1960 Porsche 356 Carrera GS / GT

Porsche quickly built a reputation for their lightweight sports and racing cars. The cars were at home on both the road and the track. For the demanding tracks around the world, Porsche built vehicles that offered even greater performance. This included the 356 B GS/GTs, with total production reaching a mere 49 units. They were given the powerful four-cam Carrera engines which had been used in the racing 550 Spyders. Porsche engineer Ernst Fuhrmann designed these air-cooled powerplants and fitted them with four camshafts.

Porsche used the 1500 GS, which had been introduced at the 1955 Frankfurt Auto Show, as the basis for the 356 Carrera GS/GT which was introduced beginning in 1955. The GS 'Carrera De Luxe / Grand Sport' designation was used for the road-going versions while those intended for the track were bestowed with the GT initials. The 1,498 cubic-centimeter engines developed 100 horsepower and they had a dry weight of just 820 kilograms. The steady development of the four-cam, dry-sump engines from the racing department saw the most significant variant producing upwards of 180 horsepower by the time production came to a close in 1965.

Along with the more potent powerplant, the GS/GT was given aluminum doors, hoods, and deck lids. To reduce weight even further, they had lightened bumpers and Plexiglas side and rear windows. There was no heater, no sound-deadening material, no undercoating, a sports exhaust, lightened bumper brackets, aluminum components, and simple door panels. In the front were brakes sourced from the 550RS units that were 10mm thicker and cooling scoops. In the back, the torsion bars were modified to give one degree of negative camber.

At the 1957 edition of the 12 Hours of Reims, von Hanstein and Hild raced Carrera GTs with 1529cc engines to class victories, finishing sixth and seventh overall. Claude Storez raced the GT to overall victory at the Liege-Rome-Liege rally in 1957. He later placed fifth overall with the car at the Tour de France.

Near the close of 1958, Porsche offered the new T2 body style. Bodystyles included both a Coupe and a Speedster. Exterior differences included an opening for the fuel filler cap on the front hood, and louvers on the rear deck lid. Other features included an improved transmission, modified front spindles, two-piece wheels with allow insert, aluminum trim strips for the bumpers, bucket seat frames made from aluminum, and a larger steering box.

Over the years, Porsche has used the name 'Carrera' for several models fitted with various displacement engines. The name was sourced from the 550's success in Mexico's Carrera Panamerican. This was one of the most grueling and demanding endurance contests.


by Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2019

Related Reading : Porsche 356 History

During the war, Ferdinand Ferry Porsche and a handful of his proven, faithful employees had started work on development number 356 in their workshops moved to the town of Gmünd in Karnten. The first design drawings were completed on 17 July 1947, and on 8 June 1948, the Karnten state government issued a special permit homologating the car. Returning home after being held by the French as a prisoner....
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Related Reading : Porsche 356 History

The Porsche 365C has been named the number ten on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s by Sports Car International in 2004. The Porsche 356 is still widely regarded as a collector car that has capably stood the test of time. There is some debate over which vehicle was the first official Porsche, the pre-war Porsche 64 being actually a VW racing automobile. The 356 was a sports car designed....
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1960 Porsche 356 Carrera GS / GT Vehicle Profiles

1960 Porsche 356 Carrera GS / GT vehicle information
Coupe

Chassis #: 13052
Engine #: 95051
1960 Porsche 356 Carrera GS / GT vehicle information
Coupe

Chassis #: 110849

Recent Vehicle Additions

Performance and Specification Comparison

356 Carrera 1500 GS / GT

Specification Comparison by Year

Year
Production
Wheelbase
Engine
Prices
4,757
82.70 in.
4 cyl., 91.41 CID., 108.00hp
$5,200 - $5,900
82.70 in.
4 cyl., 96.54 CID., 74.00hp
4 cyl., 96.85 CID., 113.00hp
4 cyl., 122.05 CID., 135.00hp
$5,660 - $5,920
82.70 in.
4 cyl., 97.64 CID., 141.00hp

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