The Porsche 356 is an iconically beautiful car and in this episode of The Autopian podcast, presented by our friends at Marble, Rod Emory explains how he built a career out of crafting Outlaw Porsches and why he loves the platform so much.
In case you’re not familiar, we mean these things:
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The Porsche 356 is a fascinating car, in so many ways. It may be the only really successful example of the transformation of a bare-bones economy car into a premium performance car in automotive history.
Early 356s are clearly derived from the Volkswagen Beetle, a car made to meet some very strict parameters of cost and just enough capability to be a useful family car. And then the one of the lead creators of that cheap family car wants to transform it into a sports car? It seems like madness.
And yet it worked. Holy crap, did it work. Using a process known technically as “making everything just a bit better,” Porsche transformed the humble Beetle into something sleek and quick and very capable, a car that rewarded skillful drivers and was still practical and reliable enough to be daily driven.
The 356 set the template for the later 911, a car with decedents still being built today, still based on the general concept of the 356 from all those decades ago. It’s improbable and wonderful, and that’s why 356s attract such ardent believers. They’re wonderfully improbable, and improbably wonderful.
Here’s Part 1:
And here’s Part II
Remember, to listen to the podcasts episodes you can go to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or you can use the RSS feed and point your favorite Podcast player at it. Below are some more recent episodes.
What’s In The Podcast:
In this week’s podcast we’ve got:
- How Rod got his start.
- The history of Outlaw Porsches.
- Racing is expensive!
- The history/charm of the Porsche 356
Listen to more podcasts:
- Why Porsche Used To Throw Away Its Extra Parts – The Autopian Podcast
- Here’s The Weird Thing You Have To Do To Supercharge A New Car In California – The Autopian Podcast
- Bruce Meyer — The Ultimate Car Guy — Tells Some Incredible Stories On This Week’s Autopian Podcast
- “I Have A Flat Brim Hat And A Subaru. I Got This” – Zack Klapman Explains How He Stuffed A Subaru Into A Wall Of Snow
- Listen To Us Chat With Bring-A-Trailer Co-Founder Randy Nonnenberg About How He Built His Empire, How He Used To Be A BMW Engineer, And About This Amazing Ex-McLaren RV
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Rod’s family is automotive royalty and his craftsmanship is second to none. Absolutely loved this interview.
Although considered to be a dinosaur today, I still would rather own a 356 over the current 911. Especially one that was “updated” to drive and handle in a comparable way. These are my holy grail cars.
It’s good to remember where one came from. Especially these days.
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Psst. Please fix the topshot – should be deux
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Mon Dieu!