It was his last automotive dream: Thomas, friend and customer at Triebwerk, wanted us to build him a professionally restored 1964 Porsche 356 SC. We took up the challenge, designed it, delivered it - and would have been delighted to be able to carry out the regular oil change service after a long journey. But things turned out very differently, Thomas didn't have more than three months together with his latest toy in its older guise. Now his (special) automobile legacy is up for sale. We have to qualify from the outset: not to everyone, lived enthusiasm and a feeling for matters of the heart are (not only) important to us in this more than exciting reference project.

We could hardly believe it when the news reached us: Thomas had left us. For good. Just three months earlier, our friend and customer had received a flawless Outlaw from us, an unadapted Porsche 356 SC from the 1964 model year. The project was a challenge for us, but the man who died in tragic circumstances was not granted more than three months or 2,000 kilometers. The basic vehicle: a 95 hp version with the same engine as the Porsche 912 and disc brakes. Unfortunately, the condition of the US re-import was not the very best. Dismantling the half-heartedly preserved substance revealed restoration sins such as repair panels in several layers under body filler, some of which was a centimeter thick. The joke: you couldn't even see it at first glance! The result: a considerable amount of welding work.

But that was not all: effective design work had to be carried out in the drive area. Thomas pursued the idea of using a three-liter Type 4 engine with 230 hp. This would have been incompatible with the standard gearbox, especially as we knew from acceleration sports that VW Beetle gearboxes can withstand engine outputs of up to 500 hp and even more. We had proven this time and again in the Type 3. Of course, we first had to create an adaptation for the Porsche 356 and mill a one-off connection using CNC technology. A suitable shift linkage had to be adapted, and the synchronization in brass ensured more precise shifting manoeuvres without the familiar search for the right gear. All in all, a great deal of work was required in addition to repairing the bodywork, which we were able to make a little bolder in many details.

Our original idea was to produce the special design for the Beetle gearbox adapted to the Porsche 356 in a small series. Thomas shelved the initially planned Type 4 engine and instead commissioned us to refurbish and increase the performance of the matching-numbers engine, which had been enlarged to 1,940 cc. We had a special camshaft with its own profile ground, fitted Weber carburettors and reworked the cylinder heads using traditional, handcrafted methods. The extended package of measures included new, precise valve guides - 8 millimetres of valve stem had been agreed - as well as valves with a diameter of 41 millimetres on the intake side and 35 millimetres on the exhaust side. With an exhaust system other than the selected center exhaust, 117 to 120 hp would certainly be achievable, but this may need to be readjusted in the future. Important to mention are the front oil cooler, the roll bar and the 356 bucket seats.

And now this truly remarkable example of automotive creativity - by which we mean Thomas, who brought the idea to us at the time - was ownerless. Due to our old relationship, we were commissioned to find a successor for the 1964 Porsche 356 SC Outlaw project.

We have found a very special new owner for this unique collector's item in Lance David Arnold, the freelance VOX automobile presenter and racing driver, who couldn't let go of the car after seeing it for the first time in our showroom.