Porsche – 356 Pre-A (1954)

Anybody looking back on the history of Porsche from today’s perspective will be astounded at the modest beginnings of the sports-car manufacturer in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. The team around Ferry Porsche was itself rather surprised at the enduring success enjoyed by the compact sports cars they had built with enormous dedication and passion. Porsche was still reckoning on sales of just a few hundred vehicles. In spite of this modest forecast, the plant put the 356 through a programme of continuous development. In 1952, a panorama windscreen replaced the split-screen version. Porsche also took steps to improve the engine. The 1500 cc version of the proven air-cooled Boxer engine mounted in the 356 powered an impressive sports car that was powerful, reliable and also enormously fuel efficient. Because it was light and well designed, the car is often easily kept pace with much more powerful and more expensive competitors. Porsche delivered this 356 Cabriolet to the USA in 1954, by far the most important market for the small company. After an initial restoration in 1981, the convertible benefited from a second one in 2016, which restored it to the delivery condition right down to the last detail.