This is an original American-built Devin D from 1960, it’s powered by a flat-four sourced from a Porsche 356 Super 90 mated to a Porsche 741 4-speed manual transaxle.
The Devin D is a largely forgotten American sports car that proved to be a highly-competitive racer in the 1950s and 1960s, often beating the best from established big-name automakers.
Fast Facts: The Devin D
- The Devin D was introduced in 1958 by American designer Bill Devin as a lightweight, affordable sports car aimed at amateur racers. Built on a tubular steel frame and using Volkswagen suspension components and brakes, it was typically sold as a kit and allowed owners to choose between VW or Porsche engines to match their budget and performance desires.
- Fiberglass bodywork, formed from over 20 molds, allowed Devin designs to fit various chassis dimensions while keeping weight around 1,200 lbs depending on the model. Porsche-powered versions of the Devin D produced 70+ bhp, enabling them to outperform heavier imports in grassroots racing events, hill climbs, and SCCA competitions across the US and over in Europe.
- This 1960 example is powered by a 1.6 liter Porsche 356 Super 90 flat-four enlarged to 1,720cc, it has twin Solex carburetors, and a Porsche 741 4-speed gearbox. Restored in 2017, it was repainted in Fashion Grey and equipped with rare factory-correct components, including a wraparound windshield, folding soft top, fog lights, and full Porsche instrumentation.
- Further upgrades include Porsche 356B drum brakes on all four corners, suspension refinements, and a steering rack from the same donor model. Now offered for sale in Dallas, Pennsylvania, the car includes documentation and a clean title. Well-preserved Devin Ds with Porsche drivetrains have become prized collector pieces and remain highly-competitive in vintage racing.
History Speedrun: The Mighty Devin D
By the late 1950s, American engineer and racer Bill Devin had already made a name for himself with a line of affordable fiberglass bodies that could turn humble mass-produced automobile chassis into surprisingly competitive sports cars.
Original Caption: Looking like a king-sized Revell model car kit, the Devin D emerges from its huge shipping case as a finished unit, with integral frame, hand-rubbed lacquer shell, upholstered bucket seats and cockpit. Image courtesy of Undiscovered Classics.
It was the introduction of the Devin D in 1958 that marked a further step toward even more affordability, not to mention flexibility and no small amount of grassroots racing appeal. The Devin D quickly became a genuine alternative to more expensive imports from the likes of Porsche – especially for enthusiasts who didn’t mind getting their hands dirty and building the car themselves.
At its core, the Devin D was built on a custom tubular steel chassis with an 82-inch wheelbase, designed to accept components from the ubiquitous (and inexpensive) Volkswagen Beetle, including the front/rear suspension and transaxle. It used torsion bars and trailing arms up front, with swing axles and coil springs in the rear.
This setup made it relatively easy to service and allowed homebuilders to complete a car using widely available parts and hand tools. The lightweight fiberglass body was one of Devin’s specialties – formed from more than two dozen individual molds, which enabled precise sizing for different chassis wheelbases, widths, and configurations. Devin bodies were light, aerodynamic, and unmistakably European in profile – despite being made in California.
Engine choices typically centered on air-cooled flat-fours from either Volkswagen or Porsche. The VW units kept costs down, while the Porsche 356 engine provided competitive performance for serious drivers.
A Porsche-powered Devin D could make 70+ bhp, which doesn’t sound like much until you consider the car’s weight – barely 1,200 lbs when fully assembled and brimming with fuel. The power-to-weight ratio was good enough to give Porsche Speedsters and British roadsters a real challenge on track days and hill climbs. Dollar for dollar, the Devin D was hard to beat.
Devin priced the car strategically – a basic body and chassis kit sold for around $1,495, while a fully assembled VW-powered model could be had for just under $3,000. The Porsche versions crept up to around $3,350. Even so, they remained well under the price of a new Porsche 356, offering the same power in a much lighter package.
Bill Devin at the wheel of his own personal Devin SS. Image courtesy of Undiscovered Classics.
The Devin D wasn’t just a kit car curiosity, it saw real action on the track. Period race reports and modern restoration notes show that many were campaigned successfully in SCCA events.
One standout example was originally equipped with a 1.6 liter Porsche Super engine and competed in rallies throughout Europe. That car was fitted with rare Tecnomagnesio wheels, rally gauges, and a full competition setup, demonstrating just how customizable, and capable, the Devin D could be in the right hands.
Despite its low production volume, the Devin D left a meaningful impression in the United States. It offered a stripped-back, analog experience, free of power assists, unnecessary weight, or overcomplicated engineering.
It’s the kind of machine where you feel every bump in the road and every twitch in the rear suspension, for better or worse. It demanded skill and attention, but rewarded drivers with direct feedback and world-beating performance.
Today, original Devin Ds are highly collectible. Restored examples – especially those with Porsche drivetrains – can fetch well over six figures at auction and they remain a popular choice for vintage racers.
This is an original Devin D from 1960, it’s powered by a flat-four sourced from a Porsche 356 Super 90 mated to a Porsche 741 4-speed manual transaxle.
The Porsche-Powered 1960 Devin D Shown Here
The car you see here is a 1960 Devin D powered by a Porsche 356 Super 90 flat-four with a displacement of 1,720cc. This Devin was restored in 2017, this included a full repaint in Fashion Grey, and it now has a wrap-around windshield and aluminum windshield trim sourced from Devin Sports Cars in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
During the restoration, the car was also fitted with a removable, folding soft top and side curtains, fog lights, a driver-side rear vision mirror, a locking front storage compartment, a vented rear engine cover, chrome rocker panels, rear bumperettes, and a center-exit exhaust.
It rides on painted steel wheels with polished hubcaps and Michelin XZX tires on all four corners. Suspension consists of transverse torsion bars and trailing links up front, with coil-over springs and trailing arms in the rear.
A set of drum brakes from a Porsche 356B were fitted front and rear. It also has a steering rack from a Porsche 356B, as well as a full set of Porsche instrumentation, including a speedometer, tachometer, and a fuel level gauge, as well as auxiliary gauges for oil pressure and oil temperature.
The Porsche 356 Super 90 flat-four is fitted with twin Solex carburetors and a 12-volt alternator, and it received a valve job at Dawe’s Motorsports Development in July of 2019.
The Porsche 356 Super 90 flat-four is fitted with twin Solex carburetors and a 12-volt alternator, and it received a valve job at Dawe’s Motorsports Development in July of 2019. Power is sent back through a Porsche 741 4-speed manual transaxle that was overhauled at Wills Werks in November 2019.
The car is now being offered for sale out of Dallas, Pennsylvania with a tonneau cover, some service records, and a clean Pennsylvania title in the seller’s name. If you’d like to read more about it or place a bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
