1959 356A 1600 Carrera GS Coupe

Was a record bid enough to bring this rare 356 home?

Porsche’s Carrera engine is a landmark in automotive history due to its advanced engineering and competition-focused design. Developed by Dr. Ernst Fuhrmann in the 1950s, this high-revving, four-cam engine was initially created to go racing, powering the 550 Spyder to numerous victories. It eventually found its way into the 356 where it continued to make its mark in motorsport and on the streets.

This 1959 356A 1600 Carrera GS Coupe is one of only ~346 built and is said to have been special ordered by a US Air Force Sergeant while stationed overseas, and eventually made its way back home to the US. The car was refurbished in the late ‘90s, early ‘00s, prior to its purchase by the Ingram Collection, and later received a repaint in its original shade of Black between 2019/2020.

The matching-numbers engine was overhauled during the 2000s refurbishment and has been kept up by the four-cam experts at Road Scholars in Durham, NC, whom are also repressing this example for the current owner as part of the Gruppe-P V Collection. Needless to say, this is a stunning example of a rare four-cam that has many Concours awards under its belt.

Carrera-equipped 356s are few and far between with only a handful coming to auction each year. Of the cars on offer in the last twelve months, three have been Speedsters and two have been Coupes. Those Coupes sold at $566,000 and $637,500 while the Speedsters commanded upwards of $850-918,000. Our Spotlight car failed to sell at a high bid of $802,000, which had it knocking on the door of Speedster money. At that price, it’s also the highest bid we’ve seen over the last five years on a Coupe. I’d imagine we were close here as I’m not sure even the nicest Coupe (which this one probably is) is worth recent Speedster prices.

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