Porsche’s beginnings as a production car manufacturer were not in Stuttgart, where the company currently has its headquarters, but in the small town of Gmünd, Austria, where the very first Porsche 356 vehicles were built starting in 1948.
Porsche only built 50 vehicles in Gmünd, as in 1950, production was moved to Zuffenhausen, on the outskirts of Stuttgart, Germany. Obviously, these Gmünd-built 356 vehicles are very rare today, with director and Pikes Peak Hill Climb winner Jeff Zwart being the lucky owner of a 1949 model – actually the last one built in Austria with chassis number 50.
So what’s it like owning one of Porsche’s first production cars? Obviously, Zwart is very fond of it and to his credit he doesn’t just keep it in a garage as a prize, he actually drives it.
You can imagine this early 356 is quite a challenge to drive in today’s traffic. Zwart doesn’t mind that though, as you can see in the following video released by Porsche.
By Dan Mihalascu
VIDEO