How Does It Differ from the Porsche 911?

I took over driving cautiously. Sitting in the driver’s seat, the most striking impression was the steering wheel. It’s unbelievably thin and large by today’s standards. Because it’s so thin, it’s hard to get a good grip, and at low speeds, it can be a bit tricky to steer, but once you get used to it, it’s no problem.

The parking brake is located below the steering wheel on the left and is released with a motion similar to operating a column shifter. Pressing the clutch, which is quite light, and slowly engaging it, the car surprisingly starts smoothly, which was a bit unexpected.

The owner also said, “You can drive it almost like a regular car.” and that was truly the case.

The manual gearbox has 4 speeds, and the shifts are smooth and soft. The gear ratios are quite wide, and the power band is high, so when I thought I was revving too much in 2nd gear and shifted to 3rd, the revs dropped too low.

For winding roads like the Royu Driveway, there’s no need to use 3rd gear; 2nd gear is just right.

Finally shifting into 3rd on a straight and cruising, the rhythmic pulse and interior atmosphere matched so well it brought a smile to my face. Braking before a curve and downshifting to 2nd, the brakes honestly feel a bit weak. Compared to the 911, this might be the biggest difference.

Turning the steering wheel, the car leans under load but feels completely stable. You can really feel it gripping the road through the corner. This is Porsche. Even such an old car still has that unmistakable “Porsche feel.”

This sensation is hard to find even in modern cars. The high level of tire contact gives a reassuring feeling. During cornering, the steering feedback increases in response to speed, clearly communicating road and tire conditions to the driver.

This characteristic is exactly the same as modern Porsches.

Knowing that such a wonderful setup existed over half a century ago is astonishing. Porsche as a manufacturer is truly formidable. Probably, domestic cars of that era couldn’t even come close. Porsche’s secret sauce was already being brewed back then.

While the Porsche-like driving feel was definitely present in this 356, it’s not quite the same as the 911.

Just as the modern 911 and Boxster/Cayman have different driving characters, the 356 and 911 are clearly distinct. To put it simply, the 356 feels more like a regular car. To clarify, “regular car” might sound like a boring family car, but that’s not what I mean—it’s just in comparison to the 911.

Although both are rear-engine cars, the 911 has a more pronounced rear rotational axis, stronger traction on throttle application, and a flexibility and depth that allow the driver to control it in many ways depending on weight distribution.

Compared to that, the 356 has less of that rear-engine character and is less demanding of driving skill. It’s more of an accessible sports car.

Saying it’s like the relationship between the modern 911 and Boxster/Cayman might be a stretch, but there’s a similar difference. The mid-engine layout of the Boxster/Cayman lets anyone drive fairly fast without worrying as much about weight distribution, which is the kind of difference I’m referring to.

Driving the 356 for the first time made me once again realize the incredible engineering prowess of Porsche at the time. I’ve experienced older Porsches before, but the more I drive them, the more curious I become about how even earlier Porsches were. This is the allure of air-cooled Porsches.

They say once you enter this world, you can’t get out. This time, I was reminded just how deep that world really is.