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1952 Porter Aardvark

The Aardvark was built in the early 1950s by John Porter and Dean Banks of California. It was built to compete in the H-Modified class but not as a serious competitor. Rather, it was meant to be a learning tool; a vehicle that could offer experience before the driver moved on to a more powerful machine.

The car was constructed atop a Panhard Dyna chassis and utilized many of the mechanical components from the Panhard. The frame was made more rigid by adding small tubes to act as braces. The entire chassis was lowered to offer better performance and given an independent front suspension with a torsion bar setup in the rear. The engine was a 750cc, two-cylinder, four-cylinder, air-cooled, pushrod Panhard unit. Horsepower was respectable at 42 considering the size and weight (around 1000 pounds) of the vehicle (in modern times, the car produces around 65 horsepower and 50 ft-lbs of torque).

The entire package was enclosed in a combination of fiberglass and aluminum. The car proved to be competitive in H-Mod competition and gave Porter the experience he was seeking. When he had learned all he could, he sold the Aardvark for a Porsche 550 Spyder. The car was sold to Stew Haggart along with two engines, two transmissions, two chassis, 13 wheels and tires, and a slew of other parts for the sum of $2,000.


By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2009

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