| porsche930dude |
11-23-2019 10:13 AM |
1966 Bertone Porsche 911 Roadster
Southern California Porsche dealer Johnny von Neumann knew what his customers wanted, and a Targa top Targa 911 wasn’t it. With Porsche’s approval, he hired designer Nuccio Bertone to create a one-off 1966 Porsche 911 Spyder, in hopes of launching low-volume production.
Fitting out a Porsche chassis was quite a challenge for Bertone, because of the irregular size and shape of the rear engined 911. For Bertone it was very important to deliver a high level of technical and design quality befitting the high quality of the basic product and the prestige of the marque.
The driving idea behind the design of the prototype was safety. The cockpit was completely separated from the rest of the vehicle, with the use of a rather deep swage line running from the windscreen along the upper edge of the doors to the engine compartment. This solution also allowed for notably low wings for this type of car. The styling of the dashboard also contributes to this, with the main instruments laid out vertically down the centre, and the tiny fascia tucked in behind the steering wheel.
The agreement with Bertone was to produce a single chassis to test the feasibility of mass production for less than a showroom price of $8000 US Dollars. Once done, the car was prepared for the Geneva Auto Show, where it completely stole the stage. Against competition from Jaguar and the spectacular Lamborghini Miura, the Bertone special was seen as the most compelling.
While there was a warm reception for the car in Geneva, and several inquiries, no one placed hard orders or gave any indication of actually purchasing one. The higher-ups at Porsche killed the deal, and Von Neumann was forced to concede that the Targa would be more practical for production at a much lower cost.
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