Automobile Quarterly Vintage Review: The Porsche Speedster, Part 1.

1957 Porsche 356 Speedster

 

The Porsche Speedster of the 1950’s has a mystique and a desirability out of proportion to its actual performance.

A 1954 Porsche 1500 Normal previously owned and raced extensively by now deceased Ohio native named Art Brow had a 0-60 time of 13.9 seconds, a quarter mile time of 19.2 seconds, and a top speed of 99.5 mph.  These are performance figures that are handily bested by the most modest of economy cars in 2018.

Art owned and loved that car for decades, even driving it at Laguna Seca at race speeds during Vintage Races.

So what is it about the Speedster that so endears itself to its owners?  Well this Automobile Quarterly article published in Volume XIV, number 4, in the fourth Quarter of 1976 attempts to give us an insight as to why the Speedster is so beloved.

In the follow-up post, we’ll see restored Art’s ’54 Speedster as well as a 1958 R&T road test of a 1958 Porsche Speedster 1600 Super.