Porsche: Never Substituted

Civilize. Hone. Improve. Better. Elevate. Sophistication. Precision. These words actually are the synonyms for the word refinement and not to put too fine a point on it, are words that can be used to describe what Porsche was after when they looked to elevate their attempts at building a sports car for the masses. How did Porsche go about making necessary refinements to the Pre-A 356? By creating a masterpiece that would simply be known as the Porsche 356 A.

The preposition "pre" means before or prior. Pre-Columbian, pre-workout, pre-view, and a boatload of others. When looking at the ABCs of the alphabet there is nothing before the A. There is no pre-A to the alphabet, nothing "prior" to the letter A, there is just an A. Continuing my education about Porsche history, today we will be looking at a pre of a different variety. The Pre-A of the Porsche 356.

The 356. The first car that is instantly recognizable as a Porsche has had several variations during its lengthy manufacturing run and was the underestimated success of Ferry Porsche. There is the Pre-A, A, B, and C types. The T-5 and T-6, among others. Then there is the rare and beautiful Gmund. Even though I have driven the 356, I didn't know what was what. So I decided to go back to school, do some research, and learn the ABCs of the Porsche 356.

A quick peruse through the internet after searching for the first water-cooled 911 yields results of widely differing opinions. Things like, "it's just a bigger Boxster motor," "cheap, plastic interior," "what was Porsche thinking," and "don't get me started on the fried egg headlights." But, there is also a myriad of love given for the 911 that was the first real factory mass-produced 911. With statements like "Refinement in the drive," "better than previous 911s," and "sophistication without straying away too far from the original," Porsche collectors are now starting to see the value in these cars that share components with its little sister, the 986 Boxster. For those that hate on the 996 keep this little tidbit in mind, without going the route of shared components or the modern manufacturing processes, the Porsche we know and enjoy today may not have happened.

Rennsport, or RS, was a moniker given to a special class of Porsche. It started with the 550A- RS Spyder, then moved eventually to the 1957 718 RSK, and various 718s of the very early 1960s: the legendary hill climbers. There are RS models like the 991 GT3 RS and most recently the 2022 718 GT4 RS that boggles the mind and quickens the pulse. But possibly the granddaddy of them all and arguably one of the most collectible Porsche's of all time is none other than the lightweight, ducktail,  911 Carrera RS 2.7 of 1973.