This is the first car to bear the Porsche family name. It was made in a small workshop in Austria in 1947 by Ferdinand Porsches son Ferry and was based on the Beetle, which was designed by Ferdinand Porsche himself. It used an air cooled flat four mounted behind the drivers seat in a mid engined rear wheel drive layout. The production 356 had a rear engined layout (with the engine being mounted behind the rear axle) but otherwise differed little from this car. Porsche production eventually transferred back to Stuttgart, where it remains today, and Ferry Porsche also went on to design the original 911, which has become Porsche's mainstay model.
Maisto make this model of the 356 prototype, and it is an excellent model considering it's budget price. It is detailed and finished to a level of a model costing twice what it does. Both doors, the engine cover and both luggage compartments (one at each end) open up, and have interior detail. It also has a lovely silver paint finish.
It is nice to see a mass market maker like Maisto produce an unusual yet historically important car like this in 1:18th scale, especially when it is well made and executed.
%
