by A unique 1966 Porsche 911 roadster is up for auction at Gooding & Company in the USA. It is expected to fetch around a million dollars.
Actually, it doesn’t look like a 911 roadster at all. The thing is, this car was created in the Bertone coachbuilder studio, and as is known, Italians have their own vision of design.
The one-of-a-kind Porsche 911 convertible was created at Bertone at the request of American dealer John von Neumann. In the USA, Porsche cars were hugely popular, but the market lacked a convertible.
At Bertone, they created an elegant two-seater roadster, slightly reminiscent of the Fiat 850 Spider, and presented it at the Geneva Motor Show in 1966. However, the famous Porsche 911 Targa also debuted at that time, and thus the Italian creation was ignored by the public. No one dared to buy a Porsche 911 with Italian design.
For a long time, the car stood in John von Neumann’s garage, then changed hands several times. One of its owners upgraded the car and increased the power of the 2.0-liter flat-six from 130 to 160 hp.
The current owner acquired the Porsche 911 Bertone in 1993 and has kept it well-preserved, so the car remains in good condition.
