Scott and Celesta Bosés Beautifully Restored Devin Porsche Special
Hi Gang…
The 2020 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance was quite an event. Three different American Specials in three different classes which included a 1958 Victress S1A sports car, the one-off “1952 Voodoo Gardner Special” and today’s story – a 1959 Devin Porsche Special.
Click Here To View All Stories on the Specials Shown at the 2020 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance
Let’s check out some photos of the Devin at Amelia and we’ll begin by sharing the history of it as posted on the Amelia signage for the car.
The Story on the Sign:
To make it easier to read, the copy of the sign appears below.
“California based Bill Devin was an SCCA National Champion and one of the first American “kit car” makers. His fiberglass-bodied cars were simple to construct, lightweight and affordable. The Chevy-powered Devin SS was a potent sports racer but most were VW-powered. A few had Porsche engines.
Fitted with a 365 Super 90 Porsche engine, this car was sold to an Italian collector from Devin’s estate and received a period correct restoration in Italy using rare Tecnomagnesio wheels, a Porsche 356 speedometer and tachometer, rally gauges, VDO temperature and oil pressure gauges and a Vilem B Haan aftermarket steering wheel.
It competed in Italian and Swiss rallies for 15 years before returning to North America.”
On The Field: 1959 Devin Porsche Special
Let’s take a look at some photos.
Summary:
What a beautifully restored sports car this is and we’re fortunate to see it on the concours field for all to enjoy. The attention to detail is superb. The dashboard, vintage gauges, steering wheel and all look perfect. Nicely done. Thanks to Scott and Celesta Bosés and their team for bringing this car to Amelia.
We look forward to future Devin sports cars being completed and shown on the lawn of concours and car shows across the country and will keep you posted with what we and our Undiscovered Classics team see across the continents.
Hope you enjoyed the story, and remember…
The adventure continues here at Undiscovered Classics.
Geoff
Love the added stopwatch on steering wheel, must not have trusted the navigator??
That should have been a 356 Super 90 Porsche engine, not a 365…If it is actually fitted with the 1959 version of the engine it is more likely to be a 356B Super 90 Porsche engine.
I don’t think the Super 90 engine was available until 1960 or later.
Here is one link I found and there are others.
https://www.carfolio.com/specifications/models/car/?car=35277
I am not an expert on the Porsche vehicles so you may be correct about the engine. The car in this article is evidently a 1959 body so the date of the vehicle and engine is based upon the body. This is similar to hod rod construction in which the vehicle body seems to be the determining factor for the car’s dating, even when it has a much newer power plant.
I agree, it needs covered headlamps ala early XKE Jag.
Richard “Paladin” Boone had one.
A beautifully sculptured body from the side and rear, and it would be a real winner if the headlights were enclosed in clear Perspex a la the early Jaguar E types.
Very nice!