The idea of marketing blunders being turned into niche collectibles has long been one of the automotive niche’s more fascinating story archetypes, as the Porsche 356 Continental ably illustrates. Originally envisioned as the American-branded 356 variant, the Continental prompted a cease-and-desist letter from the Ford Motor Company (to protect rights to the Lincoln Continental), which in turn led Porsche to drop the nameplate entirely. Due to their anomalous character and historical notoriety, the Continentals have evolved into highly coveted collectibles, surpassing the cachet held by standard-badged 356 examples from this period.
But even more rare than the Continental, and a footnote to the same story, is the European. As the legend goes, when Porsche brass decided to stop branding the American-specified cars as Continentals, they were left with a short supply of cars already drilled to accept the scripted Continental fender badges. These cars instead received “European” nameplates in the same location. So rare were these European-badged examples bound for America that only 31 are currently recorded in the 356 European Registry online; of these, only four are cabriolets.
This beautiful example of the rare European benefits from a short ownership chain and a five-year restoration conducted in the 2010s by Porsche specialists. According to the time-honored production charts compiled by Dr. Brett Johnson for his seminal 356 books, chassis number 61064 is numerically the 64th of the first 69 cars that commenced build in late 1955 featuring Reutter’s new second-generation T1 cabriolet body style, of which Europeans formed a much smaller subset.
As per the information from a Kardex and a Porsche Certificate of Authenticity on file, the 356 A was completed in January 1956, optioned with sealed-beam headlamps and instruments in miles, and finished in Aquamarine Blue paint. According to an anecdotal history the 1600 was sold new to a doctor based in Palo Alto, California, before passing to another enthusiast residing in Northern California. In 1979, the second owner sold the cabriolet to Oakland resident Ted Lyman, who reportedly maintained possession for a remarkable period of 35 years.
In September 2014, Mr. Lyman sold the Porsche to Terry Spaeth of Williamstown, Massachusetts, and he soon commissioned a full restoration by marque specialist Bruce Baker of Collegeville, Pennsylvania. As revealed by numerous invoices on file, Mr. Baker oversaw a comprehensive refurbishment that took five years to complete. This work included a rebuild of the matching-numbers type 616/1 engine by Eric Wills’ Wills Werks in Alexandria, Virginia, and a rebuild of the period-correct type 519 transaxle by Vic Skirmants’ 356 Enterprises in North Branch, Michigan. Specialist John Jenkins rebuilt the Solex carburetors, and Trevor Marshall conducted coachwork corrections.
The exterior was refinished in the ravishing original shade of Aquamarine Blue by Jack Stine, and the interior was retrimmed by Autobahn Interiors with red leather upholstery. Dennis Frick at Europa Macchina of nearby Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, conducted finishing details like weather stripping and soft-top adjustments.
Great emphasis was placed on replicating authentic period details of the early T1 cabriolets, such as the single chrome-tipped exhaust pipe, the full-circle horn ring, correct SWF windshield wipers, and a period-correct new-original-stock Hirschman antenna sourced from Germany. Following completion of the restoration in 2021, the Porsche was exhibited at a small handful of local events, including The Bridge (an invitational event in Bridgehampton, New York), Sunday in the Park, and the Lime Rock Concours d’Elegance.
Since being acquired by The Boeckmann Collection in August 2022, the 356 A has enjoyed a life of climate-controlled storage while on display for the past four years. This unique European is accompanied by an original owner’s manual, sales brochure, and a tool kit in the rare two-tone vinyl pouch. Documented with a Kardex, Porsche COA, a prior Bill of Sale and title, and restoration invoices and photos, this elegant early T1 cabriolet is, with its European badging, one of the rarest 356 iterations. For dedicated Stuttgart collectors in search of unusual subvariants of important early Porsche models, there could hardly be a more attractive offering than this, a fascinating example of a marketing misstep transformed into a bona fide collectible.
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