1963 Porsche 356 Carrera 2

The 130-horsepower Carrera 2000 GS was at the top of Porsche’s models in 1963. These were rather expensive 356s, at a cost of about $7,600 from the factory, nearly twice that of a regular pushrod-equipped coupe. Ten years after its introduction for racing in the “Giant Killer” 550 Spyders, the highly complex four-cylinder quadruple-camshaft engine, now in two-liter form, made the 356 C Carrera a very competitive road machine that had already proven so much in competition. Equipped with a stronger Hausermann clutch and taller “American” gearing (BBAB), these Carreras were capable of reaching 60 mph in about nine seconds and managing a top speed of 130 mph, with the engine revving to its 7,000-rpm redline in fourth gear.

According to the reference book by Carrera historians Sprenger and Heinrichs, only 101 Type-C Carrera 2 Coupes were constructed from 1963 to 1965. Much of these cars had their engine and / or transmission replaced by the factory due to mechanical failures prior delivery, thus making cars equipped with their “first gear” quite rare.  The coachwork was very similar to that of standard coupes but had a number of subtle modifications. Among them was the use of bumper guards (without exhaust ports) at both ends. There were also changes to accommodate improved engine cooling, the most important of which was the installation of a pair of small auxiliary oil radiators, mounted one to a side behind the horn grille openings in the nose. The horn grilles themselves were deleted to improve airflow.

THIS MOTORCAR

The Porsche 356 C Carrera T6 2000GS we are offering here is chassis 126198. A matching numbers example equipped with first engine 97304 and first transmission 70778 as per its Porsche factory Kardex. The car was originally finished in Ruby Red (6402) and is today finished in Signal Red.

126198 was supplied new by dealer Gerhard Welp – Kraftfahrzeuge of Bielefeld, Germany, in August 1963 to first owner Holger Macke. It subsequently passed on to D. Rothmann Herford. Later in the 60s the car was exported to Fenis Conner of Silicon Valley, California. Fenis enjoyed 126198 until 1984, having meanwhile attended Vintage Porsche Rennsport events, and serviced the car at marque specialists Mr. Wellington in 1981. As of 1984, 126198 was auctioned and sold to second owner, world class collector Nick Soprano of White Plains, New York. Soprano kept the car for three years and sold it to Jack Coweles, also from New York. At this point Coweles sold the car to a European collection and in 1989 it got shipped back to the US and sold to Reed Hamond of Palos Verde, California.

In 1991, 126198 returns once more to Europe to reach the collection of Wolf D. Gehrmann of Wiesbaden in Germany. Under his ownership, which lasted for nearly 20 years like for the first owner, 126198 underwent a continuous maintenance program by leading 4 cam engine expert Karl Hloch (including a full engine rebuild in 1995), as evidenced by the multiple service records included in the file.

Since 2009 this 356 Carrera 2 is part of a significant Porsche collection and was subject of an equally thorough maintenance. Offered in very good condition throughout, this example is exceptionally tuned and runs exactly as it should. Many of these models have suffered from engine and transmission failures in period, leading inevitably to their replacements by the factory. This isn’t the case for this particular example, still equipped with its first engine and transmission which is quite rare to run across on the 4 cam 356s.

With great provenance and eligible for multiple historic events, this 356 Carrera 2 would enhance any Porsche collection.

European registered.