Classic & Sports Car - December 2015 UK

PRANGED PORSCHE DISINTERRED

LOST&FOUNDMICHAELWARE’S CLASSICDISCOVERIES

28 Classic& SportsCarDecember 2015

Dutch coupé conundrum

WhileworkingontheChannel 4

programmeFor theLoveofCars,

JohnLakeywassenta pictureofa

mysteryvehiclein Holland.It hasa

tubularchassisanda four-cylinder

engine(possiblyBMC),Alexander

manifoldandtwincarbs(eitherSU

orStromberg),butthereareno

identifyingplatesanywhereonit.

Thecaris thoughttohave been

storedsincethe1970s,andLakey

hasaninklingthatit maycontain

Tr iumphHeraldorSpitfireparts.

Thepictureshave beenpassed

tosomeofthetopmotoring

historiansin thecountry,butthus

far noonehashadanysuggestions,

soit’s over toreadersofC&SC.

Canyou beattheexpertsby

namingit?Sendyourideasto

[email protected]

NickZabreckyfromLBIof Phila-

delphiahasbeentellingmeof the

company’s latestdiscovery, this

1967 Porsche911S.

Stuttgart’s legendaryflat-six

madeitspublicdebutat the 1963

FrankfurtMotorShow, withthe

higherperformance911S– short

forSuper–introducedforthe

1967 modelyear. Thenewvariant

hadforgedmagnesium-alloy

wheels,specialgaugesandmany

interiorfeaturesthatwereoptional

inpreviousyears.With180bhp

beingtamedbyventilateddisc

brakesandKoniadjustabledamp-

ers,the911Swaswellreceivedby

driversand,tothisday, remains

oneof themosthighlysought-after

versionsamong 911 enthusiasts.

Thestoryof uncoveringthisone

wasremarkable,a chanceconversa-

tionleadingLBIto a woodenbarn

in whichthePorscheresided.The

carhadbeenboughtbytheowner

in 1972 andusedformanyyears

untilit wasrear-endedbya Pontiac,

at whichpointit hadbeenlaidup.

Zabreckytoldme:“TheFire-

bird’s distinctivepointednoselefta

telltalecreasein thereardeckthat

isstillvisible.” Theaccident

damageandthesalt-ladenroadsof

thenorth-easternUnitedStatesled

to theownerputtingit awayin the

barnsome 20 yearsagoandit had

notbeendrivensince.

Whendiscovered,thePorsche

wascomplete andstill fittedwith

many originalcomponents,

includingtherare4½x15inFuchs

wheels,carpets,seatsandgauges.

Clockwise:shapelytail

shows evidenceof its

altercationwith Firebird;

flat-sixgoodfor 180bhp;

interiorcomplete; 911

hiddenfor two decades

Clockwise,fromabove:

dirtylittlesecret– the

Kamm-tailedcoupéhas

baffledthe experts;Lakey

is hopingthat someone

can shedlighton the

mysterycar’s identity;

right-handdrive suggests

that it has Britishorigins