“It’s one of those finds that you can not replicate. It is exactly how it was and is a real look into what driving an original, unrestored, of the minute 1956 Speedster was like.”
It is a rare occurrence for low-mileage, extremely original cars like this 1956 Porsche 356A Speedster to come to the market. Examples that have been as well-cared for and well-preserved make finds like these even more exciting. As our friend Stephen Serio describes in the opening of this video, cars like this offer an experience that is nearly impossible to recreate with even the best of restorations.
This Speedster was delivered Max Hoffman’s New York showroom on September 21, 1956 in white with a black leatherette interior and the sole option of sealed beam headlights. While the first owner’s identity is not entirely clear, its second owner- Mr. William Robinson- traded his 1957 Chevy 2 door coupe for the Speedster in January of 1959. It went on to become one of his prized possessions, so he had the exterior repainted (with the original paint beneath) before putting it away in his two car garage. For the next 43 years, it remained under the ownership of the Robinson family and essentially unchanged.
In 2010, Alex Finigan of Paul Russel and Company fame chased down the time capsule Speedster, negotiated a purchase price, and performed a mechanical restoration to make it roadworthy once again without disturbing any of the wonderful patina. Nearly every bit of the Speedster is original, including the complete interior- something seldomly seen.
