Curated Content Editor

Porsche's First Le Mans Winner Beats the Survival Odds
By Brett Foote

Amazingly, Porsche sold off this historic 356 SL Gmund Coupe long ago. But it's still around today, thanks to one kind soul.

chfrank

I think this article poorly captures the significance of John Von Neumann and the SL's race history and importance post it's single Le Mans race for the factory.
Here is a list of John Von Neumans race results (http://www.racingsportscars.com/driv...umann-USA.html). Beyond being a car importer, John was the first west coast Porsche dealer, key in the careers of Ritchie Ginther, and Phil Hill, and one of the founders of the California Sports Car Club (CAL CLUB) which was basically the birth or road racing in the US. John had the top taken off the SL to make the car more competitive with the light British specials and the iconic "speedster" shape was born. Max Hoffman used images of the SL roadster to help convince Porsche to build the Speedster. This cars life as a roadster is just as significant as it's Le Mans configuration. While John is most associated with Ferrari he was a significant part of Porsche's history in the USA.