The Porsche 911 Cabriolet with a difference
08/18/2018
It took until 1982 before it was possible to buy a Porsche 911 Cabriolet, until then only the Targa was available. The American John von Neumann had insisted on a Cabriolet for his Californian customers right at the start of the 911's career. And he took matters into his own hands.
Porsche agreed to supply a chassis to Bertone, who in turn was chosen to design the fully open Porsche 911. Porsche did not have to finance the project, but insisted on a right of veto before any series production.
The Bertone designers set to work and created a "Spyder" that had hardly anything in common with the previous and current Porsche models. However, the rear engine base required the designers to make some compromises, which is why the result did not look equally good from all angles.
The car was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966, where it was received favorably, but not enthusiastically. The Automobil Revue wrote at the time :
"Completely new is a convertible based on the Porsche 911. This car looks powerful, even quite sleek, and lies halfway between the rounded shapes of the former Type 356 and the slimmer 911 and 912. The lines meanwhile appeared to be quite pleasing. Two retractable visors at the front concealed the twin headlights, while at the sides they were extended by light signals for overtaking during the day. Another special feature: a recess is arranged at beltline height, which acts as an airflow catcher and leads to two openings behind the doors."
Not mentioned in the AR report was the completely redesigned interior, which was certainly not to everyone's taste.
The Bertone 911 competed in Geneva not only with the Lamborghini Miura, but also with the De Tomaso Vallelunga and the Vauxhall SVR cars, all of which looked much more progressive.
Porsche's own Targa was also on show in Geneva. There was some interest in the Bertone Spyder, but no orders in significant numbers, which is why von Neumann abandoned the project.
The car then wandered from collection to collection, was eventually repainted from red to black and shown at a Bertone award ceremony in Pebble Beach in 1989. Now it is coming onto the market for the first time in 25 years, but after a long time on the road it is certainly in need of an extensive overhaul.
Gooding & Co, who are auctioning the car in Pebble Beach on August 25, 2018, have set an estimated value of USD 700,000 to 1,000,000, which doesn't seem excessive at a time when even normal 911s exceed the million mark.
