Porsche 356/1

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The Porsche 356/1 was the first real Porsche car ever made. Based on an aluminum roadster body, the car was designed by longtime Porsche hand Erwin Komenda. It was styled by him in April 1948 and completed a month later.

Smooth and low, with a two-piece unframed windshield, it set the pattern for the future production 356s but had many unique touches. For example there are no air grilles in the back, and the engine access was via a long front-hinged lid instead of a small hatch. The 356/1 was a two-seater open roadster, with a mid-mounted engine, unlike the production 356s and 911s later. Later, to cut down costs and to make space in the car for the third and fourth seats, the engine was moved to behind the rear axle. Behind the wheel was room enough for a spare wheel, six-volt battery, and a small amount of luggage. Inside were rudimentary semi-contoured seats, and the only instrument, a speedometer, though a clock was built into the glovebox at the far right. On the front of the vehicle the Porsche name was proudly spelled out, not unlike what the company still does today.

In all, the 356/1 was attractive, sporty, obviously aerodynamic, and different from anything else on the road. Only one problem surfaced on a shake-down run from Gmünd to Zell am See: A rear frame tube bent from pounding the rugged pavement of the Großglockner Pass. With the 356/1 limping into the village, Ferry and his riding engineer fashioned a two-piece metal sleeve to cover the weakened nub, a reinforcement later applied to production 356s. It had an air-cooled, flat-4, 1,131 cc engine that produced 40 hp. A July showing of the 356/1 at Berne in Switzerland earned good reviews from the British and European press. That same month, the car captured a 1000-1200 cc road race in Innsbruck, Austria - the first of many 356 victories to come.

Porsche 356 wood mold and what I think is 356/1 in the background

[edit] External links

• Autobahn: The First Porsche

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