Continental, Speedster, & Spyder!

A Porsche Factory Sales Binder for 1955!


Charlie White & Thomas Seydoux


Continental

Speedster

Spyder


Below are images of all of the pages in a mid-1950's Porsche Factory Sales Binder. The binder is for model year 1955 and highlights the Porsche Continental, Speedster and Spyder. These three iconic Porsche models are covered in some detail in the pictures and technical information included in this sales binder. It is a 4 ring maroon Euro sized binder with the various images shown below in plastic sheet protectors. The text in this binder is in English and was likely used in an early Porsche dealerships in the United States. The binder is the kind of sales tool usually kept at a salesman's or sales manager's desk to show to potential customers. In this binder, only the "new" Continental, Speedster, and Spyder models are included. This item recently appeared for auction on Ebay and was acquired by Thomas Seydoux, a well known Swiss collector of Porsche Literature and Memoriabilia. Thomas and this author have worked together to create this website.



Some of the images below are shown in larger size in order to preserve and show detail!


Binder Cover


Binder cover above is shown in reduced form as there is not much detail.


 Inside first page


 Page 1


The following two pages included in the binder apparently show building scenes related to PORSCHE.


  Page 2


  Page 3


 Page 4

A scene showing workers operating a spot welding maching.

Porsche Continental!

The Porsche "Continental" as a 356 Porsche model apparently only appeared in 1955! A dispute with Ford Motor Company who had the rights to the name "Continental" in the United States forced Porsche after 1955 to drop the Continental model designation. Various sources say the the "Continental" script on the side of the front fenders of Coupes and Cabriolets was only used on cars sent for sale to the USA. All of the pictures of the Continentals in this factory binder, as shown below, do not have the Continental script. According to what is written on the page below, the Continental was also designed for the "roads of Europe"!

  Page 5


                     Page 6

   This image has been cropped and enlarged to show detail.


 Page 7

Ludwigsen in "Excellence was Expected" said this about the Continental:  "Just as the "America" had been a semi-official series created chiefly for United States consumption, so too was it's successor, the "Continental". Coming into use in the United States early in 1955, the term "Continental" also referred to cars powered by the tamer 1500 engine.  The Continental came closer than the America to full legitimacy, since it carried that name in script, on some cars, on the flanks of the front fenders."  

 Page 8


           Page 9                

This image has been cropped and enlarged to show detail.


According to most sources, Continentals were only equipped with the 1500 Engine. Interestingly, Porsche included a sheet of 1500 Super specifications in the "Continental" portion of this 1955 factory sales binder.


 Page 10

Notice no Continental Script on the front fender!

 

Speedster image below is the same as above!

Factory Sales Sheet, M&M 58!


 Page 11


 Prior Image Enlarged!

Notice the small PORSCHE script on the Radio cover!


 Page 12


Road & Track ad 1955. No "Continental" Script on the front fender!

 

 Page 13


Another 1955 Hoffman ad.


 Page 14


                                 Page 15                                            

This image has been cropped and enlarged to show detail.


 Page 16


 Page 17

Porsche Speedster!


 Page 18


Prior Image Enlarged!


 Page 19


Text of prior image enlarged!


 Page 20


Speedster image below right is the same as the above image!

Black & White Speedster Sales Folder, M&M 73!


 Page 21

Notice the early single Exhaust Pipe!


 Page 22


 Page 23


 Page 24

Notice the early Speedster script on the front fender!


 Page 25


Speedster image below is the same as the above image!

Inside pages of Black & White Speedster Sales Folder, M&M 73!


 Page 26


 Page 27


 Page 28


 Page 29


Picture above is the same in the sales brochure below!


Early Hoffman ad using the same picture as Page 29!

Porsche Spyder!


 Page 30


Page 31

This image has been cropped and enlarged to show detail.


 Page 32


Spyder image below is same as above!

Factory Sales Sheet, M&M 62!


 Page 33

Drawing by Eric Strenger, designer of many Porsche brochures!


 Page 34


Prior Image Enlarged!


 Page 35


 Page 36


 Page 37


 Page 38


 Page 39


Spyder image below is same as above!


 Page 40

Porsche Racing 1954!


 Page 41


 Page 42


 Page 43

 

 

 


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"DerWhite's 356 Porsche Sales & Technical
Literature
......the Book!"

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Research and website creation by:

Charlie White
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258 US
A
derwhite@aol.com
 


This website would not have been possible without the imput and inspiration of
Thomas Seydoux
of Geneva, Switzerland!



 This website presents in its entirety the images found in a Porsche Factory Sales Binder for 1955,
featuring the Continental, Speedster, and Spyder models!

Comments, corrections and additional information welcomed!

The images in this website are COPYRIGHTED and may not be used for any purpose without the prior written
permission of the authors of this website.

Copyright@2010 DerWhite Productions, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Website first posted 10/30/10, updated 1/17/14.