Lot 335: 1960 Porsche 356B 1600 Roadster
Coachwork by Drauz Karosserieswerke

Ferdinand Porsche was a gifted engineer and talented designer. Having served as technical director for Austro-Daimler, where he designed the Prince Henry model, and at Daimler in Germany where he was responsible for the S-Type Mercedes, he had a vision for a small car accessible to people of modest means. This became the Volkswagen, its development backed by Hitler though production was delayed by the war. At war’s end, Porsche was arrested by the French and incarcerated. Set free after the intervention of a number of influential Italians and the payment of a huge ransom by his son, Porsche returned to his native Austria and the manufacture of motor cars.

Porsche’s son “Ferry” had built a special based on Volkswagen parts. After an enthusiastic review by a Swiss journalist, a small production run was made, Job 356 in the Porsche scheme of nomenclature. The body, in the familiar form continued for 18 years, was designed by Irwin Komenda, an Austrian engineer with Porsche since 1931. More than 50 cars were built at Porsche’s Austrian works at Gmünd, after which production moved to Germany. Nearly 80,000 were built in all models through 1966. The engine grew to 1,600cc by 1955, the year the 356A model was introduced, with revised suspension, curved one-piece windshield, horn grilles and a fuel gauge.

There were three 1,600cc engines, designated 1600, 1600 Super and Super 90. They differed in compression ratio and carburetion and ranged from 60 to 90 DIN (European) horsepower. Mid-range of the three was the high compression Super engine, developing 75 DIN horsepower, 88 SAE. This engine could be ordered in the Coupe, Convertible, Speedster, or, for 1959, the new Convertible D by Drauz.

Drauz Karosserieswerke, of Heilbronn, Germany, dated from 1900 when Gutav Drauz and his partner Rudolf Leopold began building bodies for NSU and Daimler. Business was brisk into the 1920s, by which time Adler, Ford and Fiat were clients. After World War II, Drauz supplied van bodies to DKW and Ford. From 1959 to 1962, they were also body suppliers to Porsche, but bodies for the Ford Taunus sedan and FK 1000 van remained the principal product. In 1956, NSU bought the Drauz factory to build the Prinz model and Drauz moved into tool development for the motor industry. As a unit of ThyssenKrupp Drauz Northelfer GmbH they remain in that business today.

Drauz’s first body for Porsche was the 356A Convertible D (for “Drauz”) for the 1959 model year. A successor to the popular Speedster model, the Convertible D had a taller windshield and folding top. More comfortable and more practical than the Speedster, 1,331 were built in the 14-month period of production.

For 1960, Porsche introduced the new “T-5” body style, designating the model 356B. The T-5 had a flatter hood and front sheet metal, and larger, higher bumpers. The Convertible D was discontinued, replaced by the Roadster, still built by Drauz. It remained in production through 1962, by which time a new T-6 body had been adopted. Roadster production for the 1960 model year was 2,088 units.

This Porsche 356B was one of the 560 T-5 Roadsters built in the last months of 1959, its September 6th completion date making it one of the first in the 1960 model year. Delivered to the New York distributor, Max Hoffman on December 22nd, it was sold new to a customer in Riverside, California. It has since passed through two subsequent owners. It has the 1,600cc 88bhp Super engine and very rare and highly sought-after factory Rudge knock-off wheels. Although it has received a chassis-up, nut and bolt restoration, it retains its original floors, longitudinals and closing panels. Bearing its original California registration EXR157 “black plates,” it has logged just 74,000 miles and comes with comprehensive records, original books and tools.

Books and documents include a copy of the 1959 delivery order, the owner’s manual, engine and chassis factory service book for this car, battery guarantee book, and ultra-rare factory Roadster Operating Instruction Supplement. Records back into the 1980s are included as well as a full complement of photographs of the restoration. The tool kit is the factory correct item. It also has its factory-installed Roadster seats (different from the coupes and cabriolets), in-dash cigar lighter, deluxe horn ring and original keys. A smart, carefully maintained car in white with red leather interior, it retains its correct matching numbers and factory features. A Porsche Roadster in this degree of originality is unusual, one with such detailed documented provenance all but unparalleled. This car represents a rare opportunity to own a superb car with carefully preserved heritage.