1954 Porsche 356 Speedster

This Porsche 356 is an early-built example and is among the very first Speedsters built within the 1954 production run of 200 cars. When new, it was sold through the Hoffman Motor Car Company in New York City to Joe Vittone's Volkswagen dealership in Riverside, California. Skip Hudson purchased the white Speedster and began making modifications necessary to prepare it for racing. The car was raced by drivers Skip Hudson and Dan Gurney as the duo perfected their skill at speed.

The car was entered in the Torrey Pines race in January of 1955. After just 15 laps, Hudson was in 3rd place. Unfortunately, he amassed nearly 70 infractions from race officials who feared that Hudson was out of control, and was given the black flag. Later, Hudson was able to clear his infractions.

In April 22 of 1956, Hudson entered this Speedster into the Pebble Beach Road Races. The car was in the lead. On the 11th lap, Hudson took a corner too fast and drifted off course. Despite moderate damage, he continued, finishing in 2nd place.

The interim history of the car is not known. In 1994, Walter Kolouch discovered the car in poor condition in McMinnville, Oregon. The car underwent an extensive three-year restoration. The engine and transmission are both factory-original to 80032. After the restoration work was completed, the car was sold to Jerry Seinfeld, who kept the car for a short time.

In January 1997, the car was purchased by Michael Kittredge. It was later sold through an East Coast dealer to Peter Kinsey. Two years later, it was sold via the same dealer to John Vargas. In early 2006 the car was sold to Anthony Angotti. In August of that year, the car was show at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

In 2012, the car was offered for sale at the Pebble Beach auction presented by Gooding & Company. The car was estimated to sell for $275,000 - $350,000. As bidding came to a close, the car had been sold for the sum of $286,000 inclusive of buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2012