Porsche’s first car redefined what a sports car could be when it entered production in 1948. With its air-cooled, rear-mounted flat-four engine, it was built to a formula which had never been tried successfully in the sports-car field before, but it worked so well in the 356, which was quick, light and nimble, that it remained in production until 1965 and has become one of Porsche’s most sought-after products.

Ferdinand Porsche’s first design for a sporting rear-engined streamliner was constructed before the outbreak of war for the ultimately aborted 1939 Berlin-Rome race. When peace returned, Ferdinand’s son Ferry picked up where his father had left off, founding the Porsche Konstruktionen company in 1947 and refining the designs until the 356 emerged ready for production.

It had a very auspicious beginning when the first 356 was entered into a race at Innsbruck in Austria and won its class. It still took a few years for the motorsports fraternity to take notice of the 356, but a class win at the 1951 Le Mans increased its prominence and it became a favourite of 1950s sports-car enthusiasts. It proved to be versatile and adept as both a road car and a racer, and was equally at home going for a brisk drive through the Alps with skis strapped to the back or dashing to an SCCA meeting in California.

The earliest 356s used an 1100cc version of the B4 boxer engine, but over time that grew to 1600cc. The design evolved gradually, and the new 356B appeared in 1959, with a restyled body and numerous mechanical improvements. Almost all Bs were fitted with the 1600cc engine in various states of tune, mated in all cases to a four-speed gearbox. As with earlier models, the B could be had as a roadster, cabriolet or coupé, bodied in most instances by Stuttgart’s Reutter Karosserie. A total of 30,963 356Bs were made before the C took over in 1963.

This Porsche 356 was purchased new by Mr. Harry Pounds Sr., a friend of the vendor’s family. Mr. Pounds was a reasonably well-known figure in the Portsmouth area as the operator of a marine scrapyard where many old naval ships and submarines spent their last days. 

Over the course of time, it changed hands a few times but remained in the Portsmouth and Havant area, before it was eventually acquired by the vendor’s father in 1989. He began restoring the car and as is common in classic car restoration, he experienced a few setbacks and the work took longer than anticipated. During the restoration, the body was subjected to extensive restoration by Rowes of Chichester, which included work on the floorpan, doors and front valance. The process was very protracted due to the difficulty in sourcing the parts at the time.

As his father’s enthusiasm waned, the Porsche went back into storage in bare metal for a few years, before the vendor decided to take it on in 2004 and see it through to completion. The restoration was eventually completed in 2011.

The vendor took great pains to ensure originality, keeping the colour scheme exactly as it had been and staying faithful to the original specification right down to the six-volt electrics. Sadly, since the restoration the owner has barely found time to drive it and since he has not even covered 500 miles in the car, he is offering it for sale in the hope it will find someone who will get more use out of it.

The Porsche comes with a very extensive paperwork file, including not only the current V5 but two historic logbooks which we believe detail its full ownership history. The restoration work has been comprehensively documented with multiple invoices, as well as some photographs showing the car pre-restoration. There are also some M.o.T. certificates issued in 1977 and 2017, the latter showing no advisory points.

The 356’s interior was a beautiful work of minimalist design, neatly arranged and functional with a large steering wheel projecting boldly from the smooth dash panel, and a pair of very comfortable leather seats. The example offered for sale illustrates exactly what the inside of a 356 ought to look like, having been restored to original specification almost totally without deviation. It is now presented in the loveliest condition, having acquired a light patina over time.

When the 356 was restored, it was reupholstered in the rich burgundy it sports today, which we understand was its original colour. Since the restoration was finished, the leather has aged very nicely. The door cards barely show their age, and the seats, which are some of the most comfortable you might expect to find in a sports car, have mellowed just a little bit. The matching carpets are well-fitted and very clean.

The dash panel is in excellent condition and we think its appearance has been greatly enhanced by the fact that it has not been over-restored. The gauges and steering wheel display a beautiful patina which leads us to suspect that they still retain their original factory finish. It should be noted that the radio was missing when the car was restored, so a non-functional replacement was sourced which is not the original unit but fits the slot nicely and looks highly appropriate.

As the cabriolet, this Porsche contains some small rear seats which fold down for a bit of extra luggage space. Again, these are in lovely condition. Under the bonnet, the spare wheel and fuel tank are both presented cleanly, exhibiting a light patina of their own.

Finished in a beautiful white reminiscent of the Alpine passes on which these cars were so at home, this Porsche is a wonderful sight to behold. The streamlined minimalism gives the 356 an unusually clean appearance. It is an exercise in tasteful restraint; at a time when other manufacturers were clamouring to cover their cars in fins and chrome trinkets, Porsche held back. The 356 was quite beautiful enough already.

As with the interior, we feel the exterior of the car is in an unusual but very desirable condition. As more and more 356s are being subjected to concours restorations, it is refreshing to find one which looks like it has seen some proper use. From a few paces away, this car might appear pristine, but as you look more closely the patina becomes apparent.

With a few marks in the paint, most noticeable on the bumpers, this 356 has not been over-restored or excessively cosseted. The chrome has acquired a very nice weathered finish over time, and has cultivated a depth and texture often absent from concours examples which have been rechromed and mercilessly polished. On the bumper overriders, the chrome has started to crack and flake off, but not to any great extent.

All the glass on the car is good, although there are some very small cracks in the rear light lenses. The hubcaps on the wheels sport the same superficial patina as the chrome on the rest of the car, although one of them has two small dents in it. The hood looks very good and can be raised and lowered easily.

As far as we can tell, the Porsche is in great health mechanically. The restoration was extremely faithful to its original specification, so to drive this car is probably the closest you can get to experiencing what one was like to drive new in the 1960s.

The six-volt electrics are certainly up to the job of powering the engine. It starts, runs and drives very nicely and sounds fantastic. Since it has seen such limited use over the course of the past 15 years, a quick mechanical check may be advisable, but we don’t envisage any problems appearing. When it last had an M.o.T. test in 2017, it passed with no advisory points. It changes gear well, brakes sharply and has nice, absorbent suspension, and the steering seems light and direct.

A lot of 356s just get trailered or see only limited use on car-show days, but we strongly believe this one has the potential to be used as regular transport.

The Porsche 356 is regarded as one of history’s greatest sports cars for good reason. Its intelligent and conventional engineering, design purity, celeritous performance and nimble handling make it a delight to own and drive. With a cabriolet body, it is perhaps more of a touring car than an outright sports car, so it’s ideal for the driver who has other considerations, such as comfort and practicality, besides outright performance.

Typically, when looking for 356s on the market, you tend mainly to find cars which have been the recipients of six-figure restorations. While they might give you a chance of scooping some car show trophies, we wonder if you’d ever really enjoy using them. Here is a car you can enjoy using. Wearing its superb patina with pride, there is something particularly tasteful about this car and it really abounds with character.

Of course, it would be the ideal basis for a concours-standard restoration should you be so inclined, but we think you’ll enjoy it a lot more keeping it as it is, driving it as it was always intended to be driven, and drawing admiring glances wherever you go.