Miguel Sánchez
“The Porsche car is a special handmade model. Porsche is first and foremost an engineering consulting and design firm. For this reason there is no special interest in increasing production, since we want to continue making good cars by hand ”.
Although today Porsche Whether it is a brand of series production of models such as the Panamera or the Cayenne, this is how Ferry Porsche expressed himself in 1950 just two years after the introduction of the first 356, the artisan prototype that gave an unsuspected start in a barn to one of motorsport's greatest legends.
In fact, so defining was the impact of the first 356 that Porsche guards it as one of its greatest jewels in its museum in Stuttgart. A kind of "Founding icon" which one now a replica has been made that recreates its original state. In short: the bodywork that this prototype initially wore before receiving some modifications. The essence of the essence.
PORSCHE 356 No. 1: MUCH MORE THAN A BEETLE
The bullfighter already said that "There are people pa'tó", in such a way that even the first 911 have received derogatory comments about the style "Wow, if it's just a simple powered Beetle". Obviously this sentence is still hyperbole, but as all exaggeration does not stop having a trace of a certain truth.
It is speculated with the trigger that made him jump in the head of Ferry Porsche the idea of making cars, but for us there is an option that is the most credible: his trip to Italy after the Second World War in order to build commercial bridges with Cisitalia. There he could see how the newly founded Turinese company developed the 202: a beautiful sports car made from FIAT parts dressed by Pininfarina.
Whether this is the true option or not, it is clear that the trip caused him a brainstorm because in July 1947 the first designs of a sports car designed by Erwin komenda on the mechanical basis of a Beetle. However, in this first unit there is an essential difference with respect to the following 356s: while the latter were mounted on a stamped steel platform very similar to the Beetle chassis itself, the 356 nº1 has a tubular chassis that is a unique piece.
And although it is true that the engine is the 1'1 liter mounted on the Beetles of the time, the truth is the pistons, cylinder head and camshafts were modified while the compression ratio was increased to 7,0. All this resulted in a mechanics with four opposed cylinders capable of yielding about 10CV more than the original, reaching up to 35CV at 4.000 rpm. Not much but enough to be able to have fun with an aerodynamic rear-wheel drive model with no more than 600 kg on scale.
THE FIRST PORSCHE 356: HAMMERS AND BEERS
The body of the 356 nº1 is a work of craftsmanship; made by hammering aluminum plates supported on a wooden structure. It was an artisan process for which only two officers and the master Friedrich Weber they were licensed. Something that should not represent a problem for the delivery times of the bodies since, although the workers were scarce, they were also in principle the 356 in Ferry Porsche's mind. But nevertheless… As a good German, Weber had an inordinate passion for beer, which even occupied part of his working day.
Beers aside, the truth is that in August 1948 the first 356 saw the light in the form of a two-seater convertible with an aesthetic that is still innovative today. Soft and light in shape, the only external part really indebted to the Beetle were the headlights. This unit, which still retains its registration K45-286 today, changed hands several times during the 40s and 50s, until it eventually returned to Porsche to be the crown jewel in its Sttutgart collection.
However, there is a problem with this 356 nº1: the changes of hands were reflected in some aesthetic changes in its bodywork, which is not in the exact state that it should have looked just at the time of its birth as the beginning of the legend.
It is because of that the restorers of the Porsche Museum have created a replica recreating its original state, based on a large amount of documentation and a 3D study of the car.
And the result ... It is fascinating. And not only because of the fact that facts such as that the original color was not the typical white or silver typical of German sports cars are uncovered, but also because of details such as the recreation of the original bench seat. Such a " sofa”Inserted in the place that now - due to the change of one of its owners - occupy two seats dressed in red.
A wonderful historical reenactment made to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the first 356, which will be touring half the world before being deposited in the Porsche Museum in Sttutgart. An exercise in passion for the classics, history and… who knows if beer too.
