History of Porsche 356

Background of Porsche 356 Production (1948-1965)

The first car to bear the Porsche 356 name was road-certified on June 8, 1948. It was a Porsche 356/1 Roadster produced in Gmünd, 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). Over 50 Gmünd cars are built and sold primarily in Austria and Germany.
By 1950 the factory was relocated to Stuttcart-Zuffenhausen, next to the Reutter coachworks and production begins on the 356.
356's produced prior to 1955 are also called "pre-A". Early cars 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.
Pre-A 356
Split windscreen, flush bumpers
Porsche 356/2 Gmund (1948-1950)
Porsche 356 1100 (1950-1954)
Porsche 356 1300 (1951-1953)
Porsche 356 1500 (1952)
One-piece windscreen, set-apart bumpers
Porsche 356 1300 (1954-1955)
Porsche 356 1300 Super (1954-1955)
Porsche 356 1500 (1953-1955)
Porsche 356 1500 Super (1953-1955 )
Porsche 356 1500 Speedster (1955)
Porsche 356 1500 Super Speedster (1955)

356 A
Beginning in the 1956 model year, the letter A was added to the model line and the car was comprehensively updated.
Porsche 356 A 1300 (1956-1957)
Porsche 356 A 1300 Super (1956-1957)
Porsche A 1600 (1956-1959)
Porsche 356 A 1600 Speedster (1956-1958)
Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1956-1959)
Porsche 356 A 1600 Super Speedster (1956-1958)
Porsche 356 A 1600 Hardtop (Coupe or Cabriolet 1958-1959)
Porsche 356 A 1600 Super Hardtop (Coupe or Cabriolet 1958-1959)
Porsche 356 A 1600 Convertible D (1959)356 drawingPorsche 356 A 1600 Super Convertible D (1959)

356 B
For the 1960 model year, the 356 A was replaced by the redesigned 356 B. 
Porsche 356 B 1600 Coupe (1960-1963)
Porsche 356 B 1600 Roadster (1960-1962)
Porsche 356 B1600 Super Coupe (1960-1963)
Porsche 356 B 1600 Super Roadster (1960-1962)
Porsche 356 B 1600 Super 90 Coupe (1960-1963)
Porsche 356 B 1600 Super 90 Roadster (1960-1962)
1961-1962 also included a hardtop "Notchback" produced by Karmann Coachworks.

356 C
In 1964, the 356 C replaced the 356 B. Coupe, Cabriolet)
Porsche 356 C 1600 (1964-1965)
Porsche 356 SC 1600 (1964-1965)
4-wheel disc brakes were new to all C models. The range of engines was reduced to three:

The last Porsche 356 C was delivered in May 1966 finishing the 1965 model year run. Total 356 model production all years: 78,000.

Four-cylinder boxer engines: 
356 A 1300 with 44 hp
356 A 1300 Super with 60 hp
356 1600 with 60 hp
356 A 1600 Super with 75 hp
356 A 1500 GS *Carrera with 100 hp
356 C 1600 S 75 hp
356 C 1600 Super 90 hp porsche 356 debuts at le mans first race 1951 1024x737356 C 2000GS Carrera ("Carrera 2") 130 hp

The "Carrera" was powered by a Fuhrmann engine, a four cylinder boxer engine named after famed Porsche engine designer Ernst Fuhrmann, and featured four overhead camshafts, which were driven by bevel-gear shafts.
In 1959, the 1300 Engine was discontinued and the last Speedster was produced.

Porsche 356 Racing

Porsche racing heritage runs deep in the 356 beginning with the victory in 1951 at LeMans with the 356 SL 1100. While it was primarily a road car, production 356’s also spent plenty of time making a name for Porsche on the track. Driver's found very took little, if any modification to make it race-ready.

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