Despite its Beetle origins, Porsche's first production car gave the company a revered reputation for performance and handling!

I’ve got a lot of respect for Porsches. I’ve been lucky enough to own several over the last 20-odd years. Like many VW enthusiasts, for me, Porsches and VWs have always had a synergy to them. With the rear-mounted, air-cooled engine and simple body, they have similar heritage, layout and DNA.

The Porsche 356 is a very pretty little car. These days, they command respectable money but, like a lot of classic cars, they went through a stage when they were cheap. How I wish I’d bought a few of these years ago!

ABOUT THIS CAR

• You start this thing up and you know it’s alive. There’s a fair amount of noise as air-cooled engines don’t have a blanket of coolant and extra metal around them to act as sound-deadener. There’s plenty of induction noise but blip the pedal and it has really sharp throttle response; the revs whiz up and it wants to get on with it.
• Porsche built its reputation on performance and handling and these early Porsches had very simple suspension with basic geometry with torsion bars at both ends and swing axles at the rear.  This car feels very safe, in fact, on the way into a corner, once you take your foot off the brake and start to gently accelerate, the back of the car squats – the rearward weight bias helps, of course, and the nose lifts a little and it gently understeers.
• The steering is so alive. Beautiful, tactile steering has always been a characteristic of Porsches. They track the road beautifully and transmit road feel up the column and straight to your hands. These old Porsches have a steering box, not a rack-and-pinion like the later cars, yet they all deliver beautiful feel. I love it as a trait; it makes you relax your hands.
• These early Porsches don’t weigh much. Everything is so light; the steering, the brakes, the clutch, you never have to wrestle the car. You might think this a strange analogy but it’s almost like riding a motorbike! You almost think it around the corner.
• Porsches were famous for their beautiful gearboxes as were VWs. I’m pretty sure Porsche was a pioneer of synchromesh, technology that other manufacturers adopted in time.
• Car is Mint - lovely inside and out.
• Mechanically sound - great running motor.
• One Owner in NZ - imported from the USA and is a very late 356C cabriolet - first registered in NZ in May 2012.
• Fitted with a Battery isolator/security switch and LED Dash bulbs.
• Odometer in Miles
• THIS CAR IS THE REAL McCOY, not a replica or a cut down notch back which has happened to some. It is also NOT a speedster, which was a stripped out lightweight car built as a cheap entry to American market.
• Comes with a great many photographs take during the many years of restoration. Panel work done by Alex Ward. Mechanical work by Autothority, and trimming by Mark Sinclair.
• Red roof, Fuchs wheels, de-bumpered, Sebring style exhaust, adjustable sway bar.
• Comes with a set of correct steel wheels, a black fabric roof, front and rear bumpers, engine crank case and assorted parts.

I absolutely love classic cars and, in a way, this Porsche is an example of how society has ruined driving. Our law makers and politicians have just about destroyed the fun of motoring. To drive one of these is so fulfilling and delightful. It’s not super-fast but the joy of driving it is just so rich. You get that so much more with a classic car than you do with a modern car. With this car, you will become increasingly interested in classic cars because you can really immerse yourself in the simple joy of driving without fear of getting thrown in jail :)

I reckon, the key to it all, and what has been lost on modern cars, is lightness. This thing probably won’t ever peel the skin off your face, but it goes quite briskly. Driving it is just a beautiful, delightful experience from an era of motoring we’ll never see again.

Because the 356 is so easy to drive, so comfortable and compliant on the road, it makes the car an excellent choice as a classic that is able to be used as intended on today's roads. In fact, there's really no reason why you couldn't press a 356-the youngest of which is over 50 years old—into service as a daily driver.

Great Investment too :)

Will be sold WOF'd and Registered.

TRANSPORT / SHIPPING CAN BE ORGANISED ON THIS VEHICLE ON BUYER'S BEHALF AT BUYERS COST.

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