1955 Porsche 356 Speedster 1500

80288roadGermany

Engine: 1.5L flat-four, type 546/2
Colour: White over black leather

A 1955 Porsche 356 Speedster, chassis 80288, despatched from the factory in February 1955 after being ordered by the Hoffman Motor Car Company in New York. Finished originally in white over black leather and specified for the US market, the car retains its matching-numbers engine (no. 34322), confirmed against original Kardex records. After spending time in France, it received a cosmetic restoration before passing to The Carrera Collection in 2014 and being independently appraised by marque specialist Christian Kramer in 2016.

Ownership

—Auction sale
Sold US$401,000
RM Sotheby's catalogue lot →
1955-02-01 →Factory delivery
Hoffman Motor Car Company
full documentation
Ordered with sealed-beam headlamps and mile-calibrated instruments; dispatched from the factory in white over black leather. Original Kardex on file confirms the order.
2014-06-01 → 2023Private sale
The Carrera Collection
full documentation
Commissioned an appraisal by marque specialist Christian Kramer in April 2016, which confirmed the quality of the prior restoration and verified the numbers-matching engine against original Kardex data.
2023 →Private sale
Current consignor
partial documentation
Purchased from The Carrera Collection and subsequently sent to RUF for mechanical servicing to maintain optimal running condition.
Date unknown
French owner or owners
partial documentation
After reimportation to Europe in the early 2010s, the car reportedly spent a prolonged period in France, during which a cosmetic restoration was carried out and instrumentation was converted to kilometers.

Competition

No competition history extracted from the catalogue.

Maintenance & restoration

2016
Inspection
Formal appraisal conducted by marque specialist Christian Kramer, confirming the high standard of the previous restoration and verifying that the engine number matches the original factory Kardex data.
A written report from the appraisal is present in the car's documentation file.
2023Service
RUF
General servicing carried out to ensure the car remained in excellent mechanical condition following its acquisition by the current owner.
—
Restoration
A comprehensive cosmetic restoration was carried out, returning the car to its factory-correct colour scheme; instruments were also changed to kilometre-reading units at this time.
Work is reported to have taken place after the car was reimported to Europe, during its period of ownership in France, prior to 2014.

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