Porsche 356 Coupe, 1953
Porsche 356 I
Porsche 356 I•
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Chassis No.: 51465
Auction: Monterey 2015
Auction date: August 15, 2015
Lot No.: S51
$250,000 | High bid
- Exterior: White
- Interior: Red
- Body: Coupe
- Pre-A Porsche Experimental Test Car
- The Kardex shows versuch, which means test or experimental in German
- Built December 7, 1953. Sold June 7, 1954
- Kept by Porsche for 7 months as a test car
- Purchased new from the factory through a Porsche family friend by a US Army soldier stationed in Germany
- Imported into the United States in 1962
- Mostly unrestored with one repaint in 1973
- 53,509 miles since new
- 5 original 16-inch wheels dated March 1953
- 5 original turbo rings to cool the brakes
- Prototype transmission mount
- Unique distributor brass cover plate
- Original tool kit and oil thermometer
- Original pan and floors, rare 1500 emblem
- Original steering wheel, tinted sun visors
- Factory radio with unique red-tipped antenna
- Original road lamps and license plate brackets
- Quad exhaust tips
- Front air vents were deleted
- 1954-style side by side windshield wipers
- The original engine (no. 32325) was replaced with a 1954-dated engine (no. 32988)
- Original 4-speed transmission, no. 2619
- More than $10,000 recently spent on mechanicals
- Rebuilt brake system
- Rebuilt distributor, fuel pump, carburetors and petrol tank
It comes as a revelation to many that Ferdinand Anton Porsche’s career as a designer and sometimes manufacturer had already spanned almost 50 years when the first Porsche 356 was completed at Gmund in the summer of 1948.
In fact the numerical designation signified that this new sports car was Porsche project number 356, the latest in a wide-ranging body of accomplishments that included, but was not limited to, some of the earliest electric cars; the Mixte gasoline-electric hybrid drive system still in use in today’s rail systems; early air-cooled aero engines; the 1924 Targa Florio-winning supercharged Daimler; the supercharged Mercedes-Benz S, SS and SSK; his own patented all-independent suspension design; the incredible Auto Union Grand Prix cars; the Volkswagen and Volkstraktor; the infamous Tiger tank and other assorted military implements, including an amphibious version of the German jeep; wind-powered generators and the Cisitalia Grand Prix racer, his first major undertaking after almost two years of post-war imprisonment.
It was during the Cisitalia project, in fact, that Porsche’s son Ferdinand initiated Porsche Project 356 in his father’s forced absence. (It is worth noting here that when Ferry was born his father was away competing in the Semmering Hillclimb and did not learn of his son’s arrival until he returned home that night; the younger Porsche would joke some years later that the circumstances surrounding his birth were “most prophetic.”) Thus was Ferdinand Porsche’s wide-ranging 50-year career distilled down into the creation and development of a single concept that, incredibly, has continued its inexorable evolution for yet another 67 years.
In this world of hyper-marketing and rapid-fire product cycling, it would be almost heretical to conceive of an automobile shaped by a decades-long history of measured, ongoing development, but that exactly describes the Porsche 356 and its 911 successor. Initiated on June 11, 1947, project 356 was under constant development until the last cars rolled off the Zuffenhausen assembly line in 1965. In the interim there were four general iterations: the original "pre-A," followed by the 356A, 356B, and finally the 356C.
While exterior changes remained minimal throughout the 356’s life span, it underwent significant evolution as a mechanical device for sporting purposes and set the stage for the decades of glory to come. Included in the documentation of this remarkable 1953 Porsche 356 is the factory Kardex, which describes the car as “versuch,” which translates from the German literally as “try” and in this context as “test” or “experimental.” Porsche completed the car on December 7, 1953 and kept it for exactly six months, during which time it is believed to have served as a rolling test bed for development. It was purchased from the Porsche factory by a U.S. soldier stationed in Germany.
He had befriended a Porsche family member and was able to purchase the Porsche when the "test" car was no longer needed. He married in Germany and stayed until 1961. He then moved his family back to California and imported the car to his home in 1962. It remained there until his passing, when it was willed to his nephew in Arizona, who kept it in a dry warehouse for the next 40 years. While the original engine was replaced with a 1954-dated 1.5L unit, the car remains mostly unrestored with one repaint in 1973.
The list of original features is an extensive one, and includes the floor pan, transmission, 1954-dated 16-inch wheels and brake cooling rings, tool kit and oil thermometer, road lamps, license plate brackets, 1954-style side-by-side wipers, “1500” emblem and interior including steering wheel, upholstery, headliner and radio (with a unique Red-tipped antenna) and a one-of-a-kind prototype transmission mount. The Porsche Certificate of Authenticity is included as well. More than $10,000 have been invested in mechanical re-conditioning, including the brake system, distributor, fuel tank, fuel pump and carburetors, ensuring proper operation for this uniquely significant early production 356.
