It’s a surreal scene, and I’m not even looking to look cool. With wide-eyed eyes and plump cheeks glistening in the sun, the face of the small silver car mirrors my own enthusiastic and bewildered expression. The Pacific winds cast delicate floral shadows on its soft aluminum panels, its cheerful outlines and charming proportions brimming with joyful optimism. Actually, something special is happening here, although many passers-by would find it difficult to identify exactly what.
Among the other anonymous people parked on this quiet Monterey street is Porsche No. 1 — literally, the first Porsche ever built. This priceless artifact, the first car to carry the family call, tested the decades-long styling of the respected Porsche sports cars that were the first to drive. Its upside-down engine and architecture are so fundamental that the 1948 serial number 356-001 is the epicenter of the Porsche myth that any enthusiast could dream of driving.
Rarely exhibited at Porsche’s climate-controlled museum in Stuttgart, and when it is, it’s limited to the closed-circuit of executive runway shows, this car has almost never been handed over to journalists. However, thanks to a miraculous trial, the historic roadster awaits today with a key. on the ignition and a full hour reserved for me.
The police keep watch while the museum staff keeps an eye on the car. A security guard in a white 356 Speedster is chased away by our police escort. It’s a shame, because for all their unique subtleties, these might be the only eyes. , unless it’s ours, to recognize the importance of their modest profile.
This is only the first of a long irony. Authentic and irreplaceable as it is, this Theseus car has experienced many rebirths. And while it was built with minimal resources, it was sold on the same day it qualified for later Porsche financing, and then completely overlooked. For years, the murmurs of the museum’s most sensible officials today recommend an estimated nine-figure price tag that doesn’t start with 1.
The history of Porsche’s car production, at least we know, begins with that brand’s first vehicle in 1948, but the company has its engineering roots far beyond.
Ferdinand Porsche Sr. began developing electric vehicles in Austria in 1893, before building his eponymous engineering consulting firm in Weimar Stuttgart in 1931. The Porsches soon found political favor with the Nazi Party, which helped secure civilian contracts for the development of the Volkswagen KdF. (People’s Car) and Auto Union Silver Arrows; the latter task was later passed on to his son and protégé, Ferdinand “Ferry” Porsche. With war on the horizon, Ferdinand’s engineering talents were used for the progression of military automobiles.
After the war and his defection into the automobile, Ferry returned to work in racing car engineering in order to raise money for the family’s release. More importantly, with the ramping up of production of his father’s Volkswagen model to force post-war Europe, Porsche Jr. saw an opportunity. offer a scalable contract to VW. The “VW Type 356 sports car”, what we now know as the Porsche 356/1, was first conceived as a lighter, stronger sports edition of the Beetle, perhaps built from the same must-have parts designed for the VW “Käfer”. The same old elements needed to equip a car were preserved.
To dress up those Volkswagen parts and turn them into something sportier and more convincing, Porsche engineer Erwin Komenda developed a tubular steel frame on top of which a low aluminum frame is superimposed. Underneath, Volkswagen’s small 1. 1-liter four-cylinder engine featured larger pistons and valves. and a new high-compression cylinder head. The product represented a 40% power increase, expanding the existing design from 25 horsepower to 35 horsepower and expanding torque to 53 pound-feet. Inspired by the mid-rear engine setup of Ferry’s Auto Union and post-war Cisitalian Grand Prix projects, the Typ 356 revamped Volkswagen’s rear-engined powertrain into a sportier mid-engine configuration, popular suspension and all.
That’s not to say the 356-001 is simply a redesigned VW under a tight Porsche skin. The torsional suspension and swingarm engine and transmission arguably would have been popular Volkswagen parts, but both were rear-facing. The result, itself borrowed from a concept implemented in Ferdinand’s 1938 Typ 64 Rekordwagen design, was a strange arrangement of guide arms that rotated and suspended the rear axle from the rear. As if to avoid absurdity, no bumpers were placed on the tail of the tubular. Chassis: If the car were ever to brake for a stray goat and suffer a rear-end impact from an Opel full of nuns, for example, this taut beam would be the closest thing to any kind of coverage impact like the one presented through the car. However, such a situation is unlikely to occur.
Testing began as soon as the fundamental foundations were assembled, and the bodyless prototype ventured into the Austrian Alps in February 1948. Literally twisted through those rigorous routes, the frame needed to be reinforced, but the progression continued as the frame was designed and prepared. The final progression only took an additional month, at other times.
