In 1957, Claude Storez, works racing driver at Porsche, approached Zagato with a special request. The Milan-based coachbuilder was to build him a lightweight, streamlined Speedster based on the Porsche 356. Zagato produced the one-off using its own Superleggera principle – a process in which aluminum sheets are pulled over a supporting tubular frame. The result was an elegant, aerodynamically optimized sports car that clearly stood out from the production models.

Storez successfully drove the Zagato Speedster in the 1958 racing season. However, his promising career came to an abrupt end: on February 7, 1959, the Frenchman had a fatal accident. According to consistent sources, the vehicle was scrapped in the same year. Nevertheless, it left an impression on Porsche. Shortly afterwards, Zagato was commissioned with a feasibility study for a closed coupé – also based on the 356 and with an unladen weight of less than 700 kilograms. The designs were completed in 1959, but never realized. The exact reasons for this are still unknown today.

Revival thanks to archive find – and with official Porsche approval

More than five decades later, the project came up for discussion again. Andrea Zagato, now at the helm of the family business together with his wife Mirella, began digitizing the historical archive. In the process, the team came across original drawings and photos of both the Speedster and the never-built Coupé. The discovery gave rise to the idea of reissuing both vehicles in a strictly limited small series as part of the new “Sanction Lost” program. Porsche was officially contacted and granted permission to continue using the brand logo – on the condition that original 356 chassis were used as the basis. A total of nine Speedsters and nine Coupés were produced, each with a carefully restored chassis.

Most of the vehicles were delivered to collectors in the USA. One exception is chassis number 8: a Zagato coupé in the color “Grigio Medio” with a leather interior in “Rosso Cartier”. Zagato used a 356 B T5 chassis from the USA and rebuilt the car until the end of 2017. The car remained in the company’s showroom until recently and was then sold via the British classic car dealer Girardo & Co.

The 356 Zagato is exemplary of an era in which racing, craftsmanship and a sense of form were closely linked. The fact that this chapter has been revived by a modern small series with a factory blessing lends the project a special authenticity. It shows that good design and technical concepts lose none of their relevance even decades later.

Photos: Girardo & Co.