The Porsche 356 is a 2-door coupé / 2-door convertible (car) / convertible / 2-door Roadster (automobile) / roadster from Porsche, built from 1948 to 1965, in a decade split by war, when civilian production stopped and restarted. Under the bonnet: gasoline engine. Ferry Porsche, Erwin Komenda drew it.
How it came about
The Porsche 356 is a rear-engine sports car, and the first-ever production Porsche model. The 356 is a lightweight and nimble-handling, rear-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-door available both in hardtop coupé and open configurations. Engineering innovations continued during the years of manufacture, contributing to its motorsports success and popularity. Production started in 1948 at Gmünd, Austria, where Porsche built approximately 50 cars. In 1950, the factory relocated to Zuffenhausen, Germany, and general production of the 356 continued until April 1965, well after the replacement model 911 made its September 1964 debut. Of the 76,000 originally produced, approximately half survive. The 356 was first produced by Austrian company Porsche Konstruktionen GesmbH (1948–1949), and then by German company Dr. Ing.
h. c. F. Porsche GmbH (1950–1965). It was Porsche's first production automobile. Earlier cars designed by the Austrian company include Cisitalia Grand Prix race car, the Volkswagen Beetle, and Auto Union Grand Prix cars. The original price in 1948 for the 356 coupe was US$3,750 (equivalent to $50,300 in 2025) (official general USD inflation). The 356 cabriolet cost US$4,250 (equivalent to $57,000 in 2025).
The hardware
Power comes from gasoline engine. It weighs 1700 -. The layout matters: the engine hangs behind the rear axle, a layout that gives ferocious traction out of a corner and a reputation to match on the way in. The wheelbase is 82.7 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Its family tree is legible: its successor was the Porsche 911/912; assembly was at Gmünd. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Citroën 2CV, the Chevrolet Bel Air, the Toyota Land Cruiser — show what else the money bought that year. Its Porsche stablemates include the Porsche P1 and the Porsche Type 12.
What it costs now
There is no federal ownership record for the Porsche 356 — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.