PORSCHE 356 PRE-A SPEEDSTER, HAPPY BIRTHDAY !

In 1954 the Stuttgart House presented the speedster model with the very low and slightly curved glass variant. He was very successful in the United States, especially in Hollywood in the 50‘s and 60‘s. James Dean (who unfortunately drove it recklessly), owned a 356 speedster version. Also other young actors owned it, because it was a sport car for all occasions, to travel in a relaxed way or to run and compete.This model was very lucky in the cinema, as evidenced by his numerous appearances in successful movies: in "Detecive story" in 1966, led by Paul Newman, black gray and silver; black in "Top Gun". With Eddie Murphy in "48 Hours"; in "Bullit" with Jacqueline Bisset at the steering wheel; in "Checkpoint" 1956 and in "Space Cowboys" 2000 for Clint Eastwood. Still in "Manhattan" by W.Allen and in television films.

FROM THE SET TO REALITY
The protagonist of our service, a rare Pre-A version, turns 64 today. It comes from New York and it was produced on 30th March 1955; it is in superlative conditions, thanks to the complete restoration carried out with the utmost care by the historic Belgian company, Classic Car Service Restoration. We have partly reconstructed the history and we know that it was sold new in New York, to Hoffmann, a famous American Porsche concessionaire. It subsequently had other owners until it arrived in Arizona, to Mr. Robert Arthur Gosnell of Phoenix, who kept it until 2007, the year in which it was imported into Ireland. The stay in Ireland was rather passive, because it was forgotten in a barn for 12 years, waiting for the new owner, Noël De Block, managing director of Classic Car Service Restoration. Mr. De Block says that it was a challenging job, because the restoration was radical and involved bodywork, mechanics, electrical wiring and interiors. The car came back to life in its original state, as in 1955. Today it is in excellent condition as evidenced by the certificate of authenticity and since January 2019 it returned to the street ready to be a protagonist in competitions, events and regularity races.