As the owners of Road & Track, John and Elaine Bond were no strangers to the highest-performing cars available in the 1950s. When John’s brother, Bill Bond, expressed interest in purchasing something more exciting than the cumbersome American sedan he was then driving, John invited him to attend the 1955 Import Auto Show at Los Angeles’ Pan Pacific Auditorium. Upon arrival, Bill was immediately smitten with the white, sunroof-equipped Porsche 356 “Pre-A” Continental Coupe displayed by legendary dealer John Von Neumann’s Competition Motors. Not long after the close of the show, Bill was the owner of that very car—the same car RM Sotheby’s is pleased to offer for sale here.

After four years of enjoyment, Bill Bond sold his Continental to a young Road & Track employee, William A. Mott. Mott would go on to cherish chassis 54174 for the next four decades, using it as his daily driver and keeping meticulous service records stretching back to the 1960s. In 1998, 54174 was the feature of a multipage exposé in Road & Track describing the car’s history and Mott’s adoration for it. In 1999, Mott sold the car to Bill and Carmie Casella, who commissioned a sympathetic restoration including new paint, chrome, interior, and a full rebuild of the car’s numbers-matching engine.

The Casellas would show the car extensively, including back-to-back First in Class finishes at the 2003 and 2004 356 Porsche Club Concours d’Elegance in Dana Point, California. After more than a decade of ownership, the Casellas sold 54714 to the White Collection in 2012. The collection has continued the car’s lifelong record of fastidious care, including starting and running the car to operating temperature on a monthly basis.

Now offered from the White Collection, this stunning Pre-A Continental Coupe, complete with a correct tool roll, jack, manuals, and documented ownership from new, is ready to astound its next caretaker—just as it did under the bright lights of Los Angeles in 1955.