Hagerty Documentary: Porsche’s Type 540 America Roadster

Rare Porsche Inducted into the National Historic Vehicle Register

Background

Porsche’s America Roadster (Type 540) was a limited-run open-top sports car built in the early 1950s for the U.S. market at the urging of importer Max Hoffman and West Coast racer/dealer John von Neumann. Only 17 were made​. The America Roadster featured a lightweight aluminum body hand-built by coachbuilder Gläser, along with a removable windshield and minimal trim to save weight​. Powered by an air-cooled 1.5-liter flat-four producing 70 horsepower, it weighed around 1350 pounds and could exceed 110 mph​.

Members only$35 / year

Keep going. This is where it gets good.

Stuttcars Membership is for people who'd rather spend an hour inside one option code than skim ten headlines. The rest of this story — and every other one like it — is a few seconds away.

  • Every members-only story

    Deep history, driven reviews, market reports and the full archive.

  • No ads. None.

    The whole site reads like a magazine, on every device.

  • Every Porsche, researched

    Model-by-model hubs: production numbers, specs, options, colors.

  • 30% off the shop

    Every Stuttcars shirt and piece of merch, all year.

Join Stuttcars — Keep Reading

$35 a year. Cancel anytime, no hoops.
Already a member? Sign in

BY PORSCHE PEOPLE, NOT A CORPORATION. Your membership keeps a small independent team of historians, ex-racers, engineers and journalists doing this.

Join — Keep Reading $35/yr