Guide: Porsche 356/1 Gmund
Background
When Ferdinand Porsche established his own engineering office in April 1931, he was already a renowned designer following spells at Austro-Daimler and Steyr.
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH, Konstruktionen und Beratungen fur Motoren und Fahrzeugbau was based in the centre of Stuttgart. Design and consultation work for the likes of Wanderer, Zundapp and Auto Union came in thick and fast.
By 1938, the company and its 176 employees had moved to the Stuttgart district of Zuffenhausen.
Ferdinand Porsche was an important contributor to the German war effort. His company designed advanced tanks and weapon systems for the Nazi party in addition to Adolf Hitler’s ‘Volkswagen’ which literally translated as People’s Car.
Further rapid growth occurred until 1944, at which point, in the face of increasingly frequent Allied air raids, the company’s management, design department and parts of its production were temporarily relocated to the Austrian town of Gmund.
In the immediate aftermath of World War 2, Germany was virtually bankrupt and its infrastructure almost completely decimated.
Ferdinand Porsche was asked to continue design of the Volkswagen in France. German factory equipment moved with him as part of war reparations. While in France, he was also asked to consult on the design and manufacture of the forthcoming Renault 4CV. This led to serious conflict with the recently appointed head of Renault, the former resistance fighter, Pierre Lefaucheux.
In December 1945, Ferdinand Porsche, his son Ferry and son-in-law, Anton Piech, were arrested and incarcerated for war crimes as it emerged they had employed over 300 forced labourers at their factory.
Ferry Porsche was freed after six months and did his best to keep the company in business.
The firm’s Zuffenhausen plant was occupied by the American army which meant operations continued at the remote converted sawmill in Gmund. Here, all kinds of vehicles were repaired along with industrial and agricultural machinery just to stay afloat.
It had been a long-held ambition of Ferdinand and Ferry Porsche to manufacture their own sports car. In 1939, a trio of Type 64 steamliners were built to contest that year’s (cancelled) Berlin-to-Rome race, but these machines were almost exclusively Volkswagen-based.
While his father and brother-in-law were still imprisoned, Ferry Porsche began to design the first true Porsche automobile. Initial chassis drawings were laid down in July 1947 and the roadster-bodied Type 356 then went through a refinement process that took almost a year.
Prior to the car’s assembly, a design contract for the Cisitalia 360 Grand Prix car arrived in late 1947. This enabled the Porsche family to pay a one million Franc bail for the release of Ferdinand Porsche and Anton Piech.
Chassis
Although the Porsche company faced enormous problems with regard to the supply of raw materials, the first 356 rolling chassis was completed in March 1948. It comprised a welded tubular steel spaceframe chassis (001) with a wheelbase of 2150mm and a mid-engined configuration.
Nearly all the mechanical components were pure Volkswagen. This included the steering, 230mm diameter cable-operated drum brakes, four-speed gearbox and independent torsion bar suspension with its hydraulic Boge dampers.
The most obvious departure from the Volkswagen was Porsche’s placement of the engine in front of the transaxle for better weight distribution.
001’s layout meant the rear suspension needed some modification as the transverse torsion bar and trailing arms in the Volkswagen were ahead of the engine. For the Porsche, they were turned around and placed at the rear of the engine-transmission assembly which resulted in a leading arm arrangement.
As a result, the Porsche’s rear tyres had a tendency to toe out under suspension movement and cornering which led to occasionally dramatic oversteer. Although not ideal, this was mitigated somewhat by the car’s light weight.
The steel 3 x 16-inch wheels were fitted with domed hubcaps and 5 x 16-inch tyres.
A 50-litre fuel tank was mounted underneath the front lid.
Engine & Gearbox
The standard engine used in Volkswagens of the time was an air-cooled horizontally opposed ‘boxer’ unit with four cast iron cylinders and an aluminium alloy block and head.
This overhead valve pushrod Flat 4 displaced 1131cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 75mm and 64mm respectively.
