Nearly ten years after the Carrera quad-cam engine was first introduced, Porsche launched the two litre version at the 1961 Frankfurt Motorshow in the back of the 356B 2000 GS Carrera 2. The body and chassis of the 2 litre 356 Carrera were similar to those of the Super 90 and 1600, with some minor changes, mostly to keep the larger engine cool.
As with the previous Carrera models, it is neither the body nor the chassis that will make the enthusiast's heart beat any faster, it is the engine will spark that reaction! Like the 356s, the Carreras are powered by a flat four cylinder engine, but the Carrera engine features double overhead camshafts instead of the pushrods found on the regular 356 engine. Unlike most overhead camshafts engines the Carrera's camshafts are driven by shafts instead of the more conventional chains or belts. The engine was first conceived in 1.5 litre form, but the design would allow displacements of up to 2 litre.
Porsche felt the Carrera engine needed more torque and the easiest way to achieve this is by increasing the displacement. Fitted with twin ignition and two Solex Carburetors, the 2-litre unit was good for 130 bhp in standard tune and offered a very flat torque curve with the maximum of 162 Nm reached at 4600 rpm. In competition tune the engine would easily pump out 180 bhp and it was used in sports racers like the 904 GTS.
All this didn't come cheap and with the small number of Carreras built over the years it still doesn't. The two cars featured were entered in the 2003 Tour Auto.
Article by Wouter Melissen, last updated before 12 / 01 / 2004
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356B 2000 GS Carrera 2
Nearly ten years after the Carrera quad-cam engine was first introduced, Porsche launched the two litre version at the 1961 Frankfurt Motorshow in the back of the 356B 2000 GS Carrera 2. The body and chassis of the 2 litre 356 Carrera were similar to those of the Super 90 and 1600, with some minor changes, mostly to keep the larger engine cool.
