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Barn Find Porsche Becomes A Twin Turbo Frankenstein Build How we made the 1959 Emory Outlaw RHD Coupe in GT SilverRod Emory is a legend in the Porsche game – so when he’s got a new build, you know it’s going to be worthy of an in-depth look. His 356...
Porsche: The Carrera Dynasty by Glen Smale © Glen Smale A Spanish noun, ‘carrera’ can mean road, track or race and since the 1970s ‘Carrera’ has been a model name synonymous with Porsche. In fact, and as the author explains, Porsche had been using the name ‘Carrera’ since 1954 to...
Racing Porsche with Style © Stéphane Coradi This is Stéphane Coradi’s third publication, and the third of his books that I am reviewing. It must be said that Stéphane’s enthusiasm for his work is so irrepressible, it’s contagious. But that is refreshing, because he really encourages the contributors to show...
Enjoy a close-up experience of the history of Porsche at the Porsche Museum, at night when the museum comes alive! Encounter legendary racing and sports cars, fascinating production models as well as unusual prototypes. More than 80 vehicles will take you from the early years all the way to the...
SportErfolge: by Tony Adriaensens – page photographs by © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale Simply titled, SportErfolge (English: Success in Sport), this book came my way quite by surprise. It is not a book I knew anything about until I spotted it on the internet, and decided to look for a copy....
Porsche 356 Cabriolet competing at an aerodrome race in the USA, ca. 1952/1953 America has for decades been Porsche’s biggest market, and this was important for the young and growing company. In some ways, the importance of this market even influenced the development of certain models. In this feature, Porsche...
Porsche 356 – Made by Reutter: by Frank Jung © Delius Klasing Verlag When the second edition of this fine publication was released back in April 2019 in German, I enquired immediately as to when the English edition would be available. I was told it would be coming onto the...
1957 Porsche 356 A Speedster – looking chocolate box pretty! It was Max Hoffman, the New York-based Porsche importer, who was instrumental in getting the factory to produce a lightweight sports car for local competition in the USA. Hoffman’s clients were demanding a stripped-down factory version of the 356 to...
The Ultimate Book of the Porsche 356 by Brian Long © Veloce Publishing Limited Brian Long’s original book on the Porsche 356 was published in 1996, and this was later printed in softback form. A few years later a revised version of this book was published which included more colour...
Rennsport Collective, Donington Hall, 20 July 2019: Porsche 996 GT1 Evo 1997 on display with numerous other Porsche classics They were all there, from a Pre-A 356 to the latest 991.2 GT3 Clubsport, by way of the most mouth-watering collection of 911s, 956 and 962s, including the indomitable 917. The...
Porsche – The Golden Years: Leonardo Acerbi © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale It is always a pleasure when a top-quality book lands on my desk, so when Porsche – The Golden Years arrived at the Porsche Road & Race offices, I was especially pleased. We had the pleasure of reviewing Ferrari...
After a 45-year hiatus, the popular Ice Race GP at Zell am See near the picturesque Austrian town of the same name, was revived last month to great acclaim. Thanks to an abundance of snow in the region, the race track, which is laid out on the frozen runway of...
It’s hard to know where to begin when writing a report on Porsche Rennsport Reunion VI. It was both an emotional and a sensory overload! A reunion with people not seen for a while, and the historical impact of all the rare cars. This was the sixth iteration put on...
A father/son project gets driven This is a fully restored 1965 Porsche 356C, the final year of the 356. A father/son project, it features a punched-out 1780cc engine, mild outlaw body work, and a rally-inspired interior with fresh hides and rare vintage Tag Heuer rally clocks. Though it’s incredibly slow,...
1956 Porsche 356A is a “Sunroof Coupe” This 1956 Porsche 356A is a “Sunroof Coupe” that has been owned by the current owner since 1990. It is powered by the original 1600CC engine making approximately 85 horsepower and, as a restored driver example, is a delight to wheel around....
Back in 2012 I found a car in Tuscon Arizona, it was a 1958 Porsche 356A T2 coupe. It was in terrible condition and was owned by a former gold miner by the name of Jonathan Marshall. The car had crates for floor panels, most of the interior was in...
Modified his 1955 Porsche 356 Continental, Nowadays, it seems “outlaw” Porsches are everywhere and all the rage. Back in the mid-1990s, however, when Mr. Jack Griffin decided to modify his 1955 Porsche 356 Continental, he wasn’t following a customization trend or fad but, rather, taking it upon himself to build...
1956 Porsche 356 C Matt Hummel’s love for vintage automobiles has led him to many interesting places, but no car has captured his imagination quite like his 1956 Porsche 356. Follow along as Matt attempts his most ambition adventure, going 20-miles off-road from Joshua Tree to Big Bear in a...
Amongst Porsche 356 enthusiasts, perhaps no model is more coveted than a C-Series Carrera 2. The Carrera 2 represents the culmination of Porsche’s racing technology fitted into a road car package and the ultimate performance-first sports car in the 356 model lineup. The 1,966-cubic centimeter, mechanically complex four-cam Type 587/1 engine was the most powerful unit that Porsche had ever created for a production car, developing 130 brake horsepower at 6,200 rpm.
