Originally used in homage to Porsche’s 1954 class victory at the final Carrera Panamericana road race, since 1955 the “Carrera” badge has come to signify models which have been fitted with the company’s most powerful production-series engines.

The Carrera 2 2000 GS of 1962 represents the sportiest version of Porsche’s 356 B “T6” series, although its high-performance capabilities are only discreetly teased by minor visual differences from the base model, notwithstanding optional gold-plated Carrera 2 badges.

Beneath the Carrera 2’s demure Reutter-built body, Porsche’s engineers stuffed the Type 587/1—then their latest and most radical production version of the Ernst Fuhrmann-designed, double-overhead cam, air-cooled, four-cylinder “boxer” engine.

While challenging to assemble and tune, these remarkable motors allow sustained high revs and proved relatively reliable in plain-bearing form.

Exceptionally compact and power-dense, the 2.0-litre 587/1 delivers an impressive horsepower-per...