1959 Porsche 356 A 1600 Super GT Speedster

Introduced in 1954, the Porsche 356 Speedster was created at the urging of US importer Max Hoffman, who recognized a market for a lightweight, open sports car capable of competing with popular British rivals from MG, Austin-Healey, and Triumph. Stripped of many comforts found in the standard 356, the Speedster featured a low-cut windshield, removable side curtains, a simple folding top, and minimalist interior. The formula proved an immediate success, particularly in the US, where it became closely associated with amateur competition and Southern California sports car culture.

In 1957, the revised 356 A T-2 brought a series of refinements across the model range derived from both competition and road use. Improvements included subtle body revisions, enhanced interior ergonomics, increased fuel capacity, updated steering geometry, and numerous mechanical upgrades designed to improve performance and durability. By 1958, the final full year of Speedster production, Porsche’s iconic open sports car had reached its most developed form.

For Porsche’s most serious competition customers, the factory offered the GT package, a comprehensive suite of racing modifications developed by its competition department. Intended for international sports car competition, GT-equipped Speedsters featured extensive weight-saving measures, including aluminum doors, front hood, and engine lid, along with larger brakes, a larger fuel tank, competition instrumentation, and numerous chassis upgrades.

Among the approximately 31 GT Speedsters built in 1959, only seven are believed to have been equipped with the proven pushrod 1600 Super engine rather than Porsche’s more complex four-cam Carrera powerplant. Marrying the lightweight GT specification with the simplicity, durability, and ease of maintenance of the Super engine, these rare machines represented the culmination of the pushrod-powered Speedster concept.

According to a copy of its Porsche Kardex, this 1959 Porsche 356 A 1600 Super GT Speedster was completed by the factory on January 8, 1959. Finished in Silver over a black leatherette interior, this car is believed to be one of seven GT Speedsters fitted with the Type 616/2 Super engine and one of four cars delivered through Carl Block Sports Cars in Oakland, California. Among the most influential independent Porsche dealers in the US during the marque’s formative years, Carl Block was a prominent racer, distributor, and advocate for Porsche on the West Coast.

According to marque historians, Block specified this unusual configuration in the belief that it would appeal to Sports Car Club of America competitors seeking the lightweight advantages of the GT package without the expense and maintenance demands of the four-cam Carrera engine typically associated with Porsche’s competition models. While its earliest ownership history is not known, the Speedster is believed to have passed through the hands of various dedicated Porsche enthusiasts and collectors over the years.

Reportedly restored in 1989, the Speedster subsequently joined the renowned collection of Los Angeles Times publisher Otis Chandler, where it was displayed for a number of years at the Chandler Vintage Museum of Transportation and Wildlife in Oxnard, California. Sometime before the museum’s liquidation in 2006, the Porsche is said to have passed to noted East Coast Porsche collector Frank Gallogly, whose stable included numerous significant Porsche competition and road cars. It later entered the care of Long Island, New York, enthusiast Tony Peck, an active participant in the Porsche collector community.

In 2008, the Speedster was acquired by Durham, North Carolina-based Road Scholars, one of the foremost specialists in the restoration, preservation, and sale of significant Porsche automobiles. By 2011, chassis 84933 was in the care of Porsche enthusiast Bob McDowell, who exhibited the car at the Porsche Race Car Classic held at The Quail Lodge in Carmel, California, where it appeared among an extraordinary gathering of historically significant Porsche competition cars.

Around 2017, the Speedster is reported to have been acquired through Road Scholars by a noted Porsche enthusiast, whose collection has included a number of important competition and road-going examples of the marque. In 2025, the Speedster was acquired into its current custodianship. Importantly, a copy of the factory Kardex on file confirms that the Speedster retains its original matching-numbers Type 616/2 Super engine.

Combining extraordinary rarity, documented provenance, and matching-numbers mechanical integrity, this exceptional Super GT Speedster ranks among the most desirable variants of the Porsche 356. Accompanied by its books, tools, copy of Kardex, and documentation, it presents a rare opportunity to acquire one of the ultimate expressions of Porsche’s iconic open sports car.