One to Buy: ex-Charles Rickert 1958 Porsche 356 A Carrera 1500 GT Speedster
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Five years after he had joimed Porsche (back when the company was based in the Austrian town of Gmund and the 356/1 prototype was still on the drawing board), engineer Ernst Fuhrmann was given the task of creating an engine capable of producing 100bhp per litre.
Porsche wanted a motor based on their existing four cylinder boxer unit in time for the 1953 season which gave Fuhramnn and his team just a few months to work their magic.
Because Porsche's pushrod engines did not have the required potential in terms of engine speed or thermal efficiency, Fuhrmann developed an advanced dual overhead camshaft head. The resultant Carrera four cam motor made its debut in a 550 Spyder during August 1953 and went on to establish an enviable competition record.
In July 1955, Porsche began to offer Type 547/1 Carrera motors in two states of tune for the 356: 100bhp GS or 110bhp GT. The GS version could be specified with either Coupe or Speedster bodywork while the GT could initially only be ordered as a Speedster (until 1957). Today, these cars rank among the most desirable iterations of the now legendary 356 line.
Going under the hammer at RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale on August 15th is a 356 A Carrera 1500 GT Speedster with a remarkable history: chassis 84711.
The car was ordered direct from the factory by Charles “Chuck” Rickert of Indianapolis, Indiana. Completed on April 21st 1958, it became one of only 151 Carrera-powered Speedsters built in combined 356 and 356 A trim. Of these, 87 were to GT specification.
Chassis 84711 was dispatched to New York via the SS American Forwarder. It arrived on May 18th and was picked up by Rickert just over a week later.
Over the next 15 months, Rickert went on to achieve spectacular success in the little white Speedster, collecting over a dozen outright and class SCCA wins. Thereafter, he ran chassis 84711 on just three occasions, the car’s final outing coming at Road America in June 1961 when a broken crankshaft took it out of contention.
Later that summer, Rickert then traded the inoperable Speedster to Richard Snider of Columbus, Indiana, in exchange for a 1961 356 Coupe. Though Snider intended to repair and continue racing chassis 84711, he never did. The car ultimately ended up dis-assembled and was not restored until a much later date under new ownership.
According to RM Sotheby’s: “Acquired by its current caretaker in 2022, the Speedster’s restoration in its original colours still presents well today. The car is fitted with a four-cam engine of the correct type; numbered 90943, it was originally installed on a 1958 356 A Carrera GS Cabriolet and is presumably the replacement engine sourced by its fourth owner some decades ago. In addition to a fascinating file of documentation, including correspondence with its original and subsequent owners, the car is further documented by a Porsche CoA, Reutter certificate, and a copy of its FIA HTP.”
