Glockler 356

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Glockler 356
Race Car
Category	Road Race/Hillclimb/Endurance
Constructor	Glockler-Porsche
Chassis	Porsche 356
Suspension (front)
Suspension (rear)	Trailing Arm
Engine	1,488cc Porsche
Power	86hp
Transmission	4-speed Transaxle
Fuel	Alcohol
Tyres	{{{Tyres}}}
Notable entrants	Walter Glockler, Max Hoffman, Johnny von Neuman
Notable drivers	Helm Glockler, Max Hoffman, Johnny von Neuman, Desire Wilson
Debut	1952 Nurburgring
Races competed
Race victories	1952 Nurburgring
Constructors' Championships	1952 German Championship
Drivers' Championships
Pole positions
Fastest laps
Designer	Body: C. W. Weidenhausen; Chassis: Hermann Ramelow

Walter Glockler was a Volkswagen (among other marques) dealer in Frankfurt, Germany. Being a racer himself, and knowing of Dr. Ferdinand Porsche's exploits with Auto Union and Cisitalia Grand Prix cars, he quickly saw the potential contained in Dr. Porsche's first post-war effort, the model 356. The Glockler-Porsches were 'specials' in that they were individually hand-built with each successive racecar integrating lessons learned from previous iterations. The first two Glockler-Porsches were designed by Hermann Ramelow, who using modified 356 underpinnings attached to custom-fabricated tube-frames of his own design. They all sported aluminum bodies designed and built by C. W. Weidenhausen. The first two were single-seaters with the engine and transaxle rotated 180 degrees so that the engine was mounted amidships. However, switching the engine location from the 356's rear-engined layout for better weight distribution also caused handling problems with the trailing arm (which initially became leading arm) suspension design. Because they could not fully solve the leading-arm suspension's handling problems (primarily, excessive toe-in under braking), they returned to the rear-engined chassis architecture for the third Glockler-Porsche (pictured). The first Glockler Specials were based on the early Porsche 356 small-bore architecture. Their 1,086 cc engine size allowed them to compete in the under 1,100 cc categories. These engines, running on gasoline, put out a modest 50 hp. Running on alcohol, the small-bore engine put out just over 60 hp. The second Glockler-Porsche was built using a 1,500 cc Porsche engine that, again on alcohol, put out over 80 hp. The third Glockler-Porsche also used a 1,488 cc Porsche engine, but due to modifications by the Porsche factory, it put out 86 h.p. The first two Glockler-Porsches weighed under 1,000 lbs. The third, because it was a two-seater, built on a standard 356 cabriolet floorpan, weighed just over 1,100 lbs. Dr. Porsche was impressed enough with quality of design, craftsmanship, and performance of the Glockler specials that he agreed to have them labeled as Porsches, and further, that he incorporated many of the mid-engined Glockler specials' design elements into his first production racecar, the Porsche 550. Most Porsche aficionados agree that it was Max Hoffman, who convinced Dr. Porsche to build the Porsche 356 Speedster: many also claim he did so because he was so impressed with Glockler-Porsche #3 which he bought from Swiss Porsche importer, Hans Stanek and imported to race in the U.S.

Gallery

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Complete Racing Results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Points	WCC
YYYY	(Constructor)	(Engine)	(Tyre code)

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