{"id":37464,"date":"2021-03-14T06:00:54","date_gmt":"2021-03-13T21:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=37464"},"modified":"2021-06-01T23:47:58","modified_gmt":"2021-06-01T14:47:58","slug":"porsche356-testdrive-2022103","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/","title":{"rendered":"This Is the Origin of Porsche! Test Driving the Porsche 356, the Original Different from the 911"},"content":{"rendered":"

My husband had the rare opportunity to test drive a Porsche 356 and wrote a report about it. Please take a look if you\u2019re interested. <\/p>\n

Porsche 356: The First Model to Bear the Porsche Name<\/h3>\n

Porsche was founded in 1931. Its official name is Dr.Ing.h.c.F.Porsche AG, which in Japanese translates to “Ferdinand Porsche Honorary Doctor of Engineering Corporation<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

The first car to carry the “Porsche” name was the Porsche 356, produced starting in 1948. The 356 was manufactured until 1965<\/strong>, making it a long-lived model spanning about 17 years. However, during that time, there were many different types (models). At first glance, they look similar, but on closer inspection, their size and design vary quite a bit.<\/p>\n

The one we had the chance to ride in was a 1964 Porsche 356SC<\/strong>. According to the owner, they wanted to drive a later model 356 as much as possible, so they chose this almost final version.<\/p>\n

\"Interior<\/p>\n

This restored example looks incredibly cool. Even today, its straightforwardly handsome design pairs perfectly with the black body and white-toned interior. <\/p>\n

Test Driving the Porsche 356<\/h3>\n

First, the owner drove while I sat in the passenger seat. The metallic sound of the door closing was very satisfying. Old cars really do have such wonderful door sounds<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The passenger seat is a bit worn, but very comfortable, with a sofa-like feel that\u2019s a bit more luxurious than the 911\u2019s seats.<\/p>\n

\"Porsche<\/p>\n

After gently warming up the engine and setting off, I was surprised by how comfortable the ride was. Given it\u2019s a car over 50 years old, I had expected a thin, fragile ride quality, but of course, it\u2019s a Porsche.<\/p>\n

The ride is very solid<\/strong>, and there\u2019s no wobbliness on curves. Of course, the tires have a very high profile, so there\u2019s some softness in the tires themselves, but the suspension\u2019s rigidity and firmness are clearly felt even from the passenger seat,<\/strong> allowing confident cornering.<\/p>\n

The engine sound is a rhythmic “bobobobo” from the classic naturally aspirated flat-four, and the moderate vibrations match the car\u2019s atmosphere perfectly. It\u2019s said to have about 95 horsepower from a 1600cc engine, but with a low gear ratio, the engine revs high in normal use, giving a strong sense of power.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The balance of the suspension, power delivery, and engine sound is excellent, making this a prime example of a car that\u2019s fun even without pushing it hard.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even when accelerating on a straight, the stability exceeded my expectations. The owner said it can comfortably cruise at high speeds on the highway.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next page \u2192 Finally driving the Porsche 356! How does it differ from the 911?<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

How Does It Differ from the Porsche 911?<\/h3>\n

I took over driving cautiously. Sitting in the driver\u2019s seat, the most striking impression was the steering wheel. It\u2019s unbelievably thin and large by today\u2019s standards.<\/strong> Because it\u2019s so thin, it\u2019s 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\u2019s no problem.<\/p>\n

\"Driving<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The owner also said, “You can drive it almost like a regular car.<\/strong>” and that was truly the case.<\/p>\n

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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For winding roads like the Royu Driveway, there\u2019s no need to use 3rd gear; 2nd gear is just right.<\/p>\n

\"Porsche<\/p>\n

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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

This characteristic is exactly the same as modern Porsches.<\/p>\n

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\u2019t even come close.<\/strong> Porsche\u2019s secret sauce was already being brewed back then.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While the Porsche-like driving feel was definitely present in this 356, it\u2019s not quite the same as the 911.<\/p>\n

Just as the modern 911 and Boxster\/Cayman have different driving characters, the 356 and 911 are clearly distinct.<\/strong> 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\u2019s not what I mean\u2014it\u2019s just in comparison to the 911.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Compared to that, the 356 has less of that rear-engine character and is less demanding of driving skill.<\/strong> It\u2019s more of an accessible sports car.<\/p>\n

Saying it\u2019s like the relationship between the modern 911 and Boxster\/Cayman might be a stretch, but there\u2019s 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\u2019m referring to.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Driving the 356 for the first time made me once again realize the incredible engineering prowess of Porsche at the time.<\/strong> I\u2019ve 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

