Lot details
Registration No: 697 NOK
Chassis No: 130061
Mot Expiry: May 2012

Finished 2nd-in-class on the 2010 Classic Marathon

Though few would have realised it at the time, the 1948 launch of the Porsche 356 was a significant landmark in automotive history. It marked the commercial birth of what has become one of the world's greatest car manufacturers; a company that has many times won Le Mans on Sunday and inspired the rich of the road on Monday. Its achievements are unique. The 356 was a collaboration between 'Ferry' Porsche, the son of the company's founder, and the company's chief body engineer Erwin Komenda. The first examples of the 356 were handcrafted from aluminium in Gmund, Austria. And, with parts being in short supply following WW2, the model initially employed the engine, transmission and suspension from the Volkswagen Beetle (the car famously designed by Porsche Senior). However, within two years much had changed. The car had been considerably re-engineered and was now less reliant on stock Volkswagen parts, while production had moved to Zuffenhausen in Germany. The bodies were now made of steel. The development of the 356 was charted by the suffixes A, B and C. The model's final iteration, the 356C, was introduced for the 1964 model year and featured disc brakes all round. The top of the range version was the SC, whose 95bhp 1600cc engine was the most powerful pushrod unit the company had so far produced. Though 356 production ceased in 1965, the model remained on British price lists into 1966, by which time it was competing directly with the 911 and 912. Thanks to efficient aerodynamics, sporting handling and fine build quality, the model quickly established itself as a worthy competition car and it achieved success in such top events as Le Mans, the Mille Miglia, 1000km Buenos Aires, Targa Florio and Carrera Panamericana, as well as countless other races and rallies around the world.

The Porsche on offer started life as a left-hand drive 356C road car. Some years ago it was treated to an extensive restoration and the colour of the coachwork changed from Blue to Black. It was in this guise that it was purchased by the vendor in the summer of 1998. The following year he commissioned Brown & Gammons to reconfigure it for historic rallying and subsequently used it to contest the Liege-Rome-Liege event of that year. The engine specification included: a late, fully strengthened crankcase; crack tested and balanced SC/912 counterbalanced crankshaft; late SC/912 conrods; Garretson Enterprises aluminium oil cooler; Shasta design 9.25:1 pistons and barrels giving a capacity of 1720cc; Norris 337S camshaft; Weber 44IDF carburetter; Bosch 050 distributor and chrome molybdenum pushrods. It was during 2001 that the Porsche was resprayed once more - this time in its current hue of Silver. Four years later it was entrusted to Gantspeed Engineering who carried out a thorough overhaul of the whole car, for which there are bills on file for over £14,000. The weighty history file also contains a 2010 invoice for £2,250.95, when the 356 was serviced and prepared for the Classic Marathon of that year. This was a successful event for the car, in which it finished 2nd-in-class and 11th overall. This delightful and pleasingly presented period Porsche now carries the registration number '697 NOK' not to mention a roll cage, plumbed-in fire extinguisher, rally seats and four-point harnesses. A well-equipped and clearly potent rally car, it is now ready for a new owner to campaign and comes complete with MOT into May 2012.