1951 Porsche 356 Sauter Roadster

Description 1951 Porsche 356 Sauter Roadster VIN – 10359 Engine No. – 30244 Exterior Color – Fish Scale Silver Interior Color – Red Engine – 1,500 cc air cooled 4-cylinder Gearbox – 4 speed manual Coachwork – Hans Klenk Karosserie Current Kilometers – 5,314 TMU Highlights One of a kind hand built roadster with numerous racing victories Period racing history including Nürburgring, Hockenheim, and Spa Francorchamps Lightweight, lowered, hand formed steel body with rear opening doors Concours quality restoration by Porsche specialists History and Construction of the Sauter Porsche As a world leader in performance car construction, Porsche has earned legions of dedicated worldwide enthusiasts driven by their passion for design and engineering excellence. Porsche’s legendary engineering was instrumental in building their brand into a motorsports and production car leader. By the early 1950’s Porsche cars were making their first public appearances at race venues with their newest offering, the 356, drawing notable attention in European motorsports journals. In October 1950, American entrepreneur and businessman Max Hoffman, met with Porsche to discuss North American import plans encouraging construction of a roadster. As many Porsche enthusiasts know, Hoffman was key to Porsche market expansion in the rapidly growing North American market. But in 1950, lacking internal resources to complete roadster construction, Porsche put these plans on hold. As part of the Hoffman/Porsche meeting, drawings were penned by Edwin Komenda (356.00.320) depicting a roadster based on the 356 platform. Concurrent with the Porsche/Hoffman meeting, industrialist Heinrich Sauter, a Stuttgart based businessman, former Luftwaffe fighter pilot, and heir to an industrial equipment family fortune, committed his resources towards a similar project. Sauter had successfully raced a steel body 356 Coupe but was seeking a lighter, lower profile, open car that could achieve higher top speeds. Leveraging his connections with Porsche and his credibility as a proven racer, Sauter purchased chassis #10359 from Porsche and commissioned the fabrication of a roadster body interpreted from the drawings penned by Erwin Komenda. Sauter, flush with family resources, proceeded with the construction of his roadster – one that would ultimately inspire Porsche and become a template for future 356 roadsters. Porsche supplied an early series Pre-A 356, #10359, which Sauter arranged for delivery to Hans Klenk Karosserie. Klenk, the proprietor of this coachbuilder shop just outside of Stuttgart, was well regarded in racing circles. Known for their work with Mercedes Benz race cars, Klenk had gained fame as a co-driver of the winning Mercedes-Benz. 300 SL raced in the 1952 Carrera Panamericana, the same car that struck a buzzard with Klenk at the wheel, eviscerating the windshield and exiting the rear window. Unflinchingly, Klenk pitted some miles later where the car was fitted with the now famed “Buzzard Bars” as it went on to win the race. With the Sauter 356 now delivered to Klenk, the standard 356 body was removed, and a hand formed steel roadster body was lowered 3 inches when fitted to the 356 platform. These changes not only improved aerodynamics and handling, they reduced weight and gave the car a unique visual signature reflective of the original Komenda drawings, though lower in profile and without Sauter’s unique rear-hinging doors. The final design was quite advanced including several innovative features: – Lightweight construction estimated at less than 1,600 lbs. – Rear hinged doors to facilitate quick entry for Le Mans starts – Louvered hood vents for heat dissipation – Streamlined fender design, no bumpers or chrome – Purposeful interior omitting non-essential items to maximize performance #10359 was completed in six months and prepared for the first race, the Eifelrennen on the Nürburgring in Spring 1951. Listed as a VW special, the Sauter 356 Roadster was an unknown entity, so Porsche encouraged Sauter to not enter the car under their name, thus suggesting the entry as a “VW Special” rather than a Porsche. However, after leading the first lap and completing the second fastest qualifying lap on the first outing, Porsche realized their good fortune and asked Sauter to change the entry name and announce the car as a Porsche. Though the car was not able to finish the race, it was considered a success by all accounts with Sauter far in the lead after the first lap but retiring later with engine failure. This race would mark the second appearance of a Porsche roadster as a registered race car for a competition event. Sauter went on to race #10359 in the Freiburg-Schauinsland Hillclimb, the Liege-Rome-Liege Rallye, and the car was also tested in practice heats around Stuttgart, practices at Solitude and other venues, where early mechanical issues were resolved including improvement to the steering alignment, attributed to the changed design allowing for rear hinged doors. After these races and tests, the car was purchased back by Pursche in late 1951, returning to the factory works. Sauter went on to race notably in the 1954 Mille Miglia to a GT class win with Richard von Frankenberg driving a 356 Coupe, eventually retiring from racing in 1955, but the story of his commissioned Porsche roadster continued on once again with Porsche. Having been taken in at Porsche, in 1952 the Sauter 356 Roadster was updated by Porsche as an internal factory project. Though it was formerly raced and under prior ownership to Sauter, Porsche factory records including the factory Kardex confirm the Sauter 356 Roadster was processed by Porsche with the same chassis and engine, based on the factory Kardex, and chassis tag. Outfitted with the 1,300 cc engine, Porsche had specially modified the Type 528 engine and prepared it to 1,500 cc using a roller crankshaft, twin carburetors, and a reportedly hotted cam specified by Sauter. Additionally, the factory added