Here's the Woodwork That Helped Create the Porsche 356

Inspiring a Legend

The Porsche 356 was, as most are well aware, the brand's very first sports car, and one that went on to stake its claim as one of the greatest ever conceived. The 356 is still a celebrated and valuable entity among collectors, but as is always the case, it had to start somewhere. That somewhere was this massive framework of ash wood, which served as inspiration for the first-ever 356, which was manufactured by hand 75 years ago in Gmünd, Austria.

Photos: Porsche

Remarkably Fresh

Amazingly, not only is this giant piece of woodwork still around today, it doesn't even have any obvious signs that it was used for shaping and fitting the production body of the 356. Instead, it looks remarkably fresh, almost as if someone had just put it together today - not three-quarters of a century ago.

Photos: Porsche

Historical Reference

The term "Holzklopfmodell" (hammered wooden frame) was mentioned a few times in official Porsche literature, even though the frame itself was never hammered. Rather, it served as a model for the vehicles that began rolling off the production line at the Porsche factory in Gmünd, Austria, in 1948. 

Photos: Porsche

Very Few

A total of 52 type 356/2 vehicles were produced in total, of which there were 44 Coupe and eight Cabriolet models. There were also an additional eight to ten examples - later designated as superlight (SL) vehicle bodies. These were, however, not completed until 1951/1952 by the racing department in Stuttgart.

Photos: Porsche

Seeking Help

75 years ago, Porsche was a manufacturing company based on the division of labor, with series production still in the distant future. While the steel chassis could be produced comparably quickly, the external bodywork process proved to be arduous, as the aluminum sheets had to be shaped using hammers and then repeatedly held up to the wooden frame for comparison. A time-consuming process of trial and error, the steps were repeated over and over again until the doors, hoods, roof, and fenders fit the wooden model perfectly. It took a specialist at least 90 hours to perfectly form the 356’s outer skin. Then, it was ready to be nailed, riveted, and bolted to the inner structure. For this reason, Porsche engaged specialists such as Kastenhofer, Keibl, and Tatra in Vienna, and Beutler in Thun, Switzerland, to help with the manufacture of the bodywork.

Photos: Porsche

Proving Difficult

The era in which sheet metal experts used hammers to shape aluminum panels on sand-filled leather pouches and wooden logs came to an end in late 1949 with the move from Gmünd to Karosseriewerk Reutter in Stuttgart. Processes like these continued briefly for smaller batches, such as the 356 America Roadster series of 16 with its lightweight metal body. While the Reutter location also initially featured a newly produced wooden frame of the 356, which was optimized in Stuttgart, it served merely as a role model for the high-precision production of the pressing tools that now shaped the body components in place of the craftsmen. Sturdy steel sheet metal could now be used instead of the soft albeit lighter aluminum, which is difficult to work with.

Photos: Porsche

Newfound Appreciation

Ultimately, modern presses ushered in a new era of faster production, with heavy stamping increasingly setting the pace for body construction – rather than the whirring sound of hammers of various sizes. Today, that means looking back at this giant piece of woodwork gives us a newfound appreciation for the progress we've made over the past 75 years or so.

Photos: Porsche

>>Join the conversation about the 356 right here at Rennlist.com.

>>For help with your do-it-yourself maintenance and repair projects, please visit our how-to section.