By Mike Eberlein
PEACHTREE CORNERS, Ga. | The first Volkswagen Beetle I saw was in Los Angeles at Leon’s Shell gas station. I was 15 years old and helped out around the station as a $2 an hour pump jockey.
It was a shock when I opened the front hood of the VW to check the oil: “Hey! Where’s the engine?” Of course, the car owner, an Army retiree who had served in Germany, laughed at my dismay.
I was intrigued. Why was almost every American car front engined? As an avid reader of car magazines, I soon learned that Dr. Ferdinand Porsche had designed the first Volkswagen, or people’s car, in the 1930s. It had taken many years for the first VWs to appear in the USA, probably because of hatred and anything to do with Nazis and Germany after World War II.
The good doctor also conceived of the idea of a mid-engined car, the first to bear the Porsche name, which was developed by his son and appeared in 1948. By the mid 1950s, Porsche race cars, then rear engined, had found success in the PanAmerican Carrera road race and the Targa Florio, and were beginning to enjoy success among U.S. sports car fans in amateur racing events.
I bought my first Porsche, a red 1964 Speedster S, a small convertible with a 1600 cc engine and a four-speed transmission, for the sum of $1,156. I had been married only a few months and without my wife’s permission, used her checking account to buy the car. (To say that she was angry would be an understatement.)
But, with time, fun and the convenience a car afforded, the Porsche grew on her too. We drove the little Speedster on our honeymoon to visit first, Fish Lake and then Salt Lake City, Utah. The bright red car awed her family and elevated my standing, which as a non-Mormon had not been very high. It also helped that we lived in Hollywood.
Sadly, months later, I sold the Porsche to a young woman, who failed to heed my warnings about the engine RPMs. I tried to hammer home the warning that she had to maintain 2000 Revs per minute—ALL THE TIME when driving the car.
She didn’t. It blew and she wanted her money back. Her purchase money had been spent and the wife and I, students then, had no way of refunding it.
Meanwhile, I started autocrossing the Porsche—that is racing against the clock on courses set up in a large parking lot, etc. Most courses featured many tight turns. In order to be competitive, I purchased four USED, BlueStreak tires—taken off a race car. I installed them, without the wife’s knowledge or appreciation.
She was employed part time, after school, in an office building on Wilshire Boulevard, one of LA’s busiest streets. Running a little late to work after school, in a light rain, my wife approached the intersection of Vermont and Wilshire, turned the corner and the car spun wildly out of control– at least twice, in the busy traffic. I’m sure you have heard of the woman scorned…this was the woman scared—worse. Goodbye Porsche. I didn’t buy another for two years.
I sadly tell the story about cars which I have owned and sold— cars which are now considered classics and are worth many more dollars than when I owned them. In this case, you might buy a Guards Red, 356 style, Porsche Speedster S today for $250,000.
I only have two of the German hot rods now. More on them and other Porsches, a Cobra, a Corvette and Vintage race cars in future episodes.
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