Introduced in 1963 for the 1964 model year, the base model Porsche 356 1600C Coupe was presented as the entry-level version of the last generation of the Porsche 356 Coupes. After offering standard/base model versions for the 356 A and 356 B with 60 HP engines, Porsche dropped the standard version as its base model and introduced the successor of the former mid-level 1600 Super engine variant with 75 HP, as the entry-level engine option for the 356 C generation. As with previous generations, it was also offered with the 356 C Cabriolet cars.
The original Porsche Carrera Zagato Speedster, the first Zagato bodied Porsche of the brand’s history, was built in 1958 for French gentleman driver and expert Porsche pilot Claude Storez, one of the best French pilots of that time. He started his career in early 50s and became soon a skilled pilot. In late ’57 he was looking for the “ultimate” 356 for the 1958 races season. He put an order to Porsche AG for a 356 A Speedster (the lightest version available) with a Carrera engine and GS specs (the most powerful at that time).
Ferry Porsche had in fact requested Swiss technicians to make a less sporty and more elegant version of the 365 B and thus the 1600 Beutler Coupè was born. This project is a 2+2 based on a Porsche 1600. Like the Porsche, the car is built on a VW platform, but includes Porsche elements such as the brakes and the engine. It was built in 5 copies before production was stopped in 1957 due to a change in commercial strategies by the German company.
After a considerable absence of a Carrera model in the 356 model lineup, Porsche finally made another version with the introduction of a 2.0-liter engine. As with the earlier versions, the Carrera was offered both in a Carrera GT Deluxe version for the road and the Carrera GT for racetrack duties. Unlike these earlier models, the new car benefited from the 2.0 liter engine introduced as the Carrera 2 in September 1962.
In September of 1959 Porsche revealed their fully updated 356 known as the 356B. This had a completely revised body that was more suitable for the American market. New to the model was the Type 616/7 Super 90 engine which was an indirect replacement for the Carrera de Luxe models. The engine was fully revised with a new intake manifold, a larger Solex 40 PII-4 carburetor and the Carrera air filters.
In September of 1959 Porsche revealed their fully updated 356 known as the 356B. This had a completely revised body that was more suitable for the American market. The 1600 Super was also known as the 1600 S and that is what we are covering on this page. The 1600 Super sat in the middle of the lineup, below the Super 90 and above the base 1600. There were several variants with the base 1600 S engine, including the Coupe, Cabriolet, Notchback Coupe and Roadster, across both the T5 generation and T6 generation.
The 356 B T5 Coupe was the direct replacement of the Porsche 356 A Coupe. The T5 Coupe bodies were produced by German coachbuilder company Reutter. The 356 B T5 Coupe played a huge role in the growth seen by Porsche in the early 1960s. Like the Cabriolet, Roadster, and Notchback Coupe siblings, the Coupe was offered with 1600, 1600S, S90, and Carrera engine options paired to a four-speed synchromesh 741 transmission. In late 1961, Porsche introduced the T6 body and updates, which built on the success of its very popular predecessor.
Of all the Carreras, the 1959 de Luxe was best suited for the road. Not only was it the most luxurious 356, but it was also was the only year to get the large 1600cc 4-cam engine. The Type 692/2 engine was a much different engine than the 1500cc unit it replaced. The newer unit used plain main bearings instead of roller bearings. Furthermore, the distributors were moved to the end of the crankshaft and the engine shroud was better attached to the 356A body. With twin Solex carburetors, the somewhat detuned version offered 105 bhp @ 6500 rpm.
Porsche 356 A 1500 Carrera GS Coupe
Available in all body styles, the Porsche 356 A Carrera featured the race car-derived 1500 cc four-cam engine (type 547) developed for the Porsche 550 Spyder. Rated up to 110 hp, it was the top performance 356 A model available. Variants included the Carrera 1500GS and Carrera 1500GT, differentiated by their horsepower. In 1958, Porsche updated the Carrera engines (now type 692), increasing the displacement up to 1600 cc and output increased to 105 and 110 hp respectively. In 1959 horsepower for the GT increased again to 115.
Despite looking outwardly similar to the preceding models, Porsche thoroughly updated their 356 line in 1956 and called their new model the 356A. At the core, this included a larger 1600 cc engine, but also a curved-glass windshield and a thoroughly revised suspension. At the 1955 Frankfurt Motor Show in September of 1955, Porsche released the 356A/1600 to the world with cabriolet, coupe and speedster bodies from Reutter. The 356A/1600 was a great performer, good for a sprint to 60 mph in 13.5 seconds and hit a top speed of 109 mph.
Despite looking outwardly similar to the preceding models, Porsche thoroughly updated their 356 line in 1956 and called their new model the 356A. At the core, this included a larger 1600 cc engine, but also a curved-glass windshield and a thoroughly revised suspension. At the 1955 Frankfurt Motor Show in September of 1955, Porsche released the 356A/1600 to the world with cabriolet, coupe and speedster bodies from Reutter. Produced in 1959 only, the Porsche 356 Convertible D was the replacement for the 356 A Speedster, which was discontinued after 1958.
From the outside, the 356A kept to the Porsche mantra of stepwise evolution. The new model was outwardly identical to the previous version except for the wider tires, a small rub-strip below the doors, a fully-curved front window and enamel paint replacing lacquer previously used. The 356 A came with an all-alloy air-cooled Flat 4 engine in four states of tune, with the 1300 having Type 589/2 engine with 60 bhp and 65 lb-ft of torque.