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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super - when 75 hp still guaranteed superior sportiness

Name: Porsche 356 A 1600 Super 1957
Brand: Porsche

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Created on September 7, 2017

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Archiv Porsche AG

Porsche AG (Archiv)

Archiv

Daniel Reinhard

Archiv Porsche AG

Porsche AG (Archiv)

Archiv

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - around 1.65 meters wide

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - whoever sat in it 60 years ago could be sure of the admiration of road users

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - one of the fastest on the road at the time

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - you can see the good aerodynamics on it

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - the color blue suits it well

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - can be moved in a sporty manner

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - the relatively small rear window restricts the view to the rear

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - pretty in any lighting mood

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - a dream for generations

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - unmistakable even from the rear

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - don't worry, the smoke doesn't come from the Porsche

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - reached around 180 km/h at the time

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - just over 1.3 meters high

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - in front of a De Havilland 595 Gipsy Moth from 1931

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - you can see the good aerodynamics in the bodywork

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - both the Porsche and the aviator rely on good aerodynamics

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - an above-average number of drivers drive and drove Porsches

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - although the 356 A was no longer quite as aerodynamic as some of its predecessors, the Cd value of 0.365 was very respectable in 1957

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - as you know and love it

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - still a beauty today

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - View of the interior from the outside

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - upright pedals, long gearshift

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - the rev counter was of course in the center

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - there was no leather steering wheel back then

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - a speedometer up to 200 km/h impressed everyone back then

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - 60 years have also left their mark on the Porsche crest

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - Radio with long, medium, short and ultra-short wave

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - the clock is installed in the glove compartment

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - Clock in the lid of the glove compartment

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - the fuel tap, with reserve position

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - the original interior

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - two downdraft carburetors ensure good combustion

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - 75 hp at a civilian 5000 rpm

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - the bumpers became increasingly important over time

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - clearly labeled

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - Front indicators under the headlights

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - contemporary testers wanted more light (and therefore larger headlights)

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - with additional headlights

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - even the smallest details reveal the Porsche

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - with small tail lights

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - together with a relative

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Porsche 356 A 1600 Super (1957) - matching badges on the rear

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Porsche 356 (1948) - early convertible, bodied by Beutler

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Porsche 356 Coupé (1954) - elegant and functional, without frills

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Porsche 356 (1951) - on test drives on the Solitude racetrack

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The new Porsche hall in 1953 - offices on the left, engine assembly behind, car production in the middle, final production and acceptance, including provision, on the right.

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Porsche 356 1500 (1953) - during test drives at the beginning of the fifties

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Porsche 356 (1956) - improved driving characteristics in the model-maintained Porsche - Geneva Motor Show 1956

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Porsche 356 Speedster (1957) - the variant developed primarily for the Americans

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Porsche 356 1600 (1959) - a 356 A, with wire wheels

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Porsche 356 A Convertible D (1959) - the 356 A in an open-top version

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Porsche 356 1600 Hardtop (1959) - the 'Dame', the standard version of the 356

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Porsche 356 1600 Super (1958) - now with 1.6-liter engine

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Porsche 356 1600 Super (1958) - the model continued to evolve

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Porsche Type 356 A (1956) - already with curved windshield

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Porsche Type 356 A Cabriolet (1956) - The joys of fresh air with a boxer engine

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Porsche Type 356 A Coupé (1956) - Steering wheel and dashboard

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Porsche 356 A Carrera Coupé (1956) - the Carrera Coupé of the 1956 model year

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Porsche 356 A Coupé (1956) - without windshield and with beautiful curves

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Porsche 356 Cabrio (1954) - an early 356

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Porsche 356 A (1956) - Celebration on the occasion of the 10,000th Porsche in Stuttgart - Austrian champion Ernst Vogel (left) receives a silver coupé from Ferry Porsche and race director von Hanstein

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Porsche 356 A (1956) - Celebration of the 10,000th Porsche in Stuttgart - Ferry Porsche (right) thanks Prof. Nordhoff, head of the Volkswagen plant, for his benevolent words

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Porsche 356 (1955) - see-through drawing shows the technology

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Porsche 356 (1951) - the robust chassis of the Porsche 356 - known as the semi-self-supporting frame body

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Porsche Type 356 A (1956) - Sectional drawing of the rear-engined sports car

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Porsche 356 (1953) - Porsche engineers get more and more power from the boxer engine

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Porsche 356 A Carrera (1961) - the two-timer Hermann Müller became Swiss champion in 1960

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Porsche 356 A Carrera (1961) - Werner Rüfenacht at the 3rd Slalom of Payerne

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Summary

In 1955, Porsche presented the updated 356 A. The design had been modified and the 1.6-liter engine at the rear now produced up to 75 hp. This made it one of the fastest cars on the road and one of the most beautiful anyway. This driving report portrays a Porsche 356 A 1600 Super from 1957 and places it in the Porsche product family tree, supplemented by historical documents and pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

Continuous refinement
Efficient concept
Not cheap!
A real sports car?
60 years later
Further information

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Even in the 1950s, Porsche cars were among the privileged ones, those that reached their destination a little faster and had more fun in the process. With the 356 model, Ferdinand Porsche's engineers created a reliable sports car that managed the balancing act between road comfort and the racetrack better than most other cars of the time. It was in the summer of 1948 that Automobil Revue was able to gain early experience with the first Porsche 356 to be built. It had been commissioned by R. von Senger from Zurich. It was a mid-engined convertible with a bent windshield, which adopted many parts of the VW Beetle, but not its basic platform. The Porsche engineers had been able to increase the 1.1-liter engine to around 40 hp.

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