Although Ferdinand Porsche and his Porsche engineering company had designed cars for other companies for a long time, it was in 1948 that a first "Porsche" was made. Then it was just a "Porsche", but today we call this mid-engined roadster as a 356/1 (or 356 no. 1) to distinguish it from the rear-engined 356 that followed. The 356/1 (a single car) and the 356/2 coupés and cabriolets were made in Gmünd, Austria. All these cars had aluminium bodies. In 1950 the production switched to Stuttgart. As the series production didn't allow the use of handmade aluminium body panels, the cars were made of stamped steel panels. The first Stuttgart-built 356 have later been called as "356 Pre-A". That's because the following generations were 356 A, 356 B T5, 356 B T6 and 356 C. The 356 was made in many body forms: Coupé, Cabriolet, Speedster, America Roadster, Convertible D, Hardtop coupé, Beutler, Karmann, Abarth and in many engine variants: 1100, 1300, 1300 S (Super), 1500, 1500 S, 1500 GS Carrera, 1500 GS Carrera GT, 1600, 1600 S, 1600 GS Carrera, 1600 GS Carrera GT, 1600 GS Carrera GTL, 1600 Super 90, 2000 GS Carrera 2, 2000 GS Carrera 2 GT and finally 1600 SC. The last evolution of the 356, the "C" got disc brakes. The 356 was followed by the 901/911.
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