Auctionwatch: The 1966 Bertone 911 Spyder

Sunny California

Porsche didn't get around to making a 911 Cabriolet until late 1982, introducing it as an '83 model, but as this Bertone-built 1966 Porsche 911 Spyder attests, both the public and movers and shakers within the Porsche community had been clamoring for one since the 356 reached retirement age. Californians have traditionally been among those most vocal about the need for drop-top Porsche, with SoCal Porsche dealer Johnny von Neumann relaying these desires to Porsche's influential New York importer for North America, Max Hoffman. Von Neumann reportedly stressed the importance of a car that looked as good as it performed, and Hoffman passed the word along to Porsche, requesting a car that could be used as daily transportation but could also be easily reconfigured for racing use. The resultant 356 Speedster was a huge hit, but when it was replaced with the 911 a convertible model was glaringly absent from Porsche's line-up.

Convertibly Challenged

If the Speedster was such a success, Why did it take until 1983 for Porsche to offer a cabriolet to a hungry public? To begin with, the 911 was never designed to go roofless. Chopping the top would make the 911's unibody chassis unacceptably flexible, especially for a car destined for competition. The amount of bracing that would have been necessary to stiffen affairs up would have added additional weight that the original 911's 2.0-liter engine wouldn't have liked. Then there's the problem of where to put the top. The only option was to do what VW did with the Beetle and put it above the engine. Not very elegant, or attractive.

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The Answer

Porsche's solution was the 911 Targa, which originally had both a removable roof panel and rear window, separated by a steel hoop that added both safety and strength. When Porsche pitched the idea of the Targa to dealers in the fall of '65, von Neumann wasn't crazy about it so he decided to go around Hoffman entirely and express his clientele's desire for a true convertible directly to Porsche.

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Another Answer

Von Neumann met with Ferry Porsche and Porsche head of sales Harald Wagner in Zuffenhausen. Price was a key consideration for the executives at that time and they had doubts about the $7,000 sticker price a cabriolet would have to carry when 911s were selling for around $6,400. While von Neumann's notion of an Italian-designed 911 wasn't met with enthusiasm, Porsche acquiesced and decided to allow Bertone to build a one-off prototype Spyder, which Zuffenhausen could then either approve or reject for production.

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The Result

What Bertone came up with was unsurprisingly a looker, but it was no 911. Maybe that's what was needed if the 911 was to achieve design harmony without a roof. Moving the instruments to the center helped keep the cowl height low, avoiding the bathtub look, and perhaps predictably the rear seats were done away with to make room for the Spyder' top. Bertone's Porsche was powered by the 1966 911's 130 hp 2.0-liter horizontally opposed six, located in its standard position behind the rear axle, though at a later date a 911S-spec engine, with 160 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque, was installed in its place.
 

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Sun Tax

Bertone unveiled the car to the public at the Geneva Motor Show in 1966, with information that the Spyder's cost would come in south of $8,000. At that same show, Porsche debuted their Targa 911 for $6,170, shaving $320 off the price of a 911 coupe. Even if Bertone could deliver an $8000 Spyder, by no means a given, it would have commanded a premium of almost 30 percent over Porsche's open-air 911.

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Inflation

You can't blame a guy for trying, right? And hey, even Volkswagen made the Karmann Ghia. But Porsche wasn't having it, though history shows they did indeed try departures from the 911, initially in 914 VW-Porsche form but eventually in radical 924/944/928 guise—though none of those cars were designed to compete directly with the 911, the model that's come to stand for Porsche. The sole Bertone 911 Spyder, chassis number 13421, goes on the block at Gooding & Company's Pebble Beach auction from August 24-25, where it can be yours if you want an authentic '60s 911 convertible. And if you have the $700,000 to $1,000,000 they estimate it will take to be there when the hammer falls.

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