ever left the Porsche factory, making it one of the rarest and most coveted sports cars of the 1950s.
The Speedster variant featured a dramatically lowered windshield (about 3.5 inches shorter than standard models), a minimalist canvas soft top, and a stripped-down interior with fixed-back bucket seats to save weight and cost.
Distinctive gold “Carrera” badges adorned the fenders and rear deck, paying tribute to Porsche’s dominant performances in Mexico’s grueling Carrera Panamericana road race. The lightweight body sat atop the standard 356A chassis but housed something very special underneath.
The heart of this machine was Ernst Fuhrmann’s complex Type 547/1 four-cam engine, a close relative of the 550 Spyder’s racing powerplant. This 91 cubic inch (1.5L) flat-four featured dual overhead camshafts driven by vertical shafts and bevel gears, producing 100 horsepower and enabling a top speed of about 120 mph.
The sophisticated engineering came at a premium price of nearly $6,000 when new, making it one of the most expensive Porsches of its era.
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