Porsche 356 'Continental' | 4. Design
Besides some minor details, the Porsche 'Continental' of these pages is just a Pre-A series 356. Inside the long-lived model production this series is one of the first and brings together the most primitive spirit from Stuttgart automoviles, which were nearly tuned Beetles. Altough the prototype (and genuine first Porsche) was a roadster built around a mid engine, the production 356 became a compact 2+2 rear boxer engined sports car, the true DNA of the company. The 911, fifty years in production now, is simply the umpteenth evolution of our protagonist.
Body design saw the light of day by the end of the Forties in the first pre-series prototypes built in the Gmünd-based factory (Austria). Originally made in aluminum, the man in charge was Erwin Komenda, also the body designer in the Beetle project. His work for the young Porsche company is a deep funcionalist style exercise and capitulates before the mechanical layout of the model.
Its air-cooled flat-four engine is precisely which allows this very streamlined package. Obtaining a good Cx index was one of the main targets for Komenda and, as the power unit don't need front water radiators, frontal view is specially clean; it only has two small openings for the horn. The boxer unit is also very flat and compact and favours the pronounced lean of the roof line from the small rear seats towards the car's rear end. More than 95 mph of top speed is the remarkable result.
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4. Design | Porsche 356 'Continental'
Another unmistakable characteristic of the 356, being the result of searching for a good aerodynamic penetration, is the difference in lenght between the axle tracks and the body width. It is noticeable and allows to maintain the wheels totally integrated; they hardly proyect outside the body when the steering is turned full lock. In the case of our Pre-A car, rear wings are still deep and act as a wheel pseudo-fairing.
Transversely, the car is also efficient and remains neutral to lateral gusts of wind. It's, in short, a very stable car. Even split windscreens have been overcome by the time Continentals were built and they feature a one-piece, more effective one.
Fondly called “the bathtub” because of its rounded aspect, this Porsche remains in car design history as one of the first modern sports cars, as its enphasis in aerodynamics gave as a result one of the first integrated bodies. It's been a much valued automobile right from its lauch thanks to its smart packaging and the honesty of its lines. In the purest 'less is more' style, performs as it should do and it does it with the exact number of components needed.
Three key figures in the 356 design. From left to right: engineer Karl Rabe, Erwin Komenda and Ferry Porsche, in 1956.
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