Original "King Carrera" 1959 Carrera GT
May 17, 2005

One of Bruce's last rides in his original, short-course '59

This is one of Bruce Jennings' famous Carrera GT Speedsters and it's in "as raced, original" condition. The interior is original, the drive train (Bruce's trick stuff) is original, and most of the paint is original. The car has been raced, whacked, crashed into a few things, and only spot repaired after each incident. The paint match is only as good as Bruce cared about at the time. Bruce's cars were mechanically perfect and mostly second to none.

This is a more current shot without the top installed.

Bruce's original personalized plates are still on the car.

Bruce used an RS-60 steering wheel because it was stronger than the original Carrera wheel. This steering wheel alone is probably worth about $10,000. Just one of the reasons why this car is still so cool.

This is not the original engine. Bruce took new cases, barrels and pistons, and heads to form his own demon engines. This is one of Bruce's trick engines.

The car looks good in the pictures because you can't see the dings and nicks.

But it looks even better when you're up close and you can see all of Bruce's racing road rash.

King Carrera at his best behind the wheel of a GT.

Below is an excert from Hal Thoms' book, Porsche Racing Milestones.
Thanks Hal, we took the liberty to use this story from your great book!
It's a must for the Porsche fan to have Porsche Racing Milestones in their library.

A Speedster first at Laguna
On November 10, 1957, Laguna Seca’s first racing event was held before an estimated 60,000 race fans. The newly opened facility would see the 356 Speedster legend born there in grand style as thirty-two cars would take the green flag in the twenty lap event for under-1500cc production cars. It proved an easy win for Skip Hudson in his Carrera Speedster, averaging 65 m.p.h. for the 38 mile race. Porsche 356s took the first five places.
For several years- from the late ‘50s to early ‘60s- a Vasek Polak-prepared Carrera Speedster, driven by Jay Hills, competed on California’s race tracks from Santa Barbara to Riverside, Pomona to Hanford. Their reign of podium finished for class wins is legendary on the West Coast. Many, many more competed in both the pushrod and Carrera versions.
One man, however, stands much taller than all the rest. Bruce Jennings became known as “King of the Carrera Speedsters”. In 1955, two weeks after his friend Duncan Black took Jennings to a sports car race, he purchased his first Speedster, a 1500 Normal. He worked on the car during the 1956 season, Black drove it at Watkins Glen, New York, for Bruce. It did not finish the race, but no matter. Jennings was excited and on his way with the racing fever.
In early 1957, after competing in novice races at Marlboro and Cumberland, Jennings obtained his race license. He soon bought a 4-cam Carrera engine for less than $1,000. He was quickly learning how to maintain the complex 4-cam engine and also how to drive. By the end of the season Jennings had taken a 5th in an SCCA race at Danville, Connecticut, scoring his first national points.
1958 was another year of learning for Jennings. He “totaled” his 1955 Speedster but fortunately for Bruce, Emanuel Pupilidy dominated the SCCA’s F production class championship and left racing, putting his GT Carrera Speedster up for sale. Jennings bought it.
Jennings had earlier met Heinz Bade, a former motorcycle and factory VW mechanic. Bade had worked successfully “tricking-out” other Speedsters, and after the 1958 season he and Jennings began working together. Over the winter Jennings, with the aid of Bade’s knowledge, was ready with the 1958 Carrera GT Speedster for the ’59 racing season. He made a tremendous start to the new season, winning the first race at Danville. At the next race at Cumberland, he started 34th due to a bad “draw-out-of-a-hat”, as many grids were determined in those days. He drove through the entire field, catching Harry Blanchard- who has started from the pole in another Carrera Speedster- on the final lap of the race! With extreme pressure from Jennings, Blanchard “overcooked” his brakes and spun out. That gave Jennings what he says was the greatest drive to victory in his career. These early races were the highlights of the ’59 season, as later results saw many DNFs that year. But even with the poor finishes it was obvious he was becoming a serious contender.
1960 was Jennings’ first National Championship, winning the “C” production crown. In an amazing year, not only did he win the final C/P race of the year at Daytona for the Championship, he also won the event overall, a combined race which included A and B production Ferraris and Corvettes. That year Jennings won 26 National and Regional SCCA races, winning the C/P crown by a slim margin of 2 points over Bill Romig in another Carrera Speedster.
1960 had been tough, but a real challenge came for the 1961 season when the Carrera Speedsters were bumped up to “B” production. Jennings decided to take on the powerful Corvettes. By now he had several Carrera Speedsters in his stable, including short-course (chassis #84950), medium course, and long course racers. They all were set up with different suspensions, gears, exhausts, and engines. He had an up and down season which included a major wreck at Watkins Glen, and finished in 5th place in the B/P Championship. Dick Thompson won it with his factory-supported Corvettes.
Jennings also competed in B production in 1962 and ’63, finishing second nationally in ’62, and third nationally in B/P in ’63. That year Jennings also ran in E/P with a pushrod Speedster on Earl Wenger’s team, and association that lasted until 1968.
Jennings worked with the Porsche Corporation of America, which lead to several improvements on the Carrera Speedsters. Jennings had gone from the 40 DCM Weber carbs to the larger type 46 IDMs. He installed Spyder drum brakes on the rear and annular disc brakes up front. He also preferred running the roller-bearing engines over the plain-bearing type, with type 692 engine cases. Many modifications were also made on the car’s suspension components. His contemporaries wondered how he went so fast, and many of the tuning secrets developed by Jennings and Bade were never revealed.
In 1964, Bruce and his latest Carrera Speedster were returned to C production, and together they won their final National Championship, beating the Lotus Super 7 of Dave Clark, 51 points to 33.
Beginning in 1965, the SCCA began its “Runoffs” which were held to determine National Champions. Jennings never attended, although he had qualified for them in 1965, ’66, ’67, and ’68. He believed that to determine a National Champion, results should come from more than just one race. Bruce Jennings finally retired his Carrera Speedsters at the end of the 1970 season. “King Carrera” had one of the most impressive runs for any Porsche racing model, ever. His tenure as a top competitor lasted well over a decade!

This Porsche Carrera GT is the most original, most raced and has the most wins for any non-restored speedster in the world. Unless someone can find another, better than Bruce Jennings, "King Carrera" GT, which they won't, I'll take back what I just said. It's not everyday a car like this is offered for sale. This one won't be cheap, but there ain't one better....period!

If interested, call Kevin at (561) 844-8482

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