1958 Porsche 356A Speedster on a trailer

The 356 was the sports car that made Porsche famous around the world, and the 356 Speedster was one of the cars that made the brand a hit in America. An early model of this car, a 1958 356A Speedster, is for sale at Bring A Trailer.

Located in Portland, Oregon, the car has been with its current owner since 1985. Unfortunately, there is not much to say about its provenance as there are no records prior to that time.

The car has chassis number 84269 and is powered by a 1.6-liter flat-4 that is not the original factory engine. According to the listing, the air-cooled engine was installed before the last sale in 1985 and rebuilt by the current owner in 1986.

It has 93,000 miles, with about 6,000 miles added by the current owner, which is not a lot for 35 years of ownership, but the listing states that the car has been in storage since the early 1990s and was recently restored.

The idea for the 356 Speedster originally came from Max Hoffman, a well-known European car importer, who was inspired by the stripped-down 356 America Roadster, which Porsche built in a limited run of just 16 cars. In 1954, Hoffmann convinced Porsche, then in its sixth year of business, that the U.S. market was a promising one. He demanded a car that cost less than $3,000 and was completely stripped down, and Porsche unveiled its first 356 Speedster in the fall of that year.

The current bid for this particular 356A Speedster is $205,000, and there are still six days to sell.