One example of Porsche’s first production model, the 1956 Porsche 356A European Coupe, sold at auction for $239,000 USD. This is an outstanding example of the second version of this model, which was produced from 1955 to 1959, and also a rare T1 “European” variant.
The car won First in Class in the A-Coupe category at the 2013 356 Registry West Coast Holiday in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the previous owner bought it in 2021 at BaT. It is finished in Aquamarine Blue Metallic and really looks magnificent. It is equipped with a single decklid grill, quad taillights with LED bulbs, body-colored bumpers with aluminum guards, European badging, Hirschmann-style red-tip retractable antenna, rebuilt brake drums supplied by Martin Willis Machine Shop of Colorado Springs, and a Koni shock absorbers with a Willhoit Auto Restoration sway bar up front.
Inside, the seats are reupholstered in gray Connolly leather that also covers the door panels, dash and rear bench, with blue square-weave carpets protected by black rubber floor mats. In front of the driver are an ivory-colored two-spoke steering wheel and a reset five-digit odometer showing 6,510 miles (total mileage is unknown).
This Porsche 356A is powered by a 1,883cc air-cooled flat-four engine installed ten years ago during a refurbishment that included the installation of a Competition Engineering machined case, LN Engineering “Nickies” cylinders housing 90mm forged pistons with Porsche 912 connecting rods, dual Weber 44mm IDF carburetors, and 6″ sport air filters and 4″ velocity stacks. Last year, a 12-volt electrical system, Porsche 912 heads with 34mm exhaust valves, Aluminum oil cooler, LN Engineering Torquer camshaft, YnZ’s Yesterday’s Parts wiring harness, Chromoly pushrods, 123Ignition distributor, and full-flow oil filter system were installed. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a Porsche 741 four-speed manual transmission.
Along with the car, the new owner received refurbishment records, a copy of the Kardex, a Porsche Certificate of Authenticity, and a clean Arizona title.
Source: Bring a Trailer