Yet it has an enduring appeal and the 1954 Speedster model, the result of US Porsche importer Max Hoffman's request for a stripped-out, Californian-style 356 ... bucket seats and lovely interior ...

Porsche provided flights from Washington, DC, to San Jose, California, and four nights in a hotel so we could attend Rennsport Reunion 7 at Laguna Seca. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.

At dinner the night before the drive, I was sat across from Kuno Werner, lead mechanic at the Porsche Museum ... car—I slid into those red seats behind the 356/1's pearl white banjo steering ...

The order established Porsche as a manufacturer. Raw materials and parts ... purchased several 356 bodies with engines from Porsche with the idea of creating four-seat Porsches.