One to Buy: 27,000 mile ex-Robert Stratton 1959 Porsche 356 A T2 Coupe Carrera GS de Luxe
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During the late 1950s, Porsche’s ultimate properly appointed road car was a 356 Carrera GS de Luxe. As its name suggested it combined the radical four-cam Carrera engine with a luxuriously equipped cockpit to offer a level of performance and refinement that could embarrass much larger-engined sports cars.
Unfortunately though, buyers were thin on the ground - the overwhelming majority of Carrera-engined 356 customers wanted a fully fledged competition version while most regular 356 buyers were happy to get a Super-engined variant that offered almost as much power but for drastically less cost.
Also no doubt on most buyer’s minds was the enormously complex nature of the four cam Carrera engine which even today requires attention by a very specialist mechanic.
Currently on offer at the Road Scholars showroom in Durham, North Carolina, is a 356 A Carrera de Luxe with a fascinating back story, chassis 105294, one of 33 Coupes produced in 1959.
Configured in Black with Red leather upholstery, chassis 105294 was ordered by Libyan-based US Air Force Master Sargeant, Robert Stratton, and delivered through the local Porsche distributor, Pagani in Tripoli. The car, purchased for touring Europe and Africa, was optioned with Michelin tires, Koni sport shocks, US overriders, fog lights, safety belts and a heater.
Robert Stratton was later re-posted to Germany and eventually moved back to the Texas when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. While in hospice, he gave the 22,000mile Carrera to his doctor in appreciation for the friendship they shared during his last days.
Today, this superb little Carrera-engined 356 A with its touching story has covered a little over 27,000 miles.
