1954 Porsche Pupulidy Racing Special

Emil 'Pup' Pupulidy built and raced Porsche automobiles and motorcycles in the 1950s and 1960s. He won the Europa-Berg-Meister race in 1958 in the Gran-Turismo-Mester 16000 in a Porsche which he had built.

In the early 1950s, while traveling in Europe, he visited the Porsche factory and purchased a new Porsche coupe. He had it shipped home and raced it in local events. In 1953, Pupulidy decided to build a sports car of his own design. The car was fashioned after the Mercedes-Benz streamlined racers which he had watched in Europe. It was given a fiberglass body and it rode on a modified Volkswagen chassis. The car was called the 'Beast' and it won its first race in 1954 at the Nassau Speed Weeks in the Bahamas.

In 1955, he began a second attempt on building another lightweight, streamlined sports racer. It was given a tube-framed chassis which was stamped PUP 1 and powered by a Porsche engine. The fuel tank was mounted in the front with the filler in the wheel well. The Porsche torsion bars extended rearward and were used to stabilize the swing axles.

The car raced in several events during the mid-to-late 1950s, even managed a GP class win. After several years of use the one-off sports racer was abandoned behind the Frick Motors Shop. It was later rescued by Butch Strunk, who repaired the car and raced it for nearly three decades. After many years of use, it was sold to Matt Williman, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, who continued the car's racing career.

In 2003, it was purchased by vintage racer John Muller of Kansas City. At the time of purchase, the car was in poor shape. It was taken to Brian Haupt of Carriage and Motor Works of Kansas City for a complete restoration. After completion, the car was used in vintage competition as well as being shown at Concours events. In 2009, the car was brought to auction where it was sold to a new owner.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2013