Porsche Museum Treasure - the 356

The 356 is the first sports car to bear the Porsche name. 'No. 1' is roadcertified in June. Only one month later, the lightweight mid-engine roadster wins its first class victory at the Innsbruck Stadtrennen. Shortly before the end of the 2nd World War, the Porsche company emigrated to Austria. It was in Gmünd in the state of Kärnten that Ferry Porsche began to realise the idea of a sporty Volkswagen. His father had long had similar plans, but was a prisoner of war in France at this time. In 1947 a cabriolet was produced with a tubular frame chassis, aluminium body and a centrally located tuned-up VW Beetle engine. The Swiss car magazine Automobil Revue tested this Porsche number 1 and was full of praise, remarking "this is the sort of performance we envisage for a modern car." The positive response to the roadster spurred Ferry Porsche on. A small series of sports cars was produced, but in a design which made more practical use of the available space. The engine was relocated to the rear, as on the Beetle, and the tubular structure was abandoned in favour of a sheet-metal frame. There was a coupé and a cabriolet variant, and the bodies were hand-crafted in aluminium. The original version of the 356 was born, its sporty performance and speed immediately causing a stir. With only 40 bhp of power under its bonnet, it reached a top speed of around 140 km/h. The production run for this series began at the end of 1948 and finished two years later. In all, around 50 cars were delivered. The lightweight and torsionally rigid Gmünd cars proved excellent for the race track. http://www.porsche.com/usa/accessoriesandservices/classic/philosophyandclassicworld/world/models/roadvehicles/1949-356/

Added 21 Oct 2026