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Porsche 356 Carrera Zagato - Zag-Speed

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Created on July 27, 2022

Text:

Karl Ludvigsen (Übersetzung: Paul Krüger)

Photos:

Ludvigsen Partners

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Cymon Taylor - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

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Bruno von Rotz

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Ludvigsen Partners

8

Cymon Taylor - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

2

Bruno von Rotz

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At the Tour de France Auto in September 1958, Storez' Zagato Porsche in white with red tail fins stood out from the 1.5-liter starting field.

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Storez' primed Carrera shortly after completion of the bodywork on the Porsche factory premises in Zuffenhausen. The Zagato aluminum skin is at least visually much more streamlined than the original. A rare 356 hardtop at the very back.

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Huschke von Hanstein welcomes Claude Storez and his wife to the Porsche factory premises. The Zagato Spider is still waiting for its paint job and final technical inspection.

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Slits in the hood directly above the air filters supplied the carburettors with fresh, cold intake air. While the Zagato Spider was being completed, Storez drove works cars for Porsche.

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Even though it was unable to finish the 1958 Tour de France Auto, the Porsche 356 Carrera Zagato showed its potential on the Reims-Gueux racetrack: on the straights it was faster than all its rivals with the exception of the Ferrari 250 GT.

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In February 1959, Storez competed in the Rallye Routes du Nord with his unique Carrera Spider. At the start of the race on the Circuit de Reims-Gueux, the poorly repaired accident damage is clearly visible, ...

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... which later possibly led to Storez's fatal accident. The badly damaged Porsche was not rebuilt after the accident, but disappeared never to be seen again.

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Claude Storez drove a Porsche 356 from 1952 and became French Rally Champion at the end of the 1956 season. From 1957, he competed in a Carrera Speedster. His father was his teacher.

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Porsche 356 Carrera Zagato Speedster Sanction Lost (1960) - as lot 127 at the RM/Sotheby's London auction on November 6, 2021

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Porsche 356 Carrera Zagato Coupé Sanction Lost (1961) - as lot 139 at the RM/Sotheby's London sale on November 6, 2021

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Porsche 356 Speedster Zagato Sanction II (1960) - in the Zagato special show at the Pantheon Basel/Muttenz 2016

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Porsche 356 Speedster Zagato Sanction II (1960) - in the Zagato special show at the Pantheon Basel/Muttenz 2016

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Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster Zagato (1958) – auf dem Porsche Werksgelände. Im Hintergrund Huschke von Hanstein zusammen mit Claude Stoerz und Frau

Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster Zagato (1958) – Der Fuhrmann-Motor im Heck atmet durch Luftschlitze in der Motorhaube

Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster Zagato (1958) – Auf dem Circuit Reims-Gueux im Rahmen der Tour de France Auto 1958

Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster Zagato (1958) – Claude Stoerz am Start zur Reims-Etappe der Rallye Routes du Nord 1959

Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster Zagato (1958) – Im Strassengraben von Reims nach dem tödlichen Unfall

Der französische Rennfahrer Claude Storez

Summary

Claude Storez was one of the best sports car drivers in France in the 1950s before his death as a racing driver in 1959. His car died with him: a one-off Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster re-bodied by Zagato, which was resurrected 18 times half a century later. This article traces the career of Claude Storez and shows historical footage of his lost Zagato Porsche.

This article contains the following chapters

The first time in a Porsche
Spyder change and works commitment
Italian lightweight construction for German engineering
Danger: Cosmetics

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Born in Paris in 1927, Claude Storez became one of the most successful French racing drivers of his time. He received financial support for his sport as a partner in his father Leon's large Parisian printing company, who shared his son's enthusiasm for motorsport. At the age of 23, Claude took part in the Liège-Rome-Liège Rally for the first time together with Leon, driving a Citroën prepared by René Bonnet, but failed to finish. In the same year, 1950, Claude drove a Simca in Montlhéry. Father and son also took part in the 1951 Tour de France in a Simca car. In 1952, Claude Storez began to race seriously in a Simca Sport and a Porsche 356. This was his first contact with the brand he was to favor in the future. In September, he took his Porsche to the Tour de France Auto and the Coupe d'Automne. René Bonnet recognized the young driver's talent and hired Storez as a works driver for the DB-Panhard racing cars from Deutsch-Bonnet in 1953. He drove alongside Marc Gignoux in Spa-Francorchamps and at the Tour de France in the blue 750-cubic-coupé cars.

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Images of this article

Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster Zagato (1958) – auf dem Porsche Werksgelände. Im Hintergrund Huschke von Hanstein zusammen mit Claude Stoerz und Frau

Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster Zagato (1958) – Der Fuhrmann-Motor im Heck atmet durch Luftschlitze in der Motorhaube

Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster Zagato (1958) – Auf dem Circuit Reims-Gueux im Rahmen der Tour de France Auto 1958

Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster Zagato (1958) – Claude Stoerz am Start zur Reims-Etappe der Rallye Routes du Nord 1959

Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster Zagato (1958) – Im Strassengraben von Reims nach dem tödlichen Unfall

Der französische Rennfahrer Claude Storez

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