1955 Porsche 356 Speedster 1600/90

Dr. Ferdinand Porsche had been a major influence in the development of the German motor industry since Edwardian times and yet the only car design to perpetuate his name was not, in fact, his own work, but that of his son Ferry. The basic design of this new car utilized the mechanical components of the Volkswagen Beetle, and the first fifty examples were hand-built in Austria with alloy bodywork and a split-vee screen.

The new Porsche Type 356 was launched at the 1949 Geneva Salon, the type number being the 356th project undertaken by the Stuttgart based Porsche design office since its formation in 1930. The new cars found immediate success in all forms of motor sport which reflected in sales, and when the Porsche family returned to their Zuffenhausen factory in 1950, all-steel bodywork was introduced. The original 1,131cc engine was enlarged to 1286cc and 1,488cc during 1951 and in its final form of 1,582cc in 1955, which was then standardized for the...