Porsche Specials

For more than thirty years, the name Porsche has been synonymous with high-performance sports and competition cars. But what may not be generally appreciated, is that ever since it was founded as the technical design studio of Professor Ferdinand Porsche in Stuttgart, the name has been associated with research and development work on a wide range of special design projects. Until the publication of this book, only scant details were known of many of the machines that have resulted from this activity. They include the famous pre war Auto Union Grand Prix cars, the VW Beetle, military tanks, outboard motors, aircraft engines, tractors and the Wanderer saloon car. Contract work for the German Federal Ministry for Research and Technology has resulted in studies ranging from the sports car of the future, to low-noise street-cleaning machines, from a new type of emergency vehicle to a carefully planned fire-fighting system. In addition, there have been enthusiasts, tuning specialists, engineers and racing drivers who have modified Porsche production or racing cars, or who have simply made use of some of their parts to satisfy their own particular preferences or requirements. The exciting machines that have resulted from this are also included, such as the Denzel, Diba GTC 911 and Frua (Hispano-Aleman) 914-6 based sports car shown at the 1971 Geneva motor show. This book documents a selection of almost 100 special Porsche designs and conversions from all over the world, produced during the past fifty years, with leading technical details and illustrated with some 300 photographs. There is also an inside look at the famous Weissach research centre ('where no problem is too great, no solution too difficult') and a useful index of the principal Porsche design and type numbers from 1931 onwards, which clearly demonstrates the wide range of Porsche activities during the last half-century. A definitive appraisal of Porsche specials —both historical and topical — this volume is sure to interest enthusiasts for whom the famous Stuttgart name will always create that certain charisma. Lothar Boschen, former Editor of Auto Zeitung, was one-time Press Officer for Porsche, while Jurgen Barth is sports adviser to the Porsche factory and a successful competition driver whose victories include the 1977 Le Mans 24-hour race. Translated from the German by Peter Wareham, the English text has been edited by top Porsche experts Paul Frere and Michael Cotton, both of whom have close longtime associations with the marque. Porsche Contents: Aero-engines: Types 70/72/678/702/PFM 3200 American Roadster Type 540 Amphibious car Type 128/166 Apal 356 replica Argentinian coupe 356 power unit Armoured vehicles Types 100/101/205/714/806/814/1906 Auto Union Grand Prix car: Type 22, Silver Arrow , Auto Union C Type, Behra-Porsche Formula 2 , Berlin-Rome car Type 114/ Type 64 Bertone Roadster 911 Cabriolet Beutler-Porsche Type 356-003, Beutler Special 356 base Brickyard Indy racing car, Buchmann Types 911/928/924 Cisitalia Type 360 Classic Motor 356 replica Cooper-Porsche 356 engine Type 82 Volkswagen Type 597 Porsche, Denzel VW base Diba GTC 911, Dick four seater 911 Drews 356 engine Durlite Porsche 550 engine Elva four-/six-/eight-cylinder engines 924 base Envemo 356 replica Evex 911 base Fageol twin-engine 356 Flat Profile 911 Turbo base Frua (Hispano-Aleman) 914-6 based Garretson: 914-6 Glockler 356 base/engines Goertz 914-6 base Gordini 550 engine GRIPS street-cleaning study Hess 356 motor cycle Hirondelle (Swallow) 356 engine/chassis Hovercraft (Bonner) 356 engines Hydrobus (hydrofoil) 356 engine Industrial engine: Type 616 KMW-Sport: six-cylinders + turbo Kremer Racing 935 base Landing-craft engines Types 170/171/174/174A London-Sydney 911 base Long-life car (FLA) Marine engine Type 729 Mahe Universal special single seater Mercedes-Benz land-speed re