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Five Porsche Cars You Never Knew Existed

Unlike most mainstream automakers, Porsche sold only one model at a time for many decades. The 356 was the company's sole model from 1948 to 1964, while the 911 was the only streetcar available from 1965 to 1969 when the 914 joined the lineup. But that doesn't mean the Stuttgart crew did not experiment with various ideas.
Porsche 542 11 photos
Photo: Porsche
Porsche 530Porsche 530Porsche 542Porsche 542Porsche 984Porsche 984Porsche B32Porsche B32Porsche 909 BergspyderPorsche 909 Bergspyder
The German company built several prototypes over the decades. While most of them didn't go into production, they did help shape forthcoming models.

Likewise, Porsche built a few race cars that aren't as famous as the 917 and 956. Here are five Porsche you may not know about.

Porsche 530

Developed and built in 1953, the 530 was essentially a four-seat version of the 356 sports car. It featured a longer wheelbase, longer doors for easier ingress and egress, and a pair of additional seats in the rear.

Porsche 530
Photo: Porsche
The story goes that it all started when Studebaker commissioned Porsche to develop a new engine. The Germans developed an entire car instead but Studebaker rejected the idea because it wanted a larger vehicle for the American market.

The 530 was Porsche's first attempt at a four-seat vehicle and an idea that led to the Type 754, which eventually morphed into the iconic 911.

Porsche 542

Following Studebaker's negative feedback for the 530, Porsche developed a four-door prototype called the 542. This car had nothing in common with the 356 design-wise and featured a 3.0-liter V6 engine mounted in the front.

Porsche developed both air- and water-cooled versions of the V6 but opted to use the latter.

Porsche 542
Photo: Porsche
Porsche reportedly shipped four prototypes to Studebaker in 1954, but the Indiana-based company was too busy to save itself from bankruptcy and didn't evaluate the 542 until after its merger with Packard in 1956.

By then, the concept had already become dated and Studebaker scrapped the idea.

Porsche 909 Bergspyder

The 909 Bergspyder was born in 1968 as a hillclimb racer, at a time when Porsche had two consecutive championships in the bag thanks to the 910, 907, and 908.

With Ferrari working on a new lightweight car for the 1968 season, Porsche quickly put together the tiny, spyder-style racer.

Porsche 909 Bergspyder
Photo: Porsche
The company's lightest vehicle yet, the 909 tipped the scales at only 826 pounds (375 kg) thanks to an aluminum chassis and plastic body.

Fitted with a 2.0-liter flat-eight engine good for 275 horsepower, the featherweight Bergspyder needed only 2.4 seconds to hit 60 mph (97 kph) from a standing start. That's quicker than most modern hypercars.

Raced alongside the old 910, the 909 helped Porsche win its third back-to-back hillclimb championship. The Bergspyder was retired after only one year as the company's final purpose-built hillclimb racer. More than 50 years later and the 909 is still the lightest Porsche ever built.

Porsche B32

Okay, the B32 is not technically a Porsche, but the Volkswagen T3 body hides quite a few first-generation 911 components.

Porsche B32
Photo: vwpix.org/YouTube
Developed as a support vehicle while testing the 959 race car for the Paris-Dakar Rally, the B32 got its juice from a 3.2-liter flat-six engine sourced from a 911 Carrera. It was also fitted with a sportier suspension, bigger brakes, and a 911 SC gearbox.

It wasn't mind-blowingly powerful at 231 horses, but it was notably quicker than a regular T3.

Porsche reportedly built 15 of these vans, including prototypes, and some were sold to special customers. The remaining haulers were retained to transport Porsche staff.

Porsche 984

Developed from 1984 to 1987, the Porsche 984 was originally intended to go into production as a compact and affordable sports car priced from $14,000.

Porsche 984
Photo: Porsche
The project included a folding hard-top, all-wheel drive, and a four-cylinder engine capable of up to 150 horsepower.

Inspired by both the 928 and the 914, the 984 was set to go on the assembly line when the stock market crash of the 1980s and the company's poor sales forced it into the history books. The idea was revisited in the 1990s when Porsche created the Boxster.
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About the author: Ciprian Florea
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Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
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