Special Feature

First Arrival – 1953 Porsche 356

James Beckett
Photo: Mike Jiggle
Photo: Mike Jiggle

The Porsche 356 is really the car that “started it all” for the iconic Porsche marque. Manufactured between 1948 and 1965, the Porsche 356 is the automobile that allowed the company to develop. This car is responsible for starting the world’s love affair with rear-engined machines. These rear-engined cars remain as popular with people today as ever before. The 356 is the car that took the Porsche marque from humble beginnings to that of an iconic manufacturer. Versions of the 356 car competed at Le Mans and started the marque’s love affair with the famous 24-hour race. This love affair will start all over again for the company this year, when two factory-supported LMP1-specification 919 cars will compete at La Sarthe in the 2014 Grand Prix d’Endurance.

During his laps of Porsche’s Silverstone Welcome Centre, the author found the 356’s handling to be crisp, nimble and confidence-inspiring as he guided it swiftly around the facility’s challenging layout. Photo: Mike Jiggle
During his laps of Porsche’s Silverstone Welcome Centre, the author found the 356’s handling to be crisp, nimble and confidence-inspiring as he guided it swiftly around the facility’s challenging layout.
Photo: Mike Jiggle

A CAR IS BORN

Members only$29 / year

Keep going. This is where it gets good.

Supercars.net Membership is for people who'd rather know the spec sheet by heart than skim ten headlines. The rest of this story — and every other one like it — is a few seconds away.

  • Thousands of members-only stories

    Deep dives, driven reviews and the full archive back to 2005.

  • No ads. None.

    The whole site reads like a magazine, on every device.

  • Every car, every spec

    Twenty years of models, numbers and history in one place.

  • 30% off the shop

    Every Supercars.net shirt and piece of merch, all year.

Join Supercars.net — Keep Reading

$29 a year. Cancel anytime, no hoops.
Already a member? Sign in

BY CAR PEOPLE, NOT A NAMELESS MEDIA COMPANY. Your membership keeps a small independent team that celebrates the brands and cars that defined this industry doing this.

Join — Keep Reading $29/yr

Main Topic Hubs

Join The Community

Become A Member