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1958 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

1958 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

Published December 24, 2019 by Carter

As much as all of us would love to be Jerry Seinfeld, causally trading the most historic air-cooled Porsches on a whim, the reality is that we’re not. But, as ever, I offer a potential solution. The Karmann Ghia gave you Porsche looks on a Beetle budget. Shortly after the Beetle’s arrival in America, VW’s new sport coupe arrived for the 1956 model year. Like the later Scirocco also built by Karmann in Osnabrück, Volkswagen based its model on the normal production line Beetle but the swoopy body came from the Italians – technically, borrowed from a Chrysler, actually. Those lines were notoriously complicated; outside of items that open, the body is one piece and constructed entirely by hand. The rear-engine, rear-drive 1.2 liter flat-4 air-cooled clatter wouldn’t get you anywhere as fast as the looks suggest, but then why are you in such a hurry?

About 400,000 were produced in total and they’re not impossible to find today. They’re also more affordable than really top-tier Beetles and early VW Vans, but more significantly you really do get exotic looks on a shoestring budget still. While getting into a fully sorted ’58 356A will set you back around $130,000 – $150,000, you can get into a beautiful early example of the Ghia fully restored for only a fraction of that price:

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1958 Porsche 356A Sunroof Coupe Outlaw

1958 Porsche 356A Sunroof Coupe Outlaw

Published July 1, 2018 by Rob

The 356 Outlaw always has presented me with somewhat of a conundrum. I’m most attracted to the 356 for its elegance and beauty. It possesses a vintage style and charm that for me represent joyful, if not necessarily spirited, motoring. It’s a backroad cruise in the sunshine with a loved one appreciating the beauty of the environment in a beautiful car.

The Outlaw attempts to shift that and I must admit they do a very good job! With its meaner appearance and more aggressive demeanor these builds utilize the sporting side of the Porsche pedigree to produce something that no longer strives for elegance. The curvy, almost bulbous, nature of the 356 Coupe’s body fits these models incredibly well and their already spartan interior makes for an easy canvas with which to create something unique and fitting of the Outlaw’s new attitude.

Like with backdated 911 builds, 356 Outlaw builds come in a wide array of attention to detail and general appearance. Some pay more attention to the interior with only minor exterior updates, while others do the opposite with perhaps the only interior modifications being a new pair of bucket seats. The one we see here, based upon a 1958 Porsche 356A Sunroof Coupe, has gone the full way with quite a few alterations to both the exterior and interior and I must say it really looks quite good.

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1958 Porsche 356A Convertible D

1958 Porsche 356A Convertible D

Published October 3, 2017 by Rob

Over the weekend I looked at a pretty nice 911 Speedster up for sale. It was, as usual, very expensive, but also quite desirable. That Speedster, of course, hearkens back to the ethos of the original 356 Speedster though it is far from as spartan a ride as those very early Porsches. In fact, we might see the 911 Speedster to have greater relation to the Speedster’s successor, which is the car we see here: the Convertible D.

The Speedster was a sales success for Porsche as a gentleman’s racer: a car that could be used during the weekly commute, but then on the weekend with its stripped down features it just as easily proved to be a capable car around the track. That said, it may have been too spartan for such dual purpose. It sold well initially and then those sales slowed. Porsche then introduced the Convertible D, which added a few creature comforts back. It borrowed a standard set of seats from the 356 Coupe to replace the Speedster’s hard buckets and raised the windshield height just a bit. It even gave you the option of winding the windows. Such luxury! The Convertible D was a little bit of a compromise, but these were still pretty much no frills open-top cars.

Like the Speedster the Convertible D remains very desirable, though a few notches down the value scale. The one we see here looks absolutely beautiful: a restored Meissen Blue 1958 Porsche 356A Convertible D, located in Colorado, with Red interior.

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1958 Mercedes-Benz 190SL

1958 Mercedes-Benz 190SL

Published September 27, 2016 by Andrew

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If the W198 300SL price tag of over a million dollars is just slightly over your budget for a late-1950s to early-1960s Mercedes roadster but you still want the iconic design, look no further than the W121 190SL. At only one-tenth of the price tag but not just one-tenth of the car the 300 is, the 190 is still a model that you can’t really go wrong buying. So let’s take a look at this pristine 1958 located in the Netherlands.

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