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Not Reuters and the basis was 550 (despite the front). They did more work for Porsche regarding the 550. One of them was sold last year for EUR 3.5 million.

Edited by a.j.z
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4 hours ago, a.j.z said:

No, this coachbuilder built 90 special 550s

If that is the case, then we are talking about Wendler.......but I don't recognize the car, nor the color - questionable restoration with some modifications maybe ? It's the headlight rims that have me asking.

JZG

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1 hour ago, Ivan Goriup said:

If that is the case, then we are talking about Wendler.......but I don't recognize the car, nor the color...

Here we are;

https://www.trussty.com/2024/03/wendler-porsche-wrs-001-unveiling.html

Well done, Ivan, for getting the coachbuilder! I'm sure I have heard their name mentioned in the dim and distant past but it would never have occurred to me here.

Philip.

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vor 6 Stunden schrieb pippy:

Here we are;

https://www.trussty.com/2024/03/wendler-porsche-wrs-001-unveiling.html

Well done, Ivan, for getting the coachbuilder! I'm sure I have heard their name mentioned in the dim and distant past but it would never have occurred to me here.

Philip.

Great teamwork! Yes, the Wendler-Porsche W/RS-001. Thanks for the link, Philip.

On the 550: they built 90 lightweight alloy 550 Spyder. Here ist the link to the one that I referred to: https://rmsothebys.com/auctions/mu24/lots/r0046-1955-porsche-550-spyder-by-wendler/

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Edited by a.j.z
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You win - I thought I knew about Porsche, but this is one I have never seen or heard about. Looks very much like a forerunner / prototype to the 1961 Porsche-Abarth  GTL model, 20 of which were built by Zagato almost clandestinely because Zagato was concerned that some of their prime Italian clients might pull their contracts if they found out that Zagato was working with Porsche, hence the Carlo Abarth involvement. There's a lot of similarity and common features - very interesting, I'll have to follow up on this model - do you know if this is a one-off, and where is it displayed, please.

JZG

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I think the Abarth Porsche cars were based on the 356 rather than 550 but I have not got any of my Porsche books in the UK (all down in France). 

Wilson

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2 hours ago, wlaidlaw said:

I think the Abarth Porsche cars were based on the 356 rather than 550 but I have not got any of my Porsche books in the UK (all down in France). 

Wilson

Having just checked with my copy of Ludvigsen, Wilson, you are correct.

Interestingly - given the context of this 'Mystery' - the chapter on the Abarth Carrera states the following;

"In mid-1959, when the 692/3 engine was fresh, thoughts at Porsche turned to a Carrera which would be lighter and more compact yet still within the scope of modifications allowed by the F.I.A.......In the summer of 1959 Porsche asked two suppliers for bids on the manufacture of twenty special lightweight bodies for the 356B chassis; Wendler, the nearby maker of Spyder bodies, and Turin's Zagato, famed for the light coupés it was building for Lancia, Abarth and Alfa-Romeo.......Zagato's bid was the most attractive to Porsche's purchasing department..."

Philip.

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vor 3 Stunden schrieb Ivan Goriup:

There's a lot of similarity and common features - very interesting, I'll have to follow up on this model - do you know if this is a one-off, and where is it displayed, please.

JZG

It is displayed in Hamburg, Germany at the Prototyp Museum (as the name says they have a lot of rare vehicles with emphasis on Porsche): https://prototyp-hamburg.de/en/ (unfortunately the Website does not provide information on the cars and they also do not sell a book, which is a real pitty).

Yes, it is a one-off. The essential information is in the link that Philipp has posted. Excerpt: "In 1961, Porsche aimed to compete in the 24-hour Le Mans race with closed GT cars, and Wendler stepped up to the challenge. The result was a Le Mans coupé, distinct with a fixed roof structure and optimized aerodynamics. The Wendler RS, based on an improved spider chassis, was born, and the goal was set – Le Mans 1961." (this appears to be taken from an article in a German Porsche magazine that I have but only a part of it is a available online: https://www.pf-magazin.de/wendler-porsche-w-rs-001/).

Here is (a little clumsy) Youtube video showing a 360 view:

 

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6 hours ago, stuny said:

Philip -

We await your next mystery car.

Apologies everyone; I was assuming that Ivan was the winner as it was he who discovered the identity of the coachbuilder!

I will sort something out when I get the chance!

Philip.

EDIT : I don't have my hard drives to hand at the mo' but, to keep things moving along, this one might be a bit of fun! I only have one picture of the car - and poor quality at that - so Judicious Cropping might be the name of the game...

Here we go;

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Philip.

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39 minutes ago, stuny said:

BMW CSI?

Not a BMW CSI but you are on the correct continent!

Time For Another Clue?

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Philip.

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On 9/2/2025 at 10:40 AM, pippy said:

Having just checked with my copy of Ludvigsen, Wilson, you are correct.

Interestingly - given the context of this 'Mystery' - the chapter on the Abarth Carrera states the following;

"In mid-1959, when the 692/3 engine was fresh, thoughts at Porsche turned to a Carrera which would be lighter and more compact yet still within the scope of modifications allowed by the F.I.A.......In the summer of 1959 Porsche asked two suppliers for bids on the manufacture of twenty special lightweight bodies for the 356B chassis; Wendler, the nearby maker of Spyder bodies, and Turin's Zagato, famed for the light coupés it was building for Lancia, Abarth and Alfa-Romeo.......Zagato's bid was the most attractive to Porsche's purchasing department..."

Philip.

We have a bit of a history with Abarths. My mother had a rear engined Abarth Simca 1300 or 1600 (not sure which), which unfortunately, it turned out she could barely drive, with its very high (for the era) revving engine, near total absence of low down torque and dog clutch engagement gearbox (no synchromesh). It was sold again before I even had a chance to be driven in it, as for the 6 weeks we had it, I was away at school. It was exchanged for another Simca Aronde  but this time with an Alexander tuned engine, which unfortunately also turned out to be problematic, as the engine would sometimes cut out, for no apparent reason. This could get exciting if you were overtaking another vehicle at the time. 

Then I had a 131 Abarth 2 litre 16 valve, ex-FIAT uk, which was a great car if a tad raw round the edges but it was written off after a cement truck crashed into it when parked. Finally my wife had a 2014 Abarth 595 until quite recently, which was a nice little car and if you pressed the afterburner button, surprisingly quick but a pity they forgot to give it any suspension. 

Wilson

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