1965 Porsche 356C

The Porsche 356C was the final evolution of the 356 series on which the brand was founded, and it was also the most advanced, developed, and sophisticated. The problems and shortcomings of the early 356 models had all been worked out by the time production began on the 356C. The Porsche flat four-cylinder engine was nearly bulletproof as Teutonic determination could make it. The revisions and refinements to the rear suspension had resulted in superb handling characteristics.

The production Porsche vehicles existed in parallel with their racing counterparts, benefitting from the innovations of racing yet traveling their course towards reliability, sophistication, and sheer joy of driving.

The final-series 356C was introduced in July 1963 and while visually similar to the prior 356B, they were carefully refined and improved throughout. The 356C continued to use the T-6 'Twin Grille body type introduced in 1962. The body suppliers were now streamlined, with Karmann in Osnabrück supplying coupes and Porsche, which had just purchased Reutter, building the Cabriolets in Stuttgart. Deeper bucket-type reclining seats were by Reutter, which owned a seating subsidiary that became Recaro, short for Reutter Carosserie. The suspension was fully independent, four-wheel disc brakes were standard, as were the new 15-inch wheels with smaller ventilation holes and flat hubcaps.

Hanz Mezger led the development of the engine, with Porsche's pushrod-type engine lineup reorganized and improved. The 1600 'Normal' engine with 60 horsepower was replaced by the uprated 1600C unit, which developed 75 horsepower (88 SAE). The 95-horsepower (107 SAE) 1600 SC unit replaced the 'Super 90' as the most powerful pushrod-type engine in Porsche's road cars. The most potent was the track-oriented Carrera 2 four-cam. The 1600 SC unit delivered peak power at 5,800 RPM and featured 9.5:1 compression, Solex twin-choke carburetors, and specific light-alloy cylinder barrels with iron liners. Both the intake and exhaust valves were enlarged and sodium-filled for improved heat dissipation.

The Porsche 356C had an 82.7 inch wheelbase, a width of 65.4 inches, a length of 158 inches, and stood 66 inches tall.

Porsche constructed 16,684 (possibly 16,668) examples of the 356C models with 3,265 of those being cabriolets. Coupe production ended on January 21, 1965, and the last Cabriolet left Porsche's Zuffenhausen works on April 28, 1965.

The successors of the 356C were the 911 (901) and 912.

by Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2006