The trend of ‘what is old is new again’ seems to be apparent not in just fashion or interiors but a widespread influence across many industries. The team at Porsche don’t seem to have escaped the nostalgic fever with a dip into the archives of the definitive curves and unique designs of the Porsche 356 Carrera by Zagato that throws back to 1959.
Italian design firm and coachbuilder, Zagato, have released news of the development and production of design iterations of the vintage 356. Along with Aston Martin Vanquish and Lamborghini Gallardo also set for a re-release, the design endeavour will see these vintage sports cars with an aesthetic that has long diminished off our roads and breath a modern day life into nine examples of the Porsche 356.
“Zagato is a design house, the last independent Italian house in existence— dating back to 1919—that is still run by a member of the family,” he says proudly. “So we’re not influenced by technological advancements that consume the OEM manufacturers. Our buyers are car enthusiasts who love the Zagato brand and workmanship — collectors who recognize a sure investment.”
After achieving racing success in 1958, the Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster Zagato reached social notoriety for its racing performance and wins but simply never went on to translate into commercial production. Now Zagato are in the workings of crafting nine examples of each Carrera Zagato and Carrera Speedster Zagato with a starting price of around $447,000 AUD, plus an additional $100,000 plus, for period-specific 356 models that match to its identical production year.
To walk down the road of redeveloping a classic with a price tag of over $500,000, the story goes a little like this… “The original Speedster project was a one-off request by Porsche factory driver Claude Storez, who had a new 356A Speedster with a Carrera GT engine shuttled over to Zagato for its new metallic suit in 1958. The car was entered in a race the following year but Storez died before he could take the wheel. According to Zagato, the car was subsequently destroyed.
Working with poor black-and-white images of the Speedster, Zagato engineers used computer-assisted design to painstakingly create an intricate template for a new car, which included a shark-like nose and delicate tail fins.
Research in the company’s archives eventually turned up an unexpected find: drawings for a coupe version of the Zagato Porsche. Viewing its rakish roofline and spartan interior, one could argue that the coupe is the more dramatic of the two reborn machines, a car that recalls both the legendary 550 Spyder as well as its 904 and 906 successors.
Porsche cognoscenti will know that there was a special series of Italian-designed, 356-derived vehicles built in the 1960’s. Known as Porsche 356 Abarth GTL Coupes, these rarities were, initially, supposed to be a collaboration between the houses of Ugo Zagato and Carlo Abarth, the latter a still-celebrated name in tuning. But for a host of logistical reasons and miscues, that deal fell apart and left only Abarth as a collaborator with the German marque.”
With many original relics becoming extremely rare, it’s great to see the rebirth of a small piece of history.
Stay dapper gents.
Robbie – Dapper Lounge.
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