The Seven - Figure Porsche Project

Why top vintage car collectors turn to Road Scholars in North Carolina for their chance at automotive glory

- Hannah Elliott

It’s a rare thing to see a 1952 Porsche 356 America roadster up close. A special edition from early in the model line, it was among the first cars to which Ferry Porsche lent his now legendary last name. Only 16 were made. Eleven still exist.

But to see one from underneath, dismantled with every piston and seam exposed, is like seeing a unicorn—and then getting to scratch its nose. On a sweltering summer day in North Carolina, that’s exactly where I found myself: square underneath its crimson shell, gawking at its inexact welding, trying to imagine what it felt like to build a car that would change the automotive world. Elsewhere in a nondescript garage tucked 15 minutes away from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the wheels, engine, and interior of the car were also being meticulously refurbished.

For the 356 America version under which I found myself, Porsche and his father constructed a thinly hammered, all-aluminum body, a split removable front windshield, and hollow doors. The idea was to make a lightweight, 1,580pound bullet that would decimate competitors on racetracks and endurance courses around the world.

This one in particular was raced by Josie von Neumann, who in the early ’50s became the first woman to receive a professional racing license. She was driving it on Dec. 14, 1952, when she won her first U.S. Auto Club ladies race at California’s Torrey Pines Racetrack. It’s also the only example painted “fire red.”

In August it’s destined for the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the most prestigious car show in the world. The competition is held annually on the 18th fairway at California’s Pebble Beach Golf Links; there, multimillion-dollar racing Ferraris will be arranged on the fog-shrouded lawn next to one-of-a-kind state cars owned by the likes of Winston Churchill and Kaiser Wilhelm.