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Thread: Seinfeld’s “counterfeit” ‘58 Speedster

  1. #1
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    Seinfeld’s “counterfeit” ‘58 Speedster

    Anyone know the Inside Baseball on this? Can’t believe it’s a legit gripe if an offer to make the buyer whole was refused.

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nyd...outputType=amp

  2. #2
    Early S Reg #1395 LongRanger's Avatar
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    Carrera Speedster . . .

    VIN = 84908
    Eng# = 91015
    Trans# = ?


    Sold by Gooding &Co, Amelia Island, 2016 . . .
    https://www.goodingco.com/vehicle/19...era-speedster/

    Estimate then was $2m - $2.5m --- sold @$1.54m

    Restored by European Collectibles


    More . . .
    https://www.topspeed.com/cars/porsch...-ar172341.html




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  3. #3
    Early S Reg #1395 LongRanger's Avatar
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    84908 . . .

    . . .

    '. . . The Carrera Speedster presented here, chassis 84908, is a stunning example of a rare thoroughbred Porsche. According to factory records, this car was completed in May 1958 and specified as a GS/GT with alloy panels.

    As with all Carreras, the complex four-cam engine is the true heart of the car, and this GS/GT Speedster is one of as few as 14 examples originally equipped with the 1,500 cc type 692/0 engine. These 692/0 engines, which were all built in 1958 and numbered 91001 through 91030, were the last four cams to utilize roller-bearing crankshafts, as Hirth discontinued their production later that year. Though similar in many ways to the original type 547 engine series, the various type 692 engines are easily identified by their relocated distributor V-drive.

    The engine originally installed in this car, no. 91015, was first installed in another GS/GT Speedster, chassis 84912, sold new to amateur racer Leo Levine. Shortly after taking delivery of his Carrera Speedster, Mr. Levine requested that the Speedster’s four cam be replaced with a pushrod 1600 Super; the Speedster’s 692/0 engine (no. 91015) was then placed in 84908 prior to its delivery.

    In addition to its rare mechanical specifications, 84908 has the distinction of being the only Carrera Speedster known to have been finished at the factory in Auratium Green. According to Porsche Speedster Typ 540: Quintessential Sports Car, just 13 Porsche 356 Speedsters – of all types – were ever painted in the striking optional color.

    As was common with many GT-specification Carreras, this car was sold to its first owner ex-works, through the Porsche factory rather than through a distributor or dealer. While little is known of the Carrera Speedster’s early history, it is believed that the Porsche was exported to the US and subsequently raced in the Midwest through the 1960s and into the early 1970s.

    In 2009 or 2010, Nick Clemence, proprietor of European Collectibles in Costa Mesa, California, purchased the unrestored Speedster through a broker who represented the car’s long-term owner. In a letter from European Collectibles provided to Gooding & Company, Mr. Clemence described the condition of 84908 when it arrived at his shop in California.

    “When I purchased the Speedster the engine was out and in pieces. The body was together, floors were weak and needed to be replaced and the battery box needed replacement as well,” Mr. Clemence wrote. “The usual dings and dents but the Speedster was mostly complete.”

    Over the next three years, European Collectibles performed a ground-up restoration, with the intention of returning the Carrera Speedster to its original splendor. According to Mr. Clemence, no expense was spared in the restoration, with rare OEM and NOS components used whenever possible and prominent four cam specialist Bill Doyle of the Rennwagen Motor Company hired to rebuild the engine. Once carefully prepared, the bodywork was refinished in the as-delivered Auratium Green and the interior trimmed in black vinyl. Beautifully presented in all respects, the Carrera Speedster was generously equipped with all the best period accessories including auxiliary fog lights, a Spyder mirror, sport exhaust, and GT roll bar finished in Auratium Green.

    Completed in 2012, the Carrera Speedster made its post-restoration debut at the 24th Annual Dana Point Concours d’Elegance hosted by the 356 Club of Southern California. Judged in the highly competitive Full Concours category, 84908 achieved a remarkable 298.6 score (out of 300) and earned First in Class honors – a testament to the accuracy and quality of the car’s presentation. That August, the Carrera Speedster was displayed in Carmel Valley, California, at the Quail Motorsports Gathering, where it was selected as Best in Class from a field of 59 postwar sports cars.

    Acquired by Jerry Seinfeld in late 2012, the 1500 GS/GT Carrera Speedster has been a prized fixture in the collection ever since. Though it has been regularly exercised and enjoyed on weekend drives, it remains in exquisite concours-quality condition in all respects, and has benefited from further attention by noted four-cam specialist Adrian Gang.

    Significantly, the hood and deck lid are both stamped with the last three digits of the chassis number (908) and the engine type and serial number stampings (692/0 and 91015, respectively) match the factory records. As would be expected of an award-winning show car, this Carrera Speedster is offered with a Porsche Certificate of Authenticity, copy of the factory Kardex, tool roll, jack, and handbook set, which includes a 356 A owner’s manual, Speedster driver’s manual, and supplement for cars with the 1500 Carrera engine.

    Offered at public auction for the first time, this exceptionally rare 1500 GS/ GT Carrera Speedster is surely among the finest restored examples of a highly sought-after four-cam Porsche. Eligible for numerous international events, equipped with the most desirable factory specifications, and beautifully presented following an exacting restoration
    . . .'

    https://www.soldbyauctions.com/homes...TOFMtUyxZCmAK/




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  4. #4
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    looking for 1972 911t motor XR584, S/N 6121622

  5. #5
    I am confused. In this case does the term "inauthentic" mean the car itself is not the car the stampings/plates and factory records indicate? Does it mean that certain features of the otherwise "authentic" car have been misrepresented (e.g., having "alloy panels" when it doesn't)?. Given the collective reputations of European Collectibles, Gooding, and Seinfeld's advisors, how did this car escape detection for so long? Finally, none of what I've read here reveals the basis, the evidence, of the claim the car is counterfeit, and Seinfeld's agreement that it is. What was the "smoking gun" and when was it fired?

  6. #6
    Senior Member uptheorg's Avatar
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    Exactly @Jim Morris
    The way the link referenced above reads is that the company claimed ‘inauthentic’ but has not come forth with any evidence. I’m sure Jerry is ‘confused’ as well! He shouldn’t make any restitution until he gets some documentation, but they shouldn’t slam his reputation either unless he genuinely acts in bad faith after proof is submitted.

    If the purchaser wants to actually be fraudulent, he could probably have re-restored the car by now with inauthentic parts!
    Last edited by uptheorg; 02-03-2019 at 08:31 AM. Reason: another thought on the subject
    Jim

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  7. #7
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    3 years.... think of all permutations one can make in 3 years to tell any story they want.
    Porsche taste on a Volkswagen budget...

  8. #8
    #84932 GT Speedster. Same shop different car.

    http://forum.porsche356registry.org/...hp?f=1&t=24505
    Early S Registry #235
    rgruppe #111

  9. #9
    So, the very old threads in the link offered above by sithot, offer an explanation. They are "dopplegangers" -- two cars laying claim (if a car could lay a claim) to a single vin or serial number and title. One car has the embossed serial number from an original front clip, and the other car has the title, and the original car was destroyed. Each of the two vying cars have been "recreated." Is that the gist of it?

  10. #10
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    The Sunday Times, a broadsheet newspaper in UK, ran the story and short article mentioned the name of the UK specialist who looked the car over for purchaser. Maybe someone has a Times subscription and can post it because I read it in oldschool paper today when out for lunch and don't have a copy to hand to post here .Beyond the specialists name probably little new

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