Throughout Porsche’s history, the 911 will remain its most definitive model. However, Porsche had other great cars and some of them, for one reason or another, remained in obscurity. This is exactly the case with the 1957 Porsche 696 Beutler, which wasn’t even built in Germany, in the first place. This is what we know about it.

It was built in Switzerland

The car, also referred to as Volkswagen-Porsche 696 Beutler, was actually built in Thun, Switzerland, by Ernst and Fritz Beutler, who were renowned coachbuilders. The Beutler brothers had established contacts at Porsche, since 1948 and were actually responsible for building the bodies of six of the very first Porsche 356 cars, including the oldest production Porsche – car number 003.

However, the brothers decided to make their own car that featured “an elegant coupe with four seats and superior engineering that drives like a sports car”.

The Beutler brothers started out at a repair shop

They founded their business right after World War II and initially did repairs on vehicles, damaged in accidents, in Thun, Switzerland. Eventually, they started attracting well-known customers, including Ferry Porsche. If that sounds familiar, the company RUF started in a similar way.

The Porsche 696 Beutler had humble underpinnings, but a lightweight body

After deciding they want to make their own car, the Beutler brothers acquired the chassis from a Volkswagen Bug and began crafting a suitable 2+2 coupe body, by hand. The body was made entirely out of aluminum. Back then, aluminum was difficult to work with, but the brothers had gathered experience through specially commissioned jobs, by Lancia, Packard, Bristol, and others.

It had a Porsche engine

Normally, that would go without saying, but history has documented a few Porsche models that were not powered by a Porsche engine. While most Beutler coupes were powered by a modified version of the VW Bug engine, this one has a proper Porsche engine. In particular, it has the 1.6-liter flat-four engine from the 1955 Porsche 356 A.

The engine was good for 75 horsepower (53 kilowatts) and 86 pound-feet (117 Nm). This was enough for the Porsche 696 to reach speeds of up to 103 mph (165 km/h), which was a respectable figure for the 1950s.

Porsche 696 Beutler specifications

It was practical and luxurious

While the overall aesthetics of the 696 may be a bit restrained for a coach-built body, the car was surprisingly practical and luxurious for its day. The cargo area (frunk) was quite generous and the single-tone interior was elegant, spacious, and finished in high-quality leather. It was also surprisingly flexible with folding rear seats that revealed additional luggage space.

There was a Porsche Beutler Special

At least one of the 696 Beutlers was a Beutler Special, which, meant a slightly different interior and a slightly different interior. The most notable difference was the fins, which "rose" from the taillights, similar to an Aston Martin DB5. The engine was still a 1.6-liter flat-four from the Porsche 356 A.

Why is it an automotive milestone?

Although only five examples were made from the Volkswagen-Porsche 696 Beutler, this was actually the first coach-built 2+2 coupe with decent performance figures (for the time), to come from Europe. Sources indicate that, out of the five cars made, only three still remain. One was, reportedly, crashed in a tree, while the other was left to rot. While coachbuilding is, once again, on the rise, this is one of the very few classic, four-seater coupes, from Europe, to feature a handcrafted body.