356
One shape, many identities
The 356 is a model family, not one specification. A C Coupé, Reutter Speedster, Gmünd aluminium car and four-cam Carrera share the outline but occupy different markets. Identity starts with body style and engine type.
Market value · road
$215K–$405K
Typical $287K · 243 sales · -23% vs ’19–’20
Market value · road
$215K–$405K
Typical $287K · 243 sales · -23% vs ’19–’20
- Engine
- 1.1 to 2.0L (air-cooled flat-four family)
- Power
- 35 to 130 PS (No. 1 to Carrera 2)
- Transmission
- 4-speed (manual)
- Layout
- Rear-engine (series cars)
- Production
- ~78'000 (Porsche factory estimate)
Market & Price
The price and the proof
A terminal for one car: the model curve over the documented record, the benchmarks it is measured against, and the instruments that read it.
Records: 291 documented road sales on file · 2003–2026; estimate band $215K–$405K · good road cars. recorded sale prices · mixed hammer and premium-inclusive basis.
Compound annual growth
| Window | This car* | S&P 500 | Gold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | -1.9% | +18.8% | +21.9% |
| 5Y | -1.3% | +11.4% | +17.6% |
| 10Y | -10.3% | +13.3% | +11.8% |
*Modeled price CAGR · S&P is a price index, no dividends
Deepest drawdown · model window
Forecast ladder · model quantiles
| Horizon | P10 | P50 | P90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| +6M | $239K | $290K | $352K |
| +12M | $224K | $292K | $382K |
| +24M | $204K | $297K | $433K |
Median path with the 10th and 90th percentile · not investment advice
292 of 292 recorded sales · shown in USD · recorded currency in each record
The 356 market is a hierarchy of identities. Body style, coachbuilder, pushrod or four-cam engine, matching numbers and restoration accuracy matter before headline condition.
Floor
$215K
Typical
$287K
Ceiling
$405K
Estimate band for good road cars. 243 documented sales since 2019 plotted below.
Band and axis shown in USD. Sale positions use indicative fixed-rate conversion to USD; sale readouts retain recorded currencies. The band is not suitable for Gmünd, Carrera, America Roadster or documented competition cars.
Instrument calibration for this file is in progress — the terminal above reads the documented record directly.
Only one directly verified public sale is included; it has a later, enlarged engine and is not an originality benchmark.
Overview
Porsche expected to sell 500; the line lasted seventeen years.
The aluminium 356 No. 1 received its operating permit in Gmünd on 8 June 1948. It remained a mid-engine one-off, while the 356/2 established the rear-engine layout used by the production family.
Porsche built 52 aluminium-bodied Coupés and Cabriolets in Austria. Production moved to Stuttgart at the end of 1949, where Reutter supplied steel bodies and volumes grew beyond the original plan.
The A, B and C series changed structure, glass, bumpers, brakes and engine choices while keeping the same basic architecture. Production ended in 1965 after just under 78'000 cars.
- Built
- ~78'000
- First permit
- 8 Jun 1948
- Series
- Pre-A · A · B · C
- Bodies
- Coupé · open
- Cylinders
- Four
Reference
Technical specifications
Model line
- 356/2 and pre-A
- 1948 to 195552 Gmünd cars; later Stuttgart production used steel bodies
- 356 A
- 1955 to 1959included Speedster and four-cam Carrera variants
- 356 B
- 1959 to 1963T5 then T6 body development
- 356 C
- 1963 to 1965four-wheel disc brakes on series cars
- Factory total
- Just under 78'000Porsche also publishes 77'361 in its US historical chronology
Reference specifications
- 356 No. 1
- 1'131 cc · 35 PS · 135 km/hmid-engine one-off; factory figures
- 356/2
- 40 PSrear-engine Gmünd series cars
- 356 A 1600 Super Speedster
- 1'582 cc · 75 PS · 175 km/hfactory-published reference specification
- 356 B Carrera 2
- 2.0L four-cam · up to 130 PSCarrera specification; body and tune varied
- Brakes
- Drums, then discs356 C introduced four-wheel discs to the series line
HICON BID
Buying interest, silently.
A HICON Bid is a confidential expression of buying interest on the Porsche 356 file — never public, never shown to other members. It is not a binding purchase, and HICONIUM holds no funds.
HICON Bids are a member instrument. Sign in to place one.
The vault
Open a file on yours.
You keep one? The record starts in your garage — identity, papers, photography, and the market evidence this file already carries, bound to your chassis.
The variants
One badge, 4 executions
The register separates the 356 into its documented executions. One reference silhouette per execution — each opens as its own file as the archive fills.
Pre-A01
Speedster024 executions on file · references drawn to the house standard
The cars
The 356 register
Documented individual cars — chassis, colour, ownership and sale history. Open one for its full provenance. Public records only; members see the complete registry.
82 documented · public records
24 of 82 shown