This 1960 Porsche Runge Special will blow your mind

1960 Porsche 356

Porsche purists should avert their eyes now. If you obsess over Porsche Club of America judging guidelines, this car will give you nightmares. If you appreciate creativity and passion and are in awe of anyone who can restore their own car, you’ll appreciate this one quite a lot.

This is not a restoration, nor is it a kit car or replica. What you see here is a completely hand-built aluminum-bodied homage to the coach-built cars of the past. While the basic Porsche 356 mechanical layout is still there, this is a completely one-off design and the vision of Chris Runge, who built it in a Minnesota—a far cry from Stuttgart. With a hand-formed body structure, bare polished aluminum bodywork, and custom made, well… everything, this is a custom in the old-school fashion. It’s the vision of the coachbuilder and the man who commissioned him to build this in 2016.

Although the price asked here (Buy It Now of $129,000) would barely buy an average-condition 1960 356 Roadster today, it’s impossible to compare this to an original Porsche. The ultimate value is in the eye of someone who is undoubtedly well-heeled, shares the vision, and is not uncomfortable with the amount of attention he or she will undoubtedly get while driving it.

Runge has been gaining some notoriety of late. His customs have been featured in magazines and soon will be seen in the next season of Jay Leno’s Garage, in which his sixth and seventh cars will appear. The car for sale here is #4. It was a surprise to see this on eBay, but we’re happy to have seen it at all.