In the mid-1950s, coachbuilt grand touring and race cars began to gain notoriety for their competitive attributes, as well as their undeniable style. In Italy, Zagato had successfully designed and manufactured coachbuilt bodies for the Fiat-Abarth 750 GT and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta SVZ. These Zagato-bodied competition cars became known for their lightness and aerodynamic design, especially relative to their counterparts still wearing standard factory bodies.

As a result of its impressive reputation, the coachbuilder was approached by a professional racing driver in 1957, who asked Zagato to maximise the aerodynamic efficiency of a Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster. The car for Claude Storez, a Frenchman racing for Porsche at the time, left Zagato’s Milan workshop towards the end of 1958, finished in white and featuring a single-piece curved windshield and red longitudinal fins on the rear wings. With the lightweight body complete, Zagato sent Storez’s Speedster back to Stuttgart, where Porsche fine-tuned the mechanics and then delivered the car to Storez.

At one of his first appearances in the car, Storez was photographed on the track in his Porsche-Zagato, sporting the number “139” on the passenger door at the Reims stage of the Tour De France Automobile in September 1958. It is thought that Storez finished in 2nd place at that race, coming in behind Olivier Gendebien in his Ferrari 250 GT TdF. Storez had shown that Zagato-bodied cars were still extremely competitive. Sadly, tragedy struck when the driver entered his Porsche-Zagato into a French rally in February 1959, as Storez crashed and was killed in the rally. His Porsche-Zagato disappeared after the wreck was cleared from the track, and it has not been seen since.

Several years ago, American collector Herb Wetanson approached Zagato and asked if they could re-create Claude Storez’s Porsche-Zagato 356 Speedster; Wetanson was well acquainted with the coachbuilder’s craft, as Zagato had previously built a “Sanction II” Lancia Aprilia Sport for Olga, his wife. Zagato agreed, and the car was dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the creation of Porsche as a company.

In reference to the sad incident involving the original car, and the fact that it was never recovered following the wreck, the term ‘Sanction Lost’ was coined by Zagato in reference to this new creation. It is a variation of the “Sanction II” designation often used to refer to exacting, painstakingly researched new builds of older vehicles completed by their original producers. Andrea Zagato confirmed that nine examples of the Speedster would be made, even if demand was higher. After a drawing from 1959 of a Porsche-Zagato Coupé was discovered, Zagato announced they would produce nine of these cars alongside the Speedster. The modern manufacturing process is highly advanced and impressive: Zagato scanned original photographs and drawings of Storez’s car, creating through photometric process a digital format from which a new body could be built.

All of 18 of these Zagato-bodied Porsches were constructed using genuine Porsche 356s. One Speedster and two Coupés were built with Carrera engines. The car here is, notably, the sole Porsche 356 Carrera Zagato Speedster ‘Sanction Lost’. It was built from a 1960 Porsche 356 B which, per the accompanying Kardex copy on file, left the Stuttgart factory on 21 October 1960. Following the start of the Porsche-Zagato Sanction Lost programme, this car was sent to Zagato, where they removed the original Porsche shell and replaced with their coachbuilt Speedster body. The Carrera engine was supplied by the well-known specialist, Peter Iversen. Inside, the driver and passenger seats are upholstered in red leather and the floorpan is covered by a rubber mat.

Just like Storez’s car, the Speedster and one of the Coupés were finished in Bianco Gardenia with Red highlights on the archetypal Zagato tailfins, mirroring the original colour scheme of Storez’s Speedster. Now offered alongside similarly liveried sister Coupé, this unique Porsche 356 Carrera Zagato Speedster ‘Sanction Lost’ is accompanied by a spare wheel, copy of the build sheet, and a digital file containing magazine articles, photographs, and Zagato brochures.