Porsche 356
It's from 1948, before you were born.
- Iconic generation
- 1948 Porsche 356 (the first Porsche)
- Origin
- Gmünd, Austria — later Zuffenhausen, Germany
- Designer
- Ferry Porsche and Erwin Komenda
- Engine
- 1.1L air-cooled flat-four (early cars)
- Power
- 40 hp (early cars)
- Production
- 1948–1965 — about 76,000 built
- Layout
- Rear/mid engine, rear-wheel drive, air-cooled
- Claim to fame
- The car that started Porsche
About
As of 2026, it's 78 years old.
Every Porsche traces back to this one. In 1948, Ferry Porsche — son of Ferdinand — built the car his family's company couldn't yet buy off a shelf: a lightweight, air-cooled sports car raided liberally from the Volkswagen Beetle parts bin. The first 356 prototype was hand-hammered in a small workshop in Gmünd, Austria.
Those Gmünd cars used a mid-mounted 1.1-liter flat-four making a humble 40 horsepower, but the magic wasn't the power — it was the lightness and balance. Ferry's philosophy was simple: less weight beats more muscle. That principle would define Porsche for the next 75 years.
Production soon moved to Zuffenhausen, Germany, where the 356 grew up into a proper, beautifully curvy sports car beloved by enthusiasts and racers alike. James Dean famously drove a 356 Speedster, the stripped-down, cut-windshield variant that remains one of the most coveted shapes Porsche ever made.
By the time it bowed out in 1965 — after roughly 76,000 cars — the 356 had already handed the baton to its rear-engined successor, the 911. But it set the template: small, light, rear-engined, air-cooled, and obsessed with how a car feels rather than how its spec sheet reads. Not bad for something built from Beetle bits in a barn.
Porsche 356 through the years
Porsche No. 1
Ferry Porsche hand-builds the first 356 in Gmünd, Austria, using Beetle mechanicals.
Move to Zuffenhausen
Production shifts to Germany as Porsche becomes a real carmaker.
The Speedster
The stripped, low-windscreen Speedster arrives and becomes a California and Hollywood favorite.
James Dean's Porsche
The 356's cool factor soars through its association with stars and racers alike.
The 911 arrives
The 356's rear-engined successor debuts, beginning Porsche's most famous lineage.
356 retires
After roughly 76,000 cars, the original Porsche bows out a legend.
