The Porsche of yesteryear that was designed for simplicity, in a painstakingly restored example for sale in Italy

What would a car look like today that would be created with the idea of ​​being as simple as possible, but still pleasant to drive, manoeuvrable, light and relatively dynamic? Probably most of us would not imagine seeing such a graceful car as this Porsche 356, built 68 years ago and nowadays meticulously restored.

It's a Porsche from the times of the beginning of the brand. The Porsche 356 is generally the first model of the brand, except that initially there were examples manufactured in Austria and only then in Zuffenhausen, at the current headquarters. And the initial idea of ​​the model was a minimal weight, thanks to an aluminum body, co-opted with a dynamic engine and a maneuverable suspension. However, the first cars were slow to build and cost a lot, so the dealers were not very happy. Then Max Hoffman, the American who owned the company that imported Porsche to the USA, convinced the Germans that a simplified Porsche 356 was needed, minimalist in features, which even had a smaller windshield, but which was still pleasant and generated more sales.

This is exactly how the car we are talking about today appeared, called by enthusiasts as pre-A and put into production with a steel body in 1954. The steel made it a little heavier, but the 1.5 liter engine, compared to the of 1.1 and 1.3 liters that were mounted previously, equaled the driving pleasure, and it was this Porsche that made the brand even more adored among enthusiasts, including in the USA.

The engine, by the way, was a 4-cylinder, boxer, air-cooled, rear-mounted one. It was connected to a 4-speed gearbox, and sent its power to the rear axle. The interior was really minimalistic, with equally simple seats with no advanced adjustments. Back then, the official name was 356 Speedster 1500 and it appeared in the US in September 1954, while Europe saw it only the following year.

The car was an immediate success, being adored by both enthusiasts, who felt they were getting exactly what counts in a tasty automobile, and those who wanted to compete in races. The model quickly became one that made a career in a lot of competitions, and its reputation for exceptional build quality helped it enormously.

Well, just such a Porsche 356 pre-A, or 1500 Speedster, went on sale in Italy recently. The car has been restored to an impeccable standard using original, genuine factory components. Everything has been restored in it, down to the smallest detail. And we could only suspect that this intense blue color is not genuine. But it's not like that. In fact, it was one of the existing colors in the range of this model at that time, probably the rarest and most beautiful. So although this example was white in its early days, it was repainted blue during the restoration and now looks simply fabulous.

The odometer was set to zero, and between then and now the engine has traveled a little over 1,600 km, just enough to run-in again. So now, 68 years after it first left the factory, the model has been reborn again and is ready to once again delight the senses of a refined buyer. It is not even announced how much it costs, but usually the price for such pre-A copies is hundreds of thousands of dollars. Far fewer pre-A's were manufactured, and there are even fewer of these versions, with a steel body and "simplified" equipment, in the world. So, one of those jewels that have stood the test of time and will never lose their value!