The basic design of the 356 remained the same throughout its lifespan, with evolutionary, functional improvements rather than yearly superficial styling changes. Cabriolets (convertibles) were offered from the start, and in the early 1950's sometimes comprised over 50% of total production. One of the most desirable collector models is the 356 "Speedster," introduced in late 1954 after Max Hoffman, the sole US importer of Porsches, advised the company that a lower-cost, open-top version could sell well in the American market. With its low, raked windshield (which could be removed for weekend racing), bucket seats and minimal folding top, the Speedster was an instant hit, especially in Southern California. Production of the Speedster peaked at 1,171 cars in 1957 and then started to decline. It was replaced in late 1958 by the "Convertible D" model. It featured a taller, more practical windshield, glass side windows and more comfortable seats. To distinguish among the major revisions of the model, 356's are generally classified into a few major groups. 356 coupes and "cabriolets" (soft-top) built through 1954 are readily identifiable by their split (1948 to 1952) or bent (center-creased, 1953 to 1954) windshields.
In 1955, with numerous small but significant changes, the 356A was introduced. Its internal factory designation, "Type 1," gave rise to its nickname "T1" among enthusiasts. In early 1957 a second revision of the 356A was produced, known as Type 2 (or T2). The mid 1962 356B model was changed to the T6 body type (twin deck lid grilles, an external fuel filler in the right front fender and larger windows). A unique "Karmann Hardtop" or "Notchback" 356B model (1961 to 1962) was essentially a cabriolet body with the optional steel cabriolet hardtop welded in place. The last revision of the 356 was the 356C which was introduced for the 1964 model year. The 356's four-cylinder pushrod engine was later re-introduced in Porsche's "entry-level" 912 model, offered between 1965 and 1969 in response to customer complaints that the new 911 (at nearly twice the price of the 356) was too expensive.
Ever wonder where your car is manufactured by who or in which country? You will probably answered Japanese car from Japan, German car from Germany or Korean car from Korea ? In the current market, many car manufacturers had outsourced their vehicles to be assembled elsewhere by some other company OR in another country. Good example are Toyota Vios from Thailand, Honda City from Thailand, Honda Freed from Indonesia, Mercedes Benz C-Class from South Africa and Porsche Boxster/Cayman from Finland. I won't go into much details about other manufacturers but instead will talk about Porsche. In Porsche, some of their Boxster/Caymen are assembled in Finland by this company called Valmet Automotive. Valmet Automotive is located in Uusikaupunki in Finland, they had been assembling Porsche Boxster/Caymen for quite sometime. In the past they also assemble other makes such as SAAB models and Renault Clio V6. More recent Fisker Karma also joined their lists. I always thought that my Boxster is Made in Finland but recently after watching Discovery Megafactory - Porsche, I noticed that there were a few Boxster and Cayman in the show. So I was wondering is my car from Germany or Finland? So I took a picture of my VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) as shown in the picture below and decide to decode it using Porsche VIN decoder from some Porsche forum. I was a bit surprised, hehe and of course happy about it too after finding it is manufactured in Stuggart, Germany. Paying for a premium car like Porsche, you would expect it to be made from its country of origin.
Porsche's first production car was entirely hand built but they found this process to be inefficient, too expensive and time consuming for what they wanted to be, a volume production car company. Since then Porsche has used a capital intensive method of production. Labor intensive model. Porsche was one of the early iterators of technologies like the double clutch transmission and carbon ceramic brakes. They were also one of the first to use materials like silicon carbide in their cars. Porsche is a multinational company that sells the 911 all over the world. Even though the 911 is sold in different countries with different cultures, it is marketed and sold the same way. This means the marketing and promotional strategies you would see in America would be the same thing you would see in the United Arab Emirates. Porsche has shown substantial interests in China as a new market for their cars. They have been spending a lot in promotion and on setting up dealerships to make the car more available. They are currently working on entering the markets in 15 different countries, mostly in Africa as part of their growth strategy. Porsche has licensed out the digital versions of their cars to Electronic Arts to be in video games like Need For Speed and a sub licensing agreement to Turn 10 Studios for the Forza Motorsport racing simulator. This is used as a promotional tool for Porsche as it creates fans for the cars and shows them the performance that the car is capable of. It also creates potential future customers for Porsche and gives the fans who are not fortunate enough to buy the car a chance to enjoy them as well.
Porsche 911 GT2 (997) Extreme Paint Correction! 331 km/h (206 mph). First Porsche 911 to break 200 mph! The GT2 actually belongs to a private car collection and was hardly used. It was recently purchased by its new owner and we were called in to rescue the paint. It was kept in a warehouse and wiped clean regularly (unfortunately the cars weren't wiped down with Optimum No-Rinse). As the car was hardly used, all of the swirls and RIDS were inflicted by the cleaning process itself. The original factory Porsche paintwork was very soft and this turned out to be an epic detail. The first step was to clean off all of the surface contamination with Optimum No-Rinse (ONR). The signature blue color of ONR and the signature daytime LED running lights of the GT2. ONR 50/50. All of the dust and surface contamination cleaned with just the ONR. Wipe clean with ONR and wipe dry. The warehouse had metal-halide lights which were great for showing up any paint defects. All of the scoops and vents were also cleaned with ONR. Closeup of some more stubborn paint contaminants. After washing and drying with ONR.