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1958 Porsche 356 A T2 Speedster – #84577

  • 45 years of single ownership from 1967 till 2012
  • File of records dating back to 1965
  • Matching numbers engine and gearbox
  • Period hardtop
  • One of only 181 Speedsters originally finished in “Meissen Blue”

The 356 Speedster, which was originally introduced in 1954, especially created for the demand of American customers, was Porsche’s very successful attempt to offer a dual purpose sportscar – a daily driver and a weekends gentlemen racer. In contrasts to the pricing politics today, Porsche back then even offered the sportier model at a price

well below the more luxurious coupe and cabriolet models, since it only had a cutdown windscreen, simple sports seats and detachable side windows. Given that only 1,129 T2 Speedsters were built between 1957 and 1958 and because it is the most appealing way of driving a 356, the late production Speedster today is the most valuable and sought-after version of Porsche’s first series production model.

The T2 Speedster can easily be distinguished through its teardrop taillights, relocated gear-lever, shine up license plate light and rear bumper guards with integrated exhaust passages. The later production models also had several technical improvements concerning the engine, steering and chassis.

The car offered for sale is a late production T2 Speedster from February 1958, which is finished in beautiful „Meissen Blue“ with black leatherette seats and beige carpets. The car was delivered new in the US and lived most of its life in California, which ensured that the chassis and body are nowadays rust free. The second to last owner possessed the car for 45 years and kept almost every receipt of service work carried out on the Speedster. We acquired the car in early 2016 and performed an extensive revision of the engine, chassis and gearbox to bring the car into a perfect technical state.

Since the car is in partially restored condition, all the mechanical work was carefully carried out to fully preserve its beautiful patina. Due to a damage to the front in the 1960s the car does not possess its first paint, however the „Meissen Blue“ colour has faded to a very attractive matte tone. The interior is fully functional, clean and well-aged over the years. The engine runs smoke free, smooth and pulls strong towards the rev limit of slightly above 4000 rpm. The gearbox shifts easy and exact.

The car comes with a cream coloured aftermarket hardtop, perfectly matching the „Meissen Blue“ paint and two sets of side windows of which the ones belonging to the folding soft top were probably originally delivered with the car, as they now wear a beautiful patina. To find an original matching numbers, “Meissen Blue” T2 Speedster with original body panels and an extensive file of documents as well as a single ownership of almost half a century, is very hard to come by. To really understand how beautiful this charismatic car is, you will have to see and experience it in person.