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| www.QV500.com - Porsche 356 B Part 4: 356 B 2000 Carrera 2 |
 A 356 B 2000 Carrera 2 in a rare original shade |
By late 1961, a road-going 356 with Porsche's exotic four-camshaft engine had been missing from showrooms for two years. That September though, a revised T-6-based Carrera was introduced for the 1962 model year. Available in either road trim (Carrera 2) or racing specification (GS and GT), these latest variants were launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1961, the headline news having been potent new 2-litre engines. These made them the fastest incarnations of the 356 yet and production was underway by the spring of 1962. Nearly six months had elapsed since that September '61 launch, enough time for Porsche to fit Ate-manufactured disc brakes as standard. |
| Three 1966cc versions of the new Typ 587 two-litre engines were available, the rise from 1.6 to 2-litres having been achieved by stretching the bore by 2mm (to 92mm) and lengthening the stroke from 66 to 74mm. Typ 587 motors retained the plain rod bearings of the 1.6-litre Typ 692 Carrera engines used since 1955 although the bearing diameter was reduced from 55 to 52mm in order to ensure the longer stroke rods could clear the sides of the crankcase. Ferral coating was applied to the lightweight aluminium cylinder barrels. Carrera 2 road cars used the Typ 587/1 motor that produced 130bhp at 6200rpm, this with a compression of 9.2:1 and two twin choke Solex 40 PII-4 carburettors. It was enough for a top speed of around 130mph and a 0-60 time of just over eight seconds. By comparison, the lightweight GS and GT versions (both of which had Typ 587/2 engines) produced 140 and 155bhp at 6200 and 6600rpm respectively. Compression of these competition-spec units was set high at 9.8:1 and both ran with a pair of Weber 46 IDM/2 twin choke downdraught carbs. Top speeds were in excess of 135mph whilst 0-60 took less than seven seconds, straight-through racing exhausts providing a suitable aural accompaniment. Using a more-or-less standard T-6 shell, the new two-litre road car could be identified by its brass Carrera 2 scripting located on the engine lid and was available in either Coupe or Cabriolet body styles. The lightweight GS and GT came in Coupe form only and had many lightweight panels. All three variants continued in production until the arrival of the 365 C in July 1963. |
 While the Carrera 2 was built for road use, GS and GT versions of the 2-litre Carrera's were raced successfully all over the world |