The 1939 Type 64 is a car of great historical significance, and without it there would be no Porsche brand today.
There are special cars in the world and then there are things like this: 1939 Porsche Type 64, the oldest car to bear the company’s name and the personal vehicle of both Ferdinand and Ferry Porsche .
This is the most historically significant of all the cars Porsche has ever built, and now it’s on its way to RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction, which takes place on August 15 of this year.
Front of Porsche Type 64 1939
Ferdinand Porsche wanted to build a faster, lighter version of the KdF-Wagen, the original version of the Volkswagen Beetle. The Berlin-Rome race that was supposed to begin in September 1939 but never materialized was the reason behind the Type 64’s existence.
Volkswagen commissioned three special long-distance racing versions of the KdF-Wagen to the same design team that would later create the Porsche 356. The three cars were built at the Reutter Works across the street from Zuffenhausen.
Rear of Porsche Type 64 1939
Engine compartment of Porsche Type 64 1939
The Type 64 may have used the same powertrain and suspension from the Volkswagen Type 1 prototype but it was very different in many other parts, for example the chassis and alloy body were studded using World aircraft technology. Chien II and the air-cooled engine has been tuned to produce 32 horsepower. When the first of the three was completed, war officially broke out and it became the property of the German Labor Front.
However, young Ferry Porsche did not give up and he continued to perfect the remaining two cars, using them as test cars for Porsche, making the Type 64 the missing link between the Beetle and 356.
Cockpit of Porsche Type 64 1939
The third Type 64 was built from the chassis of the first car after it was damaged in an accident in June 1940. It was used as a family car and was driven by Ferdinand and Ferry Porsche. When the company moved to Gmund, Austria from 1944-1948, it was preserved alongside a second car but No.3 was the only one to survive the war.
Mr. Ferry Porsche himself put the embossed “PORSCHE” on the front when he registered the car in Austria. In 1947, the car was restored by the young Battista “Pinin” Farina and almost a year later, the Type 64 was displayed next to the then-new Porsche 356.
The words Porsche with license plate T-2222 are on the front of the car
“ Without the Type 64, there would be no Porsche 356, 550, or 911, ” says Marcus Görig, RM Sotheby’s auto expert. “ This is the origin story of Porsche, the car that birthed the company’s legend, and it offers collectors the rare opportunity to sit in the seats of Ferdinand and Ferry Porsche. With this car, the new owner will not only be invited to the front row of every Porsche event in the world, they will be in the front row! ”
