Amazing Photos of the Porsche 356

On 8 June 1948, the first car to bear the Porsche name was road-certified: the Porsche 356/1 Roadster produced in Gmünd (in Carinthia, Austria).

The “Gmünd Roadster” was powered by a 1.1-liter air-cooled flat-four engine from Volkswagen. The engine’s power was increased to 35 hp for the 356. The roadster weighed just 585 kilograms and reached speeds of up to 135 km/h (83 mph).

The original 356 (also called “pre-A”) is easy to recognize from its two-piece windscreen divided by a center bar. This was replaced by a single-piece windscreen with a center bend as of model year 1952.

All 356 generations were also available in an open-top version (Cabriolet, Speedster or Roadster). The original price in 1948 for the 356 coupe was US$3,750. The 356 cabriolet cost US$4,250.

Here is a set of amazing photos of the Porsche 356.