PORSCHE TYPE 64 BERLIN-ROME CAR, 1939!!

In autumn 1938, the plans for the high-speed Berlin-Rome road race announced by the National Socialist regime for 1939 were going full steam ahead. For this event, several automobile manufacturers designed special racing versions based on series cars and with streamlined bodies.

The Porsche design studio received approval from Berlin to build three racing coupes named Type 64 or VW 60 K 10 for Volkswagen. Coachbuilder Reutter manufactured the aluminum bodies. In order to permit a narrow hard top, the driver’s seat was virtually in the middle of the vehicle, so that the passenger had to sit on an emergency seat offset obliquely behind. All four wheel-arches were covered and those at the front had rollers on the inside so that they could be pushed out by the wheels, when the driver turned the steering wheel.

Two spare wheels were located at the front of the car, one behind the other, whereas engine and gearbox were mounted as a rear engine like the VW Beetle and the later Porsche 356 Series.

The four-cylinder engine was based on the engine powering the VW Beetle, but the power was increased to a maximum of 40 hp with larger valves, and some also had twin carburetors and higher compression. Even very small components on the engine and chassis were manufactured as specials in lightweight alloy in order to save weight. The air-resistance coefficients derived from outstanding aerodynamics permitted a theoretical top speed of up to 180 km/h with long gear ratio and the most powerful engine modification. Shortly before the start of the long-distance race from Berlin to Rome, the Second World War broke out on 3rd September 1939, so that the Type 60 K 10 was never used.

The Type 60 K 10 is rightly known today as the “original Porsche” and predecessor to the Porsche 356, because it pioneered the principal attributes of form and engineering. The exhibition vehicle is the only preserved original of this type.

It is owned by the SOCIETY FOR FRIENDS OF HISTORIC AUTOMOBILES.