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, whe...