Its appeal is simple to understand: A turnkey entry into most every exciting historic race and rally, including the Monte Carlo Historic Rally, the Tour Auto in France, the Tour of Spain, and the Rallye des Alpes
This ex-works car was one of 14 built in 1963, according to specifications for its export to Sweden, where it was used in the Swedish Rally Championship. It ran in the June 1963 "Midnight Sun" rally, which went 150 km north of the Arctic Circle in unbelievable conditions, including a 1.5-km stage through a dark underground iron mine. Driver Berndt Jansson and co-driver Erik Petterson won the race, an outstanding result considering among the competitors were "Mr. Saab" Erik Carlsson and Ove Anderson, today the head of Toyota's Formula One department.
During the rally, the car had red interim registration plates showing B1780. The car made an exhibition tour to Porsche dealers in 1964, and was totally restored by the Porsche factory itself from 1981-1985.
In 2000, work was carried out to optimize the car for use in vintage rallies. All necessary safety changes were made, including modifications to the gas tank, addition of a circuit breaker and fire extinguisher, and the installation of four-point seat belts and a roll bar. Two Recaro seats are mounted in the car, but the original seats still exist and the mounts have not been changed. Other equipment needed for rallying that has been fitted includes a Tripmaster and interior light. The car comes with four sets of wheels (street, race, snow, studded).
It has current FIA papers and is ready to rally or race in any vintage car event. It is an all-numbers-matching car, as on the factory certificate.
SCM Analysis
Detailing
| Vehicle: | 1963 Porsche 356 Carrera 2 GS/GT |
| Years Produced: | 1963 |
| Number Produced: | 14 |
| Original List Price: | Approx. $5,400 |
| SCM Valuation: | $200,000-$250,000 |
| Tune Up Cost: | $1,000-$1,500 |
| Distributor Caps: | $1,000 |
| Chassis Number Location: | stamped into tub in front compartment |
| Engine Number Location: | stamped near center of case |
| Club Info: | Porsche Club of America, 980 Hammond Drive, Suite 1000, Atlanta, GA, 30328 |
| Website: | http://www.pca.org |
| Alternatives: | 1963-1965 Porsche Carrera 2 GS, 1960-1962 Porsche Carrera GTL Abarth, 1965 Alfa Romeo GTA |
| Investment Grade: | A |
This 1963 Porsche 356 Carrera sold for $249,652 at the Artcurial Briest Poulain Le Fur auction in Paris, France, on February 15, 2004.
The Carrera 2 GS/GT is unique as it is a car that can do it all. A further evolution of the Carerra 2 GS (which was itself a higher-spec 356B) the GT was as successful in rallies and circuit races as it is a pleasure to drive on the road. It is quite rare to see one come up for sale and it does not surprise me that this one was quickly snapped up by a passionate Porsche collector.
I am quite familiar with this particular car, as during the past 20-plus years, it was owned by the noted Porsche collector Hans Dieter Blatzheim of Bonn, Germany. He passed away in a racing accident at the Nürburgring, while driving a 917, and his widow Ellen loaned the car to my good friend Peter Kaus for display in his Rosso Bianco museum in Aschaffenburg, Germany. Later, Ellen’s son used the car and saw to its race preparation.
The GT was a full-blown streetable race car based on the production 356B T-6 chassis, but built by the Porsche factory competition department to be lighter, more nimble, and more powerful. It’s just another example of why Porsche is famous for the strong link between its racing exploits and production cars.
The body used aluminum for both doors and the front and rear deck lids. The rear deck lid had louvers for extra engine cooling. The body shell had a special lower weld bead added to give the chassis more rigidity. The door window frames were also made of aluminum and the side windows were Plexiglas. All unnecessary exterior trim was deleted, from bumper guards to the windscreen surround. The interior was as spartan as could be, with lightweight aluminum seat shells and a wooden steering wheel.
For performance, a 2,000-cc version of Porsche’s famous four-camshaft Carrera racing engine was installed and fitted with two Weber 46 IDM-2 carburetors enabling it to produce 155 hp. This was mated to a close-ratio, four-speed gearbox with four sets of available gear ratios. The 356 Carrera had a 7.31 final drive ratio and a limited-slip differential. A large 110-liter fuel tank with an external center hood fill was used. Wheels were steel and aluminum two-piece units with venting for the brand new disc brakes, the first to be fitted to a 356. With these unique components taken from Porsche’s famous racing Spyders, the Carrera GT was indeed a very special 356.
To find one of just 14 produced, as this car is, with a terrific history and its original mechanical components intact, well restored, and with proper documentation including current FIA historic identity papers, is even more special.
The car carried a whole host of documentation: the original Porsche factory build certificate (which also shows its first owner), original road registration (necessary for rallying at that time), record of its restoration from Porsche, and documentation from its recent professional race preparation. Besides all this, the car was also featured in Jurgen Barth’s The Porsche Book, and its entire ownership is known. It doesn’t really get much better from a paperwork standpoint.
When one considers that this Carrera 2 GS/GT is a turnkey entry into most every exciting historic race and rally, including the Monte Carlo Historic Rally, the Tour Auto in France, the Tour of Spain, and the Rallye des Alpes, its appeal to the new owner is simple to understand.
When compared with a nice Carrera 2 GS selling around $150,000-$160,000, a Carrera GTL Abarth worth over $500,000, or even a good competition Alfa Romeo GTZ-1 at $250,000, this car offers a great bang for the buck. And that’s even with the current currency weakness that has inflated the value of the American dollar. For the European buyer in Paris, this was an even better buy.-Mark B. Leonard
(Photos, historical and descriptive information courtesy of the auction company.)