They say once you enter this world, you can\u2019t get out. This time, I was reminded just how deep that world really is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"My husband had the rare opportunity to test drive a Porsche 356 and wrote a report about it. Please take a look if you\u2019re interested. Porsche 356: The First Model to Bear the Porsche Name Porsche was founded in 1931. Its official name is Dr.Ing.h.c.F.Porsche AG, which in Japanese translates to “Ferdinand Porsche Honorary Doctor of Engineering Corporation.” The first car to carry the “Porsche” name was the Porsche 356, produced starting in 1948. The...","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":22173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=22167"},"categories":[72],"tags":[183,188,195],"yoast_head":"This Is the Origin of Porsche! Test Driving the Porsche 356, the Original Different from the 911 - \u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u304c\u308f\u304c\u5bb6\u306b\u3084\u3063\u3066\u304d\u305f - \u30aa\u30fc\u30ca\u30fc\u30ba\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A test drive report of the Porsche 356, the origin of Porsche. Discover the unique charm of this original model, distinct from the 911, and how its build quality and driving experience still impress decades after it was made.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This Is the Origin of Porsche! Test Driving the Porsche 356, the Original Different from the 911 - \u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u304c\u308f\u304c\u5bb6\u306b\u3084\u3063\u3066\u304d\u305f - \u30aa\u30fc\u30ca\u30fc\u30ba\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A test drive report of the Porsche 356, the origin of Porsche. Discover the unique charm of this original model, distinct from the 911, and how its build quality and driving experience still impress decades after it was made.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u304c\u308f\u304c\u5bb6\u306b\u3084\u3063\u3066\u304d\u305f - \u30aa\u30fc\u30ca\u30fc\u30ba\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/panameralife\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-13T21:00:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-01T14:47:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/9AF06462-6678-4075-8149-208916CAF5CE-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>","yoast_head_json":{"title":"This Is the Origin of Porsche! Test Driving the Porsche 356, the Original Different from the 911 - \u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u304c\u308f\u304c\u5bb6\u306b\u3084\u3063\u3066\u304d\u305f - \u30aa\u30fc\u30ca\u30fc\u30ba\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0","description":"A test drive report of the Porsche 356, the origin of Porsche. Discover the unique charm of this original model, distinct from the 911, and how its build quality and driving experience still impress decades after it was made.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/","next":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"This Is the Origin of Porsche! Test Driving the Porsche 356, the Original Different from the 911 - \u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u304c\u308f\u304c\u5bb6\u306b\u3084\u3063\u3066\u304d\u305f - \u30aa\u30fc\u30ca\u30fc\u30ba\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0","og_description":"A test drive report of the Porsche 356, the origin of Porsche. Discover the unique charm of this original model, distinct from the 911, and how its build quality and driving experience still impress decades after it was made.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/","og_site_name":"\u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u304c\u308f\u304c\u5bb6\u306b\u3084\u3063\u3066\u304d\u305f - \u30aa\u30fc\u30ca\u30fc\u30ba\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/panameralife\/","article_published_time":"2021-03-13T21:00:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-06-01T14:47:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1920,"url":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/9AF06462-6678-4075-8149-208916CAF5CE-scaled.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"This Is the Origin of Porsche! Test Driving the Porsche 356, the Original Different from the 911","datePublished":"2021-03-13T21:00:54+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-01T14:47:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/"},"wordCount":1085,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/9AF06462-6678-4075-8149-208916CAF5CE-scaled.jpeg","keywords":["Porsche 911","Air-cooled Porsche","Porsche Test Drive Report"],"articleSection":["Reviews & Test Drives"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/","url":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/","name":"This Is the Origin of Porsche! Test Driving the Porsche 356, the Original Different from the 911 - \u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u304c\u308f\u304c\u5bb6\u306b\u3084\u3063\u3066\u304d\u305f - \u30aa\u30fc\u30ca\u30fc\u30ba\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/9AF06462-6678-4075-8149-208916CAF5CE-scaled.jpeg","datePublished":"2021-03-13T21:00:54+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-01T14:47:58+00:00","description":"A test drive report of the Porsche 356, the origin of Porsche. Discover the unique charm of this original model, distinct from the 911, and how its build quality and driving experience still impress decades after it was made.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche356-testdrive-2022103\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/9AF06462-6678-4075-8149-208916CAF5CE-scaled.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/9AF06462-6678-4075-8149-208916CAF5CE-scaled.jpeg","width":2560,"height":1920,"caption":"\u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7356 | \u8eca, \u4eba, \u99d0\u8eca\u5834, \u99d0\u8eca\u5834, \u5c55\u793a\u4f1a, PORSCHE, 356"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/","name":"\u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u304c\u308f\u304c\u5bb6\u306b\u3084\u3063\u3066\u304d\u305f - \u30aa\u30fc\u30ca\u30fc\u30ba\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0","description":"\u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u306b\u9b45\u4e86\u3055\u308c\u305f\u59bb\u304c\u66f8\u304f\u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\u3067\u3059\u3002\u6240\u6709\u3059\u308b\u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7 911\u30ab\u30ec\u30e9\uff08964\uff09\u3001911GT3\u3001\u30dc\u30af\u30b9\u30bf\u30fc\u3001\u30d1\u30ca\u30e1\u30fc\u30e9\u306e\u30ec\u30d3\u30e5\u30fc\u3084\u7dad\u6301\u8cbb\u3001\u30c4\u30fc\u30ea\u30f3\u30b0\u8a18\u306a\u3069\u3002\u30cb\u30e5\u30fc\u30b9\u8a18\u4e8b\u3067\u306f\u5206\u304b\u3089\u306a\u3044\u751f\u306e\u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u30aa\u30fc\u30ca\u30fc\u306e\u58f0\u3092\u5b9a\u671f\u914d\u4fe1\u3059\u308b\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0\u3067\u3059\u3002","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/#organization","name":"\u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u304c\u308f\u304c\u5bb6\u306b\u3084\u3063\u3066\u304d\u305f","url":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/unnamed.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/unnamed.jpg","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"\u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u304c\u308f\u304c\u5bb6\u306b\u3084\u3063\u3066\u304d\u305f"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/panameralife\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Mina_Panamera","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mina_porsche\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCoyAW0ifcnk05Iryf7-bkhg"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37464"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}