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The original Porsche-Zagato Speedster raced by Claude Storez in 1958 and 1959 has been lost to time, but this stunning re-creation, built by Zagato in 2016 from an original 1960 Porsche 356 B is a fitting tribute to that incredible car, and it will cross the block at Rm Sotheby’s Amelia Island auction later this week.
Throughout the mid-1950s, Zagato was known for building racing specials on some of the day’s best sports cars, such as the Fiat-Abarth 750 GT and Alfa Romeo Giulietta SVZ. By applying aerodynamics and reducing weight with new alloy bodywork, the cars became legends on tracks around the world.
Birth of the Porsche-Zagato Speedster
In 1957, Porsche racing driver Claude Storez hired Zagato to build a special aerodynamic body for his 1957 Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster, creating the Porsche-Zagato Speedster you see here. The car was completed in 1958 and shipped back to Porsche for fine-tuning before starting its racing career with Storez.
At one of his first appearances in the car, Storez was photographed on the track in his Porsche-Zagato, sporting #139 on the passenger door at the Reims stage of the Tour De France Automobile in September 1958. It is thought that Storez finished 2nd place at that race, coming in behind Olivier Gendebien in his Ferrari 250 GT TdF. Storez had shown that Zagato-bodied cars were still extremely competitive. At the French Rally in 1959, Storez crashed and tragically died, the Porsche-Zagato badly damaged was cleared from the track and has never been seen again.
Car collectors Herb and Olga Wetanson approached Zagato and asked if they could re-create Claude Storez’s Porsche-Zagato 356 Speedster, Zagato had previously built a Sanction II Lancia Aprilia Sport for Olga. Zagato agreed, and the car was dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the creation of Porsche as a company.
In reference to the sad incident involving the original car, and the fact that it was never recovered following the wreck, the term “Sanction Lost” was coined by Zagato in reference to this new creation. It is a variation of the “Sanction II” designation often used to refer to exacting, painstakingly researched new builds of older vehicles completed by their original producers. Andrea Zagato confirmed that nine examples of the Speedster would be made, even if demand was higher. After a drawing from 1959 of a Porsche-Zagato Coupe was discovered, Zagato announced they would produce nine of these cars alongside the Speedster. The modern manufacturing process is highly advanced and impressive: Zagato scanned original photographs and drawings of Storez’s car, creating through a photometric process a digital model from which a new body could be built.
All of 18 of these Zagato-bodied Porsches were constructed using genuine Porsche 356s, and one Speedster and two Coupe were built with Carrera engines. The car here is, notably, the sole Porsche 356 Carrera Zagato Speedster Sanction Lost. It was built from a 1960 Porsche 356 B, which, per the accompanying Kardex copy on file, left the Stuttgart factory on 21 October 1960. Following the start of the Porsche-Zagato Sanction Lost program, this car was sent to Zagato, where they removed the original Porsche shell and replaced it with their coachbuilt Speedster body. The Carrera engine was supplied by the well-known specialist Peter Iversen. Inside, the driver and passenger seats are upholstered in red leather, and the floorpan is covered by a rubber mat.
Just like Storez’s car, the Speedster and one of the Coupes were finished in Bianco Gardenia with Red highlights on the archetypal Zagato tailfins, mirroring the original color scheme of the Storez Speedster. This unique Porsche 356 Carrera Zagato Speedster Sanction Lost is accompanied by a spare wheel, copy of the build sheet, and a digital file containing magazine articles, photographs, and Zagato documents.
See the full listing at rmsothebys.com
Photos Courtesty of RM Sotheby’s
