1958 Porsche 356A Speedster

“Years Ahead in Engineering Means Miles Ahead on The Road”

There’s not much left of the original beauty of this Porsche 356 from Havana. A makeshift windshield and upright headlights make the car look like a caricature. It’s a far cry from the elegant lines that characterize one of the most intriguing designs of the 1950s. „Re-creation“ quickly comes to mind, but this is a genuine Porsche, with correct dimensions, door handles and shutlines of doors and bonnet. Amazing how small changes can make a massive difference in automotive aesthetics.

This Porsche was once a 356 Speedster, as the odd step at the bottom of the crafted-on windshield indicates: while the sheet metal of all other 356 versions had a soft blend to the glass in that area, only the Speedster metal ran straight under the (once detachable) windshield frame.

As odd as it seems for being the most collectable 356 version today, back then the Speedster was actually the cheapest Porsche you could buy. Max Hoffmann, the U.S. American Porsche importer, advertised a net price of 2,999$ in 1958, 450$ less than the coupe and 700$ less than the regular convertible.

The Porsche’s owner, who arrived a moment after we took out the camera, told us that it in fact is a 1958 Speedster. “Unfortunately my car has had accidents before“, he said, „It has lost many of its details over time, and spare parts are all but unobtainable here.” Well, “inspired by memory” would probably be the appropriate term for their crude recreation.

His claim „¡Hay solo tres en Cuba!“ there are only three, however, needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. Particulars come from Orlando Morales, regarded as Cuba’s automotive archivist: he keeps account of 30 Porsches that were legally imported to the island. How many have survived is unclear. Some sources cite up to eight survivors, but no matter how many there are, every Porsche 356 definitely belongs to the unicorns on Cuban roads today.

When new, the agile Porsches were universally popular among motorsport connoisseurs. Wealthy Cubans sure could afford the pricey little German sports cars, and the Grand Prix races of 1957, 1958 and 1960 certainly fueled the fanatic admiration of motorsports on the island. The last international road race, held in June 1962, even saw a one-two finish of Porsche 356 GT Speedsters — a triumph of Porsche’s lightweight approach over the powerful but heavy elite of Motor Racing, but never to be repeated in Cuba.