With a compression ratio of 5.8:1 and a single downdraught carburettor, the engine produced 25bhp at 3300rpm and 49lb-ft at 2000rpm.
Volkswagen had deliberately under-stressed the engine to ensure utmost reliability. This meant it had very good tuning potential.
Porsche were already experienced at modifying the Volkswagen engine but, to begin with, relatively modest improvements were made.
Intake and exhaust valves were enlarged, the compression ratio was increased to 7.0:1 and a Solex 26 VFI carburettor was fitted. In this configuration, output rose to 35bhp at 4000rpm while peak torque was now 51lb-ft at 2600rpm.
Volkswagen’s non-synchromesh four-speed transmission was located behind the mid-mounted engine.
Bodywork
Once the rolling chassis had been satisfactorily tested, a body for the new car was fabricated. This work took place between June and July of 1948.
Designed by Erwin Komenda and hand-built by Friedrich Weber (an ex-Austro Daimler coachbuilder), the little roadster’s shape was heavily influenced by Ferdinand Porsche’s 1939 Type 64.
According to the latest fashion and in line with current aerodynamic understanding, its wings and headlights were integrated with the body.
As the engine was located in the middle, there was no need for a radiator intake at the front. Instead, narrow cooling slots were added to the shapely rear deck (which was hinged at the trailing edge).
Aside from some decoration at the front of the car (a Porsche script, a teardrop trim element and two decorative strips between the indicators), Komenda kept the 356/1 virtually free of any superfluous ornamentation.
Full width wraparound bumpers were fitted flush with the body and the unframed split windscreen was a very simple affair.
Interior
Likewise, the interior with its high and wide sills was particularly spartan.
A bench seat with a fixed back was upholstered in red leatherette to contrast the silver painted exterior.
The body coloured dash had a 140kmh speedometer located directly behind a three-spoke steering wheel. The only other instrument was a clock built into the passenger glovebox.
The steering wheel rim, boss and column were finished in faux ivory to match the gear knob and a trio of dash-mounted toggle switches.
Weight / Performance
Porsche quoted a dry weight of 585kg and top speed in excess of 80mph.
Although low on power, the car had superb roadholding.
Post Completion
On June 8th 1948, the 356/1 was registered with the Austrian authorities (and issued licence plate K 45286).
Work began on the 356/2 even as chassis 001 was being built. It was apparent that 001’s spaceframe chassis was ill-suited to volume production while the mid-engined layout left little luggage space.
Nevertheless, the 356/1 served a useful role in selling the concept of a Volkswagen-based Porsche sports car.
One enthusiastic supporter was Rupprecht von Senger, a car dealer and advertising agency owner from Zurich. Von Senger had previously been in contact with Porsche on another matter and, when he saw the newly completed 356/1, he ordered five of the yet-to-be-completed 356/2s.
In return for paying up front and supplying Porsche with raw materials (lightweight metals were extremely hard to get hold of in Austria but not in Switzerland), von Senger and his business partner, Bernhard Blank, were given the contract for Swiss Porsche imports.
Meanwhile, in return for their Austrian sales permit, Porsche had to promise the government in Vienna that the vehicles being made from this precious commodity would be sold abroad, therefore providing the nation with much-needed foreign currency.
In early July, von Senger arranged for chassis 001 to attend the Swiss Grand Prix at the 7.2km Bremgarten circuit near Bern. Here it was shown to and driven by various members of the press.
One week later, the car was driven by Ferry Porsche’s cousin, Herbert Kaes, to a class win at the Innsbruck road races.
In September 1948, Porsche sold 001 to raise much needed funds. It was purchased by Josh Heintz, the owner of Riesbach Garage in Zurich. Heintz paid CHF 7000 and in December ‘48, sold the car for CHF 7500 to Peter Kaiser, a German architect also from Zurich.
The much improved rear-engined 356/2 with its unitary body / chassis was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1949.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Porsche - https://www.porsche.com
