In July 1948 the world caught the first glimpse of the Porsche 356 Roadster. Up until then Ferdinand Porsche had worked for nearly half a century for other manufacturers. Developed by his son, Ferdinand Jr. or Ferry, the small two-seater was the first car to bear the Porsche name. The new Porsche received universal acclaim from journalists and won its class at its very first race. The sport’s cars exotic mid-engined spaceframe chassis was however too expensive and complicated for mass-production. Ferry Porsche had already realized this before Porsche #1 was completed and started the development of a less labor intensive production car. Even though the second Porsche was only remotely related to the original, the 356 name was retained. Click here to read more.. »
1948: Gmünd, Austria. The Porsche Firm, having located to Austria just after the war to be closer to parts suppliers, turns out a variety of automotive, farm and industrial motors and tools for the war-ravaged western europe. Ferry Porsche (son of the famous Dr. Ing Ferdinand Porsche, founder of Porsche motors) designed and fabricates the first Project #356 car, model 356-001. The car utilized a tubular chassis, an 1100cc engine and was very light and so quick for the time. Karl Frolich was the gearbox and suspension specialist contributing to the handling of the prototype. Ferry Porsche often took the prototype–sometimes just the rolling chassis without body–up the steep mountain roads surrounding Gmünd and found the car a spright handler and good climber.