Porsche Designed to Seduce

356 T

he name of the first Porsche was simply its project number. The 356 was the 349th project of the Porsche studio, which, for reasons unknown, had begun numbering its work from 7. On June 8, 1948, the first Porsche automobile was officially approved for sale. Now the story could truly begin. The Porsche 356/1 was a roadster produced in Gmünd in Kärnten, where the Porsche studio had relocated during the Second World War. The first Porsche in history was Austrian and did not yet feature the classic emblem on its bodywork, although the name did appear: Porsche, the first signature, the first car to bear the name of the family that designed, built, and tested it. Thinking ahead, Porsche carried out what we would today call a market survey. He wanted to know whether there was any interest in a sports car so soon after a conflict that had devastated Germany. The responses were convincing, and it was around the Beetle’s rear-mounted 1,131-cc four-cylinder boxer engine, increased from 25 to 35 horsepower (later 40), that Porsche’s firstborn came into being.

The side profile of the Porsche 356.

Following pages: Interior of the Porsche 356.

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26

A Porsche 550 RS Spyder seen from various angles.

— PORSCHE 5 50 SPIDER

27

46

When it came time to launch production, Ferry Porsche faced a major corporate decision. Reutter, which had built the bodies for the 356 until then, was hesitant about the investments required for the new project and proposed selling the company

to Porsche, retaining only its seat and interior business, the origin of today’s Recaro. Left with little alternative, Porsche invested more than six million marks in the 901 project, which would later become the 911. This decision shaped the company’s future.

Top: A Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7.

Left: Rear view of a Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7.

— PORSCHE 9 11

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70

A Porsche 924.

— PORSCHE 9  24 & 928

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917

and sports cars

935 936 956 962

F

911 GT1 919

or Porsche, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is more than the world’s most famous endurance race: it’s home ground, the place where, on the track, no one has been able to match the pace of the Stuttgart cars, which have secured 19 overall victories and countless class wins. For Porsche, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans quickly became a habit – a good one – almost from the very beginning: just three years after the first Porsche ever turned a wheel, when it became the first German manufacturer to race in France after the war.

A Porsche 917K in the iconic light-blue and orange Gulf Oil livery.

97

The Porsche Cayenne Turbo S.

Following pages: The Porsche Cayenne Coupé.

138

— PORSCHE C AYENNE

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176

A Porsche Cayman S.

— PORSCHE C AYMAN

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190

A Porsche Macan GTS.

Following pages: The Porsche Macan Turbo Electric.

— PORSCHE M ACAN

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200

— PORSCHE TAYCAN

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Publisher: Balthazar Pagani Iconographic research: Rachele Adda Editing and fact checking of the original edition: Fabia Brustia Editorial Staff: PEPE nymi Graphic design and layout: Davide Canesi / PEPE nymi WS whitestar® is a registered trademark property of White Star s.r.l. © 2026 White Star s.r.l.

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