Porsche 911 Roadster

The Porsche 911 Roadster Bertone was a one-off prototype commissioned in 1965 by John von Neumann, Porsche’s distributor for the west coast of the United States. Von Neumann, who had previously played a decisive role in promoting the Porsche 356 Speedster, believed there was also a market for an open version of the newly introduced 911.

Although Porsche had serious concerns about the structural rigidity of a convertible 911, it agreed to supply a bare chassis. Shortly after unveiling the 911 Targa prototype in September 1965, von Neumann travelled to Turin and commissioned Carrozzeria Bertone to design and build a completely new roadster. The initial objective was to produce a limited series of around 100 cars for the American market, priced at approximately US$7,000, compared with US$6,400 for the standard 911 Coupé and US$6,150 for the forthcoming Targa.

Bertone received chassis 13421, retaining only the floorpan and engine compartment while replacing the entire body. Rather than adapting the existing Porsche design, the Turin coachbuilder created a completely original interpretation that deliberately avoided any resemblance to the production 911. The prototype featured crisp geometric lines, hidden headlamps, a pronounced Kamm tail and unusually low front wings. It was finished in Carmen Red with a cream leather interior and fitted with Campagnolo alloy wheels.

The project presented a significant engineering challenge, as the compact rear-engined Porsche platform imposed unusual dimensional constraints. Bertone addressed these by introducing a deep character line running from the windscreen, along the upper edge of the doors and into the engine compartment, visually separating the passenger cell from the rest of the body. Besides defining the car’s profile, this solution increased the perceived structural strength of the open body while allowing exceptionally low front wings. The dashboard was equally unconventional, with the primary instruments arranged vertically in the centre console and only a small auxiliary instrument panel positioned behind the steering wheel. The design combined themes first explored on the Alfa Romeo Testudo of 1963 with styling cues later adopted on the Fiat 850 Spider, resulting in one of Bertone’s most distinctive mid-1960s concept cars.

The completed prototype debuted at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, where it attracted considerable attention. Despite the positive reception, von Neumann was unable to secure sufficient customer orders, later acknowledging that the production 911 Targa represented a more practical and economical solution. As a result, the project remained a unique prototype.

After the Geneva show, the Roadster was exported to the United States and remained in von Neumann’s collection for several years. It later passed through a succession of private owners. During the ownership of Mark Smith of Virginia, the car was repainted black with a beige leather interior, fitted with a 901/02 “S” specification flat-six engine, and equipped with Mahle 914/6 “Gas Burner” alloy wheels. In 1989, it was displayed at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where Nuccio Bertone was honoured as the featured designer.

Following additional ownership changes, the unique Bertone-bodied Porsche was offered by Gooding & Company at Pebble Beach in August 2018, where it sold for US$1.43 million, confirming its significance as one of the most important coachbuilt Porsche prototypes of the 1960s.