A Porsche 356 Coupé with a Reutter body, delivered to Munich in 1953, stood around in the USA and Greece for years. On February 1, 2023, the Pre-A fetched a six-figure price at an auction in Paris.
Porsche built the first 356 in 1948 in Gmünd, Austria. After two years, the company moved production to Stuttgart - which is still the company's headquarters today. Until Porsche did it themselves, Reutter built the bodies. This is also the case with this 356 Pre-A Coupé, which left the factory for Munich on November 3, 1953.
Original with 1500 cc and Telefunken radio
Chassis number 51368 allowed an undivided view through the window. However, it still had a small vertical kink in the middle. The body was painted fish silver, and a four-cylinder boxer engine with a displacement of 1.5 liters rumbled under the engine flap. In the early 1950s, you were well motorized and dressed. A Telefunken radio in the dashboard entertained the passengers. When it last received transmitters is just as unclear as the mileage of the Porsche, which has not been moved for a long time.
Sometime between 1953 and 1981 the 356 emigrated to the USA, where it changed hands. He had a 506 engine installed, which meant a downgrade to 1.3 liters. Pictures and invoices document that a restoration including repainting took place between 1984 and 1988. However, it was not the project that ended, but the time of the 356 in the USA: the owner emigrated to Greece with the Porsche. The coupé found a new owner there in 1992, but never returned to the streets.
Estimate price more than doubled
On February 1, 2023, RM Sotheby's auctioned the good piece together with two engines, which do not look like they have been running recently: the car no longer has the original 1.5 liter engine. Boxer. There is a type 616 with 1.1 liters and a type 506 with 1.3 liters. Workshop documents also belong to the car. Apparently a convincing package, because the estimate of 80,000 to 100,000 euros was more than doubled at the auction: the Reutter Coupé fetched 218,500 euros including buyer's premium.
Conclusion
On February 1, 2023, RM Sotheby's auctioned off an almost 70-year-old Porsche 356 in Paris, which lost its engine on its way from Europe to the USA and back, gained patina and thus tells of an eventful car life. The future owner should not only have a six-figure sum at hand, but also an answer to the question: fix it or leave it?
