£1.8m could buy you two of the coolest Porsches at FOS

For 356 fans there’s what many regard as the best 356 of all: a 356A Carrera Speedster from 1957, one of just three right-hand drive models built by Porsche out of a total production of 152 cars. Star lot in an already star-filled Bonhams sale at FoS, it comes with a presale estimate of around a million.

Fast forward two decades into the era of the 911 and you find another best of breed: a ’73 911 RS Lightweight. This is not quite as rare – it’s one of 17 right-drive UK supplied cars – or as expensive as the 356, with a guide of £750-850,000. But it’s just as stupendous. Both the cars, which Bonhams will be auctioning in its pavilion at the Festival of Speed at 14.00hrs on Friday June 30^th, have stories to tell…

The 356 was the last of only three right-drive Carrera Speedsters all of which were delivered new to… Australia. It was actually in America where the car was most successful. It was here that the idea for a cheaper entry version of the 356 cabriolet was first mooted by Porsche’s US importer at the time.

The Speedster – with its Reutter bodywork modified with low, wraparound ‘screen, lower waistline, tiny foldaway hood, and twin bucket seats – was in effect the economy model, tasked with taking on Brit sports cars of the time. 

The Carrera in its name was added in 1955 with the arrival of the four-cam 1.5-litre engine from the 550 Spyder racing car, detuned (but only by 10bhp) to produce 100bhp and give the already lightweight Carrera Speedster a 120mph top speed, something no other car up to 1.5 litres could beat in its day. 

The Ruby Red/black leather Speedster has had a few owners since first going down under. It had an engine change at one point and subsequent upgrade to GT Speedster spec, with enhancements including bigger brakes, wider wheels, 80-litre fuel funk, Sebring exhaust, roll bar, and Spyder wing mirror. Since then the car has had a £100k total restoration by marque specialists Sportwagen and Maxted-Page & Prill Ltd.

The 911 RS Lightweight was delivered new to a customer in Belfast in 1973. A UK spec' car, in Grand Prix White with Carrera logos in red and a black leatherette interior, it came with a variety of options including heated rear window, limited-slip differential, seat belts, and a fixed spoiler with additional wing.

In Northern Ireland, it took part in the 1973 Donegal International Rally and when it came to England a year later it went on to compete in six more rallies, until the engine failed. It soon got a new one – believed to have been provided as a gesture of goodwill by Porsche!

Autofarm gave it flared arches and a red paint job in 1976 before it went off racing again. In the 1990s it was subject to a two-year restoration by Moto Technique, overseen by Jeff Moyes of AFN, with originality to the fore – apart from the adoption if RS Safari seats. More comfortable long distance, apparently. In 2007 the engine was rebuilt and the car is said to have been little used since then.

Bonhams says: “The Carrera RS Lightweight is widely regarded as the finest road car produced by Porsche, and considered by many to be one of the greatest of all post-war road cars.”

So there you have it, the million pound question: 356A Carrera Speedster or 911 RS Lightweight?

We’ll have ‘em both thank you very much.