A red, 1963, 1600cc, Porsche 356B on display in the Porsche Club GB zone of the Silverstone Classic 2016.
The Porsche 356 is a luxury sports car which was first produced by Austrian company Porsche Konstruktionen GesmbH (1948–1949), and then by German company Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH (1950–1965). It was Porsche's first production automobile. Earlier cars designed by the Austrian company includes Cisitalia Grand Prix race car, and the Volkswagen Beetle as well as Auto Union Grand Prix cars were designed by the German company. The 356 is a lightweight and nimble-handling rear-engine rear-wheel drive two-door sports car available in hardtop coupé and open configurations. Engineering innovations continued during the years of manufacture, contributing to its motorsports success and popularity. Production started in 1948 at Gmünd, Austria, where approximately 50 cars were built. In 1950 the factory relocated to Zuffenhausen, Germany, and general production of the 356 continued until April 1965, well after the replacement model 911 made its autumn 1963 debut. Of the 76,000 originally produced, approximately half survive. In late 1959 significant styling and technical refinements gave rise to the 356 B (a T5 body type). The mid-1962 356 B model was changed to the T6 body type (twin engine lid grilles, an external fuel filler in the right front wing/fender and a larger rear window in the coupé). The Porsche factory did not call attention to these quite visible changes with a different model designation. However, when the T6 got disc brakes, with no other visible alterations, they called it the model C, or the SC when it had the optional extra powerful engine. A unique "Karmann hardtop" or "notchback" 356 B model was produced in 1961 and 1962. The 1961 production run (T5) was essentially a cabriolet body with the optional steel cabriolet hardtop welded in place. The 1962 line (T6 production) was a very different design in that the new T6 notchback coupé body did not start life as a cabriolet, but with its own production design—In essence, part cabriolet rear end design.
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 8TN
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -door, 1600c, 1963, 2016, 356b, automobile, automotive, bonnet, bumper, car, classic, club, coupé, drive, engineering, gb, german, gesmbh, grass, hardtop, headlights, infield, konstruktionen, lightweight, luxury, motorcar, nimble, nimble-handling, porsche, rear-engine, rear-wheel, silverstone, sports, transport, tyres, wheels, windscreen, zone
