1956 Porsche 356 Coupe

No, I really do. Let's face it, they paid ten grand more than they needed to for a 5-door hatch. They did it to save C-O-2s, of course. Except we now know that if you include mining for battery metals in Central Africa, the transport of these minerals and mining coal to make electricity, the real benefit is somewhere between nothing and, well, zero.

But I did read an interesting story on the inter-web the other day. If the aforementioned ten big ones had been spent on planting trees that actually do eat up C-O-2s, then the benefit might actually have been worth talking about. The only problem is that it's hard to be with a half dozen soulmates, sipping lattes and looking at a few thousand trees. It's a lot easier sitting in a Toorak Road café feeling good about the Prius parked outside, ready for the afternoon school run.

But the real killer for me was the UN Global Warming Summit in New York. Apparently the number of C-O-2s spent in flying 100 delegations there, housing, feeding and guarding them comes to more than the claimed savings for all the Prius' built over the last 5 years, as well as the next 5 years. Yep, 10 years worth of Prius' down the drain.

Now for the real cars. Porsche. The history is well known. Old Dr Ferdinand worked with various companies pre WWII, most notably VW. Post war, son Ferry took over in Gmund, Austria and launched the 356. In 1950 they moved to Zuffenhausen, a suburb of Stuttgart. Then, to skip a few years, in 2007 they played the stock market and looked like owning VW. In 2009, the GFC struck and now it looks like VW may end up owning Porsche.

But back 60 years. The first 356 were actually mid-engined, with the VW-based unit turned through 180 degrees, so the engine was just ahead of the rear wheels. The bad news was that this changed the VW trailing arm suspension, into the Porsche leading arm suspension. It didn't work and Ferry Porsche soon swung it round to "improve the handling". The early aluminium-bodied 356's became steel bodied after the move to Stuttgart and the engines gradually grew from 1100cc, to 1300cc, to 1500cc, with the occasional 1600cc thrown in for good measure, as fitted to this vehicle. The period 1951 to late 1955 saw what is known as the 'pre-A' series cars. The A series itself was introduced late in 1955 and lasted until the 356B was introduced in 1959.

The car shown on this page is dated as 55/56 model that was delivered new to Melbourne in 1956. While it's badged as a pre-A, it must have been one of the very last to be assembled before the 'A' introduction, as it features a number of recognised 'A' items like the smoother windscreen (as opposed to the pre-A's distinctive v-shaped 'screen) and three-gauge dash cluster. On the subject of the dash, the 'front-and-centre' position of the rev counter is a pretty good indicator of what sort of driver this car was targeted at! Another rare - and welcome - feature on this Reutter-bodied example is the sunroof, which is slightly larger than normal and one of only five locally-delivered for '56.

It was fully restored by Porsche Classics over a six year period from 2001, which saw the original Ivory White paint replaced with a Mercedes-sourced metallic silver with a touch of green to it. The green tint, which picks up on the retrimmed green upholstery and carpet, looks good actually - like it came that way from the factory! The Marshal driving lights and stone guards for the main headlights are a nice touch, as are the rare, desirable and expensive Rudge centre spinner wheels. The whole package is in superb, concours-standard condition, by our estimation.

Being an early 356, there is none of the brutal power of a current 911. Even with the 1600 Super engine, the 0-100 sprint is slower than you might think. But with a car like this, it's not about straightline speed. It's all agility and brilliant, albeit tail-happy, handling that, once you master it, makes this a delightful car to drive. The clutch is soft and smooth, the gearbox light, and the steering fingertip precise. In many ways, it would be a perfect stablemate for a current 911. This is a classic to own and enjoy, with the added bonus that it will be worth a lot more in ten years than what you will be asked to pay for it now - and you can't say that about a Prius either.
Trevor West

WHAT, WHERE, WHEN & HOW MUCH
Model: Porsche 356 coupe
Year: 1956
Dealer: Porsche Classics, 4 Baldwin St, Frankston, Vic. 3199
03 9781 0369
Web: www.porscheclassics.com.au
Price: $175,000
0-100 kph: 12 seconds
Best point: Fully restored classic
Worst point: Remember the words "corner/brake/oversteer"
Recommendation: Lovely car well recommended
Trivia: Ferry often gets credit for the Porsche body design - actually it was down to an employee, Erwin Komenda. We also like Ferry's reason for turning the engine back to its rear layout "..it would provide more interior space". Nothing about the mid-engined attempt being a driver's worst nightmare.

Source: Just Cars, December 2009, Collectors Issue 166