Porsche’s Italian Adventure – The Porsche 356 Abarth Carrera GT/L
December 22, 2016 By Mike Gulett
by Wallace Wyss –
Porsche
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The Porsche family were Austrians. They were doing pretty well developing race cars in the early ‘50s, especially the mid-engined Porsche 550 Spyder, but it bothered them that a fellow Austrian, Carlo Abarth, working in Italy, was achieving miracles with Fiat-based cars because of his aerodynamic bodywork........................
You can see how much different they are than the 356-based cars. Lower for sure, more aerodynamic, REVS Institute saying 15% better.
No worry about bumpers. And at least 100 lbs. lighter than the all-German 356s. And the rear deck lid has louvers everywhere, some more than others, which of course drove the Germans crazy, why can’t those Italians build two alike? There was also sort of a door that opened to let in cooling air. It was all very rudimentary.
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Sounds just like my 1966 Mustang.
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The Abarth body allowed water in, the Porsche floor pan didn’t let it out. Seats and floorboards were awash most of the 24 hours.
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This car might be more aerodynamic than the 904.
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The car was built when Porsche was already planning a mid-engined coupe, the 904 GTS. So it was just a place holder, you might say, to test the engine that would go into the 904.
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I think the author meant to say
Kammback, but didn't want to lose his readers in tech talk.
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It’s too bad that Porsche and the Italian coachbuilders didn’t get along, because there could have been a welcoming of aerodynamics–and a love of rounded forms– earlier in Porsche’s racing ventures….
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904 for reference................
https://revsinstitute.org/the-collec...4-carrera-gts/
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In the opinion of many an aficionado, the 904 was the greatest road-going Porsche of all. It certainly set the pattern for a whole generation of racing Porsches, but its beauty cloaked the fact that it wasn’t as aerodynamically perfect as it might have been, and it was overweight, too.
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