This Bertone-Designed Spyder Is a Porsche 911 That Almost Made It Into Production

Meant to replace the aging 356, the 911 entered production in 1964. It was more of a sports car than its predecessor but was only available as a coupe. This created a problem for the all-important American market where 356 convertibles sold like hotcakes.

Porsche decided to continue building the 356 through the 1965 model years, as demand remained strong. In the meantime, the company commissioned Karmann to convert a 911 into a convertible. After a few months, the car was ready, but extensive testing revealed that the torsional rigidity of the chassis dropped well below an acceptable level. A compromise was eventually made, and the first Targa prototype was born.

Worried that the new version would not be as successful as the manufacturer envisioned, West Coast distributor, John von Neumann flew to Germany for a meeting with the company’s leadership.

Back in the early 1950s, he made a name for himself by selling a large number of Porsches in California. He also played an instrumental part in the creation of the 356 Speedster. Even though North American importer Max Hoffman took the idea to Porsche, the feedback that von Neumann gathered from his customers led to the final design.

Emboldened by this, as well as the large number of Speedsters and regular 356 versions that were sold through his dealership in the following years, von Neumann had now bypassed Hoffman and took the idea for a coach-built 911 Spyder directly to Zuffenhausen.

Ferry Porsche and his head of sales, Harald Wagner, weren’t too thrilled with the proposition, but in the end, they gave von Neumann the greenlight to produce a concept car.

A few days after the 911 Targa debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1965, the American flew directly to Italy where he met Nuccio Bertone. They both agreed on a design and after receiving a bare chassis from Porsche, the Italians got to work.

Lower, shorter, and wider, the Spyder did not bear any resemblance to the standard 911. At the front, twin bulb headlights were fitted, and to enhance the slick overall design, they were concealed behind retractable slotted covers. A similar design was chosen for the taillights, which were incorporated into the thin wraparound quarter bumpers, albeit they didn’t feature retractable covers, but a pair of delicate grilles.

The interior was also thoroughly revamped. It included a low-profile dashboard with gauges that were relocated to the right side of the driver, behind the standard 911 wood-rimmed, four-spoke steering wheel. The speedometer and rev counter remained on the dash, while the oil pressure and fuel gauges stood inside a driver-oriented center console.

Trimmed in beige leather like the rest of the cockpit, the front seats were designed from scratch. The backseat was removed to make room for the foldable soft top, but because the car needed to be ready for the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966, the coachbuilders didn’t have enough time to design one.

The bespoke Spyder was powered by the 130-hp, air-cooled, flat-six that came with the chassis. Later, it would receive a new engine from a 911S that could make 160 hp.

Finished in metallic burgundy, it was revealed in the Bertone stand at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show. Although they had less than 5 months to complete the project, the Italians managed to do so flawlessly. The build quality was impressive and except for the foldable roof, everything was fully functional.

Like von Neumann had hoped, the car was met with a positive reaction by those in attendance, but the enthusiasm was not shared by Ferry Porsche. Some speculate that boss never liked the idea of an Italian-designed body, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Porsche was very close with Carlo Abarth, and the Austrian-born stylist modified several 356 models into Carrera GTL racers a few years before.

The real reason why the 911 Spyder never went into production was its proposed price tag of around $8,000 ($68,840 today). In the U.S., the newly-introduced Targa sold for $6,170 ($53,093 today), so even if it was not a genuine convertible, the open-top Porsche was almost 30% cheaper, a difference deemed hard to justify, even to the wealthy Porsche enthusiasts from California. Moreover, the Bertone-designed body had nothing in common with the 911, which would have required a new nameplate as well as a separate marketing strategy.

With the German carmaker’s permission, the concept remained in von Neumann’s possession. It was initially delivered to his Geneva residence, then transported to the U.S. where it was driven occasionally before the famed salesman sold it to a collector. As I mentioned before, it was subsequently fitted with a 911S powerplant, and years later, its third owner had it repainted black. The unique Porsche changed owners again in 2018 when it was sold for $1.4 million at a Gooding & Company auction.

While it never made it into production, the exquisite 911 Spyder by Bertone is a rare and intriguing combination between Italian design and German engineering.