1955 Porsche 356 1500 Speedster

The Porsche 356 is one of the most iconic cars in the Porsche, and for a good-reason—it is only the first commercial release of the company. However, the Porsche 356 is not-just the 356; it was updated and upgraded in order to meet with the standards then. After all,-competition, then as now, was stiff, and the only way to win against the others is to edge them out-one way or another. In this respect, the 1955 Porsche 356 Speedster has dominated its-market—which is why it is actually considered as one of the most popular Porsche, and not just-in the 356. 

Ironically, the Porsche 356 Speedster was designed in order to compete in the-American market. The production was prompted by Max Hoffman. The Porsche 356 Speedster was not his-first foray in trying to penetrate the American market with a Porsche. In 1952, he tried it with the-Porsche 356 America—a regrettable attempt as only four were ultimately sold during the year.-In fact, the idea for the Porsche 356 Speedster and the Porsche 356 America wasn’t very-different; both cars were Porsche 356 with minimized features. Of course, in the case of the-Speedster, the intention was different.

Hoffman wanted to try his luck this time by trying to lower the price of the Porsche-356 to 3,000 dollars—still a hefty price at the time, but considerably cheaper than most of-its direct competitors. The normal price of a Porsche in Europe is around 4,000 dollars, almost the-same price of the much sought after Cadillac. In order to make a dent in the market, it needs to-lower its price; otherwise, it wouldn’t stand a chance. But, of course, in order to do this,-the 1954 and the subsequent 1955 Porsche 356 Speedster will need to have fewer features in order to-cut the cost of the production. Because of this, the car has no door boards, no glove compartments,-no heating, and very insufficient roofing.  With these precedents, one would think that the-Porsche 356 Speedster would not succeed. But on the contrary, it did—in fact, more than 14,000-Porsche 356 Speedster units were sold. 

Perhaps one of the reasons for this is the engine. Although the 1954 and the 1955-Porsche 356 Speedster had many key features left out, they have one of the best engines during the-time—the 1500 engine. Also, the almost bare 356 Speedster made up for its speed (because the-car is light). Driving and handling the car became a delight for many. Many did criticize the size-of the Porsche 356 Speedster (saying that the height made it rather uncomfortable to drive) although-its rood was rather easy to put up—a major feat during the time. Many celebrities owned this-Porsche, including James Dean (before buying the 356 Spyder).

Overall, the 1954 and the 1955 Porsche 356 Speedster was received well by both the-American critics and buyers. Perhaps the lesson is that less is more, although may it’s just-that Porsche is overall amazing car it doesn’t matter if it is sold with very few-features.

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