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Saga of a G Porsche
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Thinking o himsel as the current custodian o 356/2-040, Jerry Seineld didnot want anything done that would be rowned upon in the uture whenviewed rom a historical perspective.
mong the many collections dedicatedto Porsche cars, that o actor/comedianJerry Seineld has a special personality.First, Seineld likes to collect an early anda late example o each version as a wayo illustrating the technical and stylingchanges that the model underwent during its produc-tion lie. Second, Seineld is a strong believer that hiscars should be exercised regularly on the road or thetrack and not simply parked on the 18th green or undermuseum spotlights. Seineld can oten be ound drivinghis Porsches through the streets o Long Island, up anddown the hills o Santa Monica and around the trackat Daytona.Although the Seineld collection o Porsches spansthe timeline o the air-cooled 356 and 911 models,early in 2002 Jerry perceived a gap in the collectionthat he wanted to ll. He already had several 356sincluding a 1958 pushrod Speedster, a 1959 Carrera GTSpeedster and an original 2,000-mile 1965 SC Coupe.But none o these examples could speak or the verybeginning o the 356 lineage. As a result he initiateda search or an example o an aluminum 356 built inAustria during the late 1940s. During the course o that year Seineld inspected several cars but was notsatised with what he saw. Though many had beenrestored to a very high level, they didn’t speak to him o the originality he desired in a car or his collection. Norwere all owners o these rare early Porsches eager topart with their historic cars.In early March o 2003 Sam Cabiglio, the primaryacilitator behind the Seineld Porsche collection, wasvisiting Europe. During a casual conversation Cabiglioheard that an unusual example o a Gmünd car might beavailable. Ater returning to the States he made severalollow-up phone calls to assess the subject car’s prov-enance as well as its current condition and availability.With Jerry Seineld’s support, Cabiglio traveled to Vienna on March 20. Sam inspected the car the ollow-ing day at a actory owned by number 40’s then-ownerFranz Rathkolb. Cabiglio already knew much about thiscar’s unique history but did not quite expect to see thelevel o unreconstructed originality displayed by thecoupe beore him. Its look o a battered veteran wasowed to 356/2-040’s distinctive history, not to willulneglect o a 54-year-old Porsche.Sam Cabiglio was impressed by the car ater beinggiven the opportunity to drive it. He took note o thedocumentation Rathkolb had and also the example o an engine that was also in Rathkolb’s possession. Hetook numerous photographs, expressed keen interestto Rathkolb and stated that he would quickly relateto Seineld what he had seen. That’s what Sam didthat night during a phone call rom his hotel. The car’soriginality and extraordinary provenance got JerrySeineld’s attention.Returning to the U.S., Cabiglio shared his photo-graphs with Seineld, who was quickly convinced thatthis Porsche would make an excellent addition to hiscollection. Sam had been quoted a price by Rathkolbbeore his trip to Vienna so a starting point or nego-tiation was already on the table. Communication byphone and e-mails established a value that satisedboth seller and buyer.Later in 2003 a blue-tailed Luthansa 747 cargo jet landed at Los Angeles carrying a Gmünd Porschewith chassis number 356/2-040. Sam Cabiglio was on
CHAPTER
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Porsche - Origin of the Species - by Karl Ludvigsen - Excerpt
An excerpt from Porsche - Origin of the Species by Karl Ludvigsen, Chapter 8: Saga of a Gmünd Porsche. For more information on this Porsche history book, visit http://www.bentleypublishers.com/product.htm?code=gpgc
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