1953 Porsche 356 Pre-A “Knickscheibe” 1500 Cabriolet

Chassis No. 60077

Five hundred cars. In the spring of 1950, as Porsche prepared to return production to Stuttgart, those within the fledgling company predicted they could find customers for around 500 356s in total-“certainly not more than 500 cars in the first two years,” according to Richard von Frankenberg. Incredibly, the 500th German-built 356 was completed on 21 March 1951, and by 1956, 10,000 Porsches had left Stuttgart. Among the earliest of these German-built 356s were the Pre-A models, which evolved from the original two-piece “split window” into the distinctive Knickscheibe, or “bent window,” configuration introduced for the 1952 model year. This 1953 356 Pre-A 1500 Cabriolet represents this formative period in Porsche history, when the company's modest sports car was rapidly establishing itself as an icon.

This Pre-A Cabriolet was completed in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen on 4 April 1953. A digital copy of its Porsche-issued Kardex warranty card reveals that it was originally finished in R 504 Elfenbein (Ivory), now with a black leather interior, an exterior livery it retains to this day. Destined for the Hahn Porsche dealership located in Fellbach, Germany, its Kardex further records a Blaupunkt Telefunken radio, Hirschmann antenna, and Bosch-Aggregate Heater as additional-cost options. Furthermore, it records an engine serial number that shows it was ordered with the largest capacity pushrod engine available at the time, the 1,500-cc Type 546 in “Normal” 55-horsepower specification. An inspection of the Cabriolet and Kardex reveals that after 73 years, this rare and desirable Cabriolet remains largely original while benefiting from recent restoration work and still fitted with a correct, Type 546 flat-four.

Said to have been part of a prominent U.S. collection before returning to Germany, it was imported to the United Kingdom in 2015, where it was first stored and later registered in January 2024. Today it shows just 95 kilometers since restorative and service work completed in 2025 and 2026. The year 2025 brought a new black soft-top and an interior retrim in black leatherette with charcoal-colored square-weave carpeting. Under current ownership it has received a fresh repaint in a hue evocative of its original Ivory and a mechanical inspection and service of its engine. Furthermore, it rides on correct diameter grey-painted 16-inch steel wheels with chrome hubcaps and whitewall tires and is offered with a digital copy of its factory Kardex warranty card along with restoration and service invoices under prior and current ownership.

The Pre-A 356 Cabriolet is one of the great early Porsche sports cars. With its top down on a sunny day, it offers the pleasures of open-air motoring in an especially intimate and sporting package. Sure to capture the attention of both purists and enthusiasts of sporting Porsches with its distinctive bent windshield and open cockpit, it is as at home in a driving event as it is in any collection, to be admired for its elegant proportions and unmistakable early-Porsche character.