356 Cabriolet

STORY

The 356 is where Porsche begins. Its "No. 1" roadster received its operating permit on 8 June 1948, the date Porsche treats as the birth of the marque, built in a former sawmill in Gmünd, Austria, by Ferry Porsche and a small team.

Mechanically it was humble, borrowing engine and suspension thinking from the Volkswagen Beetle that Ferry's father Ferdinand had designed, wrapped in a light, aerodynamic body by Erwin Komenda. But it drove like nothing else affordable: nimble, efficient, and quick because it was light rather than powerful, a philosophy that still runs through every Porsche.

Production moved to Zuffenhausen and ran until 1965, spanning coupe, cabriolet, the stripped Speedster beloved in California, and the four-cam Carrera. Roughly 76,000 were built, and the 356 gave Porsche both its first racing wins and the template its whole future was built on.