Zunder 1500
Car of the Day #227: 1960 Zunder 1500 – Fibreglass coupé, Porsche heart
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, obviously, because what may have passed for a supreme Argentinian sports coupé in 1960 is one pixel from being a failed generative AI prompt: “Dame Porsche 356”.
It's as if an early Jensen or mid-(last)-century Chrysler had been a major inspiration for the car…however, both are considerably wider than this small car. Without a grille, and with such narrow bodywork — the angled headlight thing doesn't really work.
By the ’60s, cars were firmly established as part of life in Argentina, but the country relied mainly on imports. With the hopes of founding a made-in-Argentina car company, brothers Nelson José and Eligio Oscar Bongiovanni began studying their competition. By 1960, with a factory near Rio Cuarto, the brothers were well on their way to producing a brand-new two-door sedan for Argentina.
With a fibreglass body chosen for ease of production as well as durability, the last remaining problem before launch was its engine, which was going to be a weedy Volkswagen motor. Brother Nelson José, from his travels, knew the perfect engine was being assembled in the heart of Germany — and packed his bags for a trip to Stuttgart.
Zunder 1500 on launch and a press photo for the car.
Maybe the interns were running the show when Nelson José arrived, or maybe the numbers really did look compelling enough for Porsche to not only lend their engine, but also a measure of engineering support and permission to use its name in official Zunder marketing materials.
Yes, you're looking at a factory-built, fibreglass-bodied Porsche 356-engined coupé…styled and engineered in Argentina.
Launched at the swank Alvear Palace Hotel in Buenos Aires, the small firm quickly earned a ton of media attention for its brand-new sports car. Underneath the rear bodywork sat a 1,488-cc flat 4-cylinder engine, with a quoted 58 horsepower; this pushed its 880 kg (1,940 lb) body to a maximum speed of just 140 km/h (87 mph).
On their way to that speed, drivers also enjoyed four Porsche gears from its Porsche gearbox.
See above for performance stats at the time of launch for the Zunder.
With angled 'Jeepers Creepers' peepers stuck out front, slab sides and an upright windshield, it's my estimation that aerodynamics were not a priority for the Zunder 1500. Underneath its bodywork was a simple tubular steel frame, torsion bar suspension, and drum brakes all 'round. Inside, Porsche even lent their gauges to the car, which sit in a wavy fibreglass dashboard.
With approximately 200 said to have been made before the firm went under, there simply weren't enough buyers willing to take a chance on a pricey Argentinian car…even if all the good parts came from Porsche.
READ NEXT: I first wrote about the Zunder in 2015; more recently, Jason Torchinsky at The Autopian did a more extensive workup in 2023 on the Zunder and its follow-up to the 1500.