However, at the time, Porsches didn’t have to follow the mid-engine design of the 356/1 for production, or even license the sports concept to Volkswagen. Instead, Ferry and Ferdinand resorted to building the Typ 356 as the Porsche. design a more spacious 2:2 monocoque with the powertrain and rear suspension reoriented as they had originally been designed for Volkswagen. Production of this platform — the rear-engined “Pre-A” 356/2 that served as styling for 17 years and some 78,000 cars — had already begun, and the staff at the Porsche sawmill in Gmünd, Austria, had already begun manufacturing the first of these.
The No. 1 Porsche was briefly introduced to racing enthusiasts and the media, and was then temporarily sold to Americans on the same day it qualified for the road. With the money so desperately needed to build the production cars that would be the 356 we know and now, the financial price tag of the aborted mid-engined 356-001 concept outweighed any long-term legacy.
Over the next decade in personal hands, the Porsche 356-001 had a difficult life. The vehicle has fluctuated between seven owners and two names, highly sought after by some and largely overlooked by others. Reportedly, Porsche GmbH showed little interest in the “obsolete” prototype car for the first three years, and the car was wrecked, restored, shortly renamed a supposedly faster “Pesco”, reshaped, and even rear-ended with this Opelful, the unlikeliest of the nuns.
Beyond aesthetics, those interim owners also repositioned the car’s driving characteristics through a series of performance-enhancing modifications, still installed to this day. Left behind, for example, was the original 1. 1-liter VW engine; in its position sits a 356 1500S H4 that an owner had fitted out for festival use in 1952. The car’s original Simplex cable brakes were repositioned with stronger hydraulic units, which in turn were later adapted to an even larger configuration. It was also lost, it had a reputation for being quite uncomfortable. On the outside, the unique single-panel rear bonnet has been reconfigured into separately detachable boot and engine doors; Given the car’s newfound reputation for fireproof warmth and extra temperature gauge between the seats, it’s not hard to believe why.
While the good fortune of the 356/2 has allowed the company to return to a more solid (and evidently more sentimental) footing, institutional interest in the prototype has been supported. Finally, after a decade-long hiatus, Porsche bought the prototype in 1958 in exchange for a new 356 Speedster with curved windows. However, other restorations and modifications were made to the car: the most significant in 1975, still in the 80s, and more recently with a return to the original single-track model. Dashboard configuration supported by complementary, though not original, panels painted red.
The 001 still looks like its original profile today, but with the Thessusian caution of so many decades of reconstructions and restorations, it’s clear that it’s not the same car Ferry built in 1948. However, modifications and “upgrades” aside, this is still the first Porsche. Porsche. Brand chassis built and labeled just after the war. It doesn’t matter that it deviates from the exact way it came out of the first Porsche workshops in Gmünd: the 356-001 remains, definitively and categorically, the first Porsche.
There’s a common sense of nervousness before jumping into something so (in)valuable, but I don’t feel any wonderful anxiety here. Caution is more than the word, and I’m well aware of the old, financial price tag of the contraption entrusted to Still, the 356/1 is professionally cared for and is a slow (not to mention mechanically simple) vehicle to drive. The external threat is mitigated thanks to the police escort that opens the road for us, and I do not forget it. None of the guests here are in the habit of messing things up.
My time comes, and 356-001, despite its roots and derivative mechanics, feels special from the first contact. The flush-polished aluminum door opens with an undeniable tail movement, and the deep aluminum door opens with a light weight. , rewarding robustness.
As you glide over the wide edge, you fall onto a springy cushion held by a shallow scallop. There’s no seatbelt, of course (it wasn’t even an item of attention in cars at the time), but there is the peripheral glow of a modernized temperature gauge. Hanging to the front of the firewall briefly triggers me to choose one.
Looking down, VW’s patterned pads on all 3 pedals are a constant reminder of the prototype’s pedestrian, ready-to-use vision. A feeble attempt to feel the VW gear lever doors before taking off leads nowhere; These spur gears may not mesh until they rotate. Fortunately, a sympathetic movement gets the gearbox in first before starting the engine. A crack of those sharp, out-of-sync teeth was avoided.
On the left, a small wrench spooks the air-cooled boxer. Using Porsche’s undiluted “e-fuel” (a CO2 recycling generation we analyzed at its wind pilot plant in Patagonia), the modernized 1952 1500S engine sounds, smells, and reacts like any first model. 356 running on a general fossil fuel-derived gas pump. Without the sulphuric impurities, of course.
