It’s a rare and privileged opportunity for a vehicle to be inducted into the National Register of Historic Vehicles and an even rarer moment when it’s a Porsche. The Hagerty Drivers Foundation erected its mobile museum on the National Mall in Washington D.C., among numerous museums and galleries of The Smithsonian Institute. A 1952 Porsche America Roadster was displayed, a model that Porsche produced specifically for American sports car racers. It was the 34th vehicle to be inducted into the Register.
The Type 540 is considered by many to be the forerunner of the Porsche Speedster, using svelt weight as its main advantage. It is one of sixteen aluminum-bodied cars made specifically for U.S. racers, the result of the efforts of importer Max Hoffman and West Coast Porsche distributor John von Neumann. Post WWII, sports car racing in the U.S. exploded in the early 1950s; Hoffman and von Neumann were at the right place at the right time to capitalize on this newfound sport.
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