1956 – 1957 Porsche 1600 Beutler Coupe – Ultimate Guide
Founded in 1943, the Carrosserie + Spritzwerk Beutler AG in the Swiss town of Thun was one of the most renowned coachbuilder in the country until 1987 and in 1956 received a special order from Porsche. In 1948, the Beutler Brothers began construction of special models based on Porsche and Volkswagen frames.
Ferry Porsche had in fact requested Swiss technicians to make a less sporty and more elegant version of the 365 B and thus the 1600 Beutler Coupè was born. This project is a 2+2 based on a Porsche 1600. Like the Porsche, the car is built on a VW platform, but includes Porsche elements such as the brakes and the engine.
The car was based on the chassis of the Volkswagen Beetle covered with a new bodywork while the engine was the four-cylinder 1.6 57 hp engine derived from the Porsche 365 B.
The Beutler Brothers presented their models at several Geneva motor shows. The red car seen above was included as part of the ‘100 years of Swiss coachwork’ display at the 2005 Geneva Auto Salon. Ernst Beutler personally used this car until in the Nineties. It was built in 5 copies before production was stopped in 1957 due to a change in commercial strategies by the German company.
Specs & Performance
| price $ | $3 790 USD |
| engine | Flat 4 |
| valvetrain | OHV |
| displacement | 1582 cc / 96.5 in³ |
| bore | 82.55 mm / 3.25 in |
| stroke | 73.9 mm / 2.91 in |
| power | 67.1 kw / 90 bhp |
| specific output | 56.89 bhp per litre |
| bhp/weight | bhp per tonne |
| f brake size | mm / in |
| r brake size | mm / in |
| transmission | 4-Speed Manual |
| gear ratios | :1 |
| top speed | ~150 kph / 93.2 mph |
