1960 Porsche 356B (T5) Super 90 GT Coupe

From the inception of the marque, Porsche's success was largely influenced by their conquests in competition from both privateers and factory entries. Special variants of their production cars were tailored to Porsche's clients who wished for a sports car that could be driven regularly on the road and would perform at a very high level at road races. With the rapidly growing popularity of motorsports in the 1950s, the number of high-performance production 356 variants constructed with the racetrack in mind grew to meet that demand.

Beginning in 1955, the 356 Carrera with Ernst Fuhrmann's potent four-cam engine set the bar for performance in the model lineup. 356 Carrera models account for over 1,000 examples from the total 356 productions making them rare and sought after by collectors and connoisseurs, but one version of the 356 is much rarer and few ever come to market: the 356B Super 90 GT.

Only 14 examples of the 356 Super 90 were ordered and produced with the lightweight GT package for racing- just five examples in 1960 and nine in 1961. All 14 examples were constructed as Carrera GTs and were prepared to receive the 1600cc four-cam engines but given the tremendous expense to develop and produce the complex engines, Porsches supply was low and the decision was made to install the powerful and torquey pushrod Super 90 engines into the cars, only as Porsche was set to deliver and fulfill the ordered Super 90 GTs. Additionally, the pushrod 1600cc Super engine was easier to service and was often more reliable.