1948-1950
Porsche built another 52 cars at Gmünd and these were more like the full production 356s that would follow in 1950.
Ferry Porsche adopted his father’s preferred rear-engined layout which gave better interior space, at the expense of handling finesse.
The first of these cars was a coupe although a Cabriolet followed. The hand-formed aluminium bodyshell sat on a steel box-section chassis.
The engine was initially a 1131cc flat-four, although the capacity was later dropped to 1086cc to fit current motorsport categories.
Specification
Engine: Rear-mounted, air-cooled flat-four with two Solex 26 VFI downdraft carburettors
Capacity: 1086cc
Compression ratio: 7.0:1
Bore and stroke: 73.5x64mm
Maximum power: 40bhp at 4000rpm
Maximum torque: 64Nm at 3300rpm
Transmission: Four speed manual driving the rear axle
Brakes: Front: 230x30mm drums; rear: 230x30mm drums
Suspension: Front: Two parallel arms with torsion bars and single-action dampers; Rear: Oscillating half-through spring stays with torsion bars and double-action dampers
Wheels & tyres: Front: 30Dx16 with 5.00/16 tyres 30Dx16 with 5.00/16 tyres
Length: 3870mm
Width 1660mm
Weight: 680kg
0-60mph: 23.5sec
Top speed: 87mph
Variations
Porsche built Coupe and Cabriolet versions of these early, hand-made 356s.