By squeezing and releasing the knife, the car stops in the sprint and the brake is released. Any residual anxiety is temporarily replaced by haptic satisfaction, and 356-001 provides comforting familiarity. It’s an easy car to drive. Trudged along the Carmel coast, it behaves a bit like a newer Beetle. The hour passes and I no longer think about its supposed price of 300 million dollars; I only drive one car.
The 356/1’s glossy, soft-finished wheel is delicate, but that’s no problem. It weighs only 585 kilograms and only the contents of the fuel tank weigh on the narrow front tires, the idler, the steering ratio and recirculation gearbox are unquestionable, even in steady state.
On the contrary, its sporting intent makes it more available than expected from an early post-war vehicle. Their unassisted brakes might be heavy compared to modern hydraulic systems, but in such a lightweight car they seem civilized for the time. The clutch is smooth and the torque of the small 1. 5-litre never gives the impression of stuck, while the soft weight of the number 1 makes it a little braver than expected. And, while the acceleration of the original 1. 1 L clocked in at 23 seconds even for the time being, the 1500S should, hypothetically, produce about twice as much force, enough for a car that weighs less than a fraction of the weight of a Lancia Stratos.
Another stop, a grimace in anticipation of the same old squeak in first gear – and a sprint to reassure the No. 1 that I need it – the speed selections increase and the gear settings rewind easily, albeit awkwardly: clutch, pause, deceleration. the first, dual-clutch, fast in second. Most passengers would never notice anything.
The four-speed gearbox is a compliment to my sympathy for the song. A direct resonance resonates as the car accelerates, adding to the nearby hiss of the air-cooled engine located so eerily close to my back.
At one point, my partner jumps into the lead vehicle, probably trusting me enough to leave me with his valuable cargo. Once the anxiety about functionality has subsided, I feel the car even more comfortably. My smile spreads as the Pacific winds shake my floral silk car. , and with increasing comfort, I pick up a little more speed on a bump before heading back. I bounce back and feel her arms unloaded and lifted upwards, extended like a ventilated summer dress. It’s the shortest moment, but this curious feeling assures me That number 1 still has big surprises.
One would expect a car of such importance to be driven heroically, but it doesn’t have to be that way; The No. 1 Porsche may be sacred, but there’s nothing sacred about it: a prototype in its imperfection, the 356/1 is too strange to live on, too much to die for, and too romantic to be fussy. As a concept, it’s a delight, and while it’s equally clever that Porsche has opted for a more traditional setup for the production 356, there’s wonderful satisfaction in knowing that the mid-rear configurations would one day bring Porsche back into a positive new era.
Online Writer, Driving. ca
Researcher and through training.
More than 10 years of experience as a professional photographer.
H. BA, History – Wilfrid Laurier University
He holds a B. A. with honors in History from Wilfrid Laurier University, with a concentration in Soviet business plans and the elegant Middle East. Between classes, Alder worked as a study assistant for members of the university and under contract with a third party.
While a student, Alder also co-founded the scholarship fund for foreign scholars overcoming the war. Funded through a parallel student tax from the administration, this initiative partners with NGOs in conflict regions to offer full scholarships to scholars whose studies have been affected by the war. ISOW has remained a student-run program for a decade and has continued to grow its staff, budgets, and student rosters.
With a background in history, Alder’s curriculum encompasses foreign archive research, professional trades, humanitarian organizing, photography and videography, freelance writing, editing and editorial content, plan making and assignments.
Having picked up a camera to distract himself from obscure topics at university, Alder’s combination of photography qualifications and writing talent caught the attention of Canadian automotive publishers. Starting with articles about vintage cars in Porsche Provinz and Autostrada magazines, Alder went on to make photo galleries. for Driving before being hired as editor-in-chief.
As a full-time automotive journalist, Elle Alder’s professional reach has expanded from vintage car romance to customer functional and fashionable car application, as well as on-camera car presentation for video audiences. Alder also contributes as a videographer for other Driving participants and has sought mentorship to continue expanding all of those skills.
Outside of business hours, Elle Alder drives and maintains a small collection of vintage vehicles, adding a 1983 Porsche 944, a 1997 Lada Niva, a 1983 AMC Eagle pickup truck, a 1959 Citroën ID 19, a 1952 Tucker Sno-Cat, and a Massey-Ferguson Ski Whiz. Others come with film developing, fountain pen and typewriter restoration, and railroad style.
Email: ealder@postmedia. com
LinkedIn: www. linkedin. com/in/ellealder
Instagram: www. instagram. com/analogmotoring/
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