One of the first production Porsches was valued at $3.5 million (28 photos)

In the UK, for the first time in 18 years, perhaps one of the most remarkable Porsches - a coupe with the index 356/2 - has appeared on the public market. The car was valued at $3.5 million. Such a high price is explained not only by the 74-year age of the car, but also by its role in the history of the German brand. This is part of the very first batch of production cars released into the world under the Porsche brand.





Officially, the debut car of the Porsche brand is considered to be a small open sports car with a mid-engine layout, which received the index 356. It was assembled in 1948. However, for relatively mass production, the design of the sports car was redesigned, for example, the engine was moved closer to the rear axle. Therefore, in order to distinguish conditionally production cars from the first prototype, they were assigned the index 356/2.

Sports cars were assembled by hand at a factory in Gmünd, Austria, with bodies made of aluminum. As in the case of the mid-engine prototype, Volkswagen units were actively used in their design. In the first batch, which was produced before the transfer of production to Stuttgart, Germany, there were only about 50 cars, and, according to some estimates, about 30 have survived to this day.

The sports car put up for sale was assembled as the 32nd one. Sellers claim that this is the example with the most transparent history among all early Porsches - all the main milestones of its biography are documented. The company that currently owns the car has carried out extensive maintenance, and in theory, the rarity is now suitable for everyday use. At the same time, Porsche 356/2 from the first batch are considered a collector's item and appear on the public market extremely rarely, although later mass-produced 356s are noticeably cheaper. The model, which the company produced until 1965, is estimated at an average of 200 thousand dollars.