The History of the Porsche 356 Articles | Automotive

Of all the Porsche's, the Porsche 356 was the first production level model and it was sold from between 1948 and 1965. While the Porsche 64 was the first car to be actually produced by Porsche it was never meant for mass production and was strictly a test model. This test model was created by Ferdinand Porsche as well as his son Ferry Porsche and designed by Erwin Komenda. The features for this particular engine were gotten from that of the Volkswagen Beetle, which incidentally was designed by Ferdinand Porsche.

The Porsche 356 came in three initial models; these models are the coupe, cabriolet and the roadster. The cabriolet is a luxury convertible while the roadster was a stripped down model of this same convertible. Before the Porsche 356 was withdrawn from production in 1965, it had gone through a number of different changes and modifications. Of all the versions, the most wanted were the 356 “Carrera” which often fetched prices of over $150,000. The next was the “Super 90” followed by the “Speedster”. In the late 50's Porsche's sold at an original selling price of around $4,000.

Max Hoffman was the only importer of Porsche's into the United States as at 1954 and he needed a version which cost a lot less and was racier, in order to suit the needs of the American market. To satisfy this requirement Porsche created the 356 “Speedster” and it became a very popular car for a variety of reasons, one of which was its low, raked windshield (easily removable for weekend racing), bucket seats, and minimal folding top.

These days, this car is still very popular as it goes at over a $100,000 and has been used in a number of different films such as the two 48 Hours films and another very popular film- Top Gun. In the year 1957, Speedster production hit its max at 1,171 cars, after this the Speedster was then replaced by the Convertible D model. This model has a windshield which was more practical as well as glass side windows and seats which were much more comfortable.

For a long time, the basic shape of the Porsche 356 remained the same even certain features were changed. Features which were mostly altered were in the mechanical area. Coupe and Cabriolet models of the Porsche were produced annually until 1965, the last 356 Roadster was created in the earlier parts of 1963. The final model build was 356 C featuring disc brakes and the most powerful Porsche pushrod engine so far: the 95HP “SC”.

In 1964, Porsche 356 reached maximum production at 14,151 cars. This was the same year that the Porsche 911 was launched. The company continued to sell the 356C in North America although it had stopped producing it elsewhere. Customers complained that the price for the 911 was rather high so Porsche started production of the 912, making use of the engine of the 356 as a reference model. The 912 was sold between the year 1965 and the year 1969.

56 years later after production began; Sports Car International classified the 356C as 10th on its list of Top Sports Car's of the 60's. As of today, the Porsche 356 is a respected car among a lot of collectors for a variety of reasons. All over the world 356 owners have held onto the tradition by taking good care of their cars and driving them regularly.