1953 356 Pre-A Coupe

As Porsche’s first forey into production cars, the 356 Pre-A took on many forms as it evolved from its beginnings in 1948 until the start of 356 A production in late 1955. The first cars, built in Gmund, Austria, are affectionately known as the Gmund Coupes, were followed by the Reutter bodied cars when production moved to Germany. The next iteration of the Pre-A 356 came in 1952 when Porsche changed the windshield from a split window design to “bent window” which featured a single pane of glass curved in the center.

This 1953 356 Pre-A Coupe is finished in Azure Blue over a Tan interior and was refurbished in the mid-2010s by Janousek Classic Car Restoration of Bellevue, Michigan; it now shows 66,000 miles (TMU) on the odometer.

During the refurbishment, the car was stripped to bare metal and fitted with replacement floorpans, longitudinals, diagonals, door skins, and fender braces and was refinished in its original color. The Tan leatherette seats and Oatmeal square-weave carpets were also done at this time and both interior and exterior remain in very nice condition.

The car is fitted with a replacement 1300S engine from a later model car and has been fitted with 1.6-liter pistons and cylinders, dual Weber carburetors, and went through a reseal in May of 2020. Work in August of 2023 included a valve adjustment, oil change, replacement spark plugs, and fuel filler.

The 356 Pre-A market has been sliding downwards since peaking in 2021/2022 when we saw a number of cars sell above the $400,000 mark. Since then, average prices have come closer to $200k with only one comp breaking above so far this year. Our Spotlight car also didn’t break the $200k mark as it sold at a final bid of $185,000. About right when you consider it’s sort of “outlaw-ish,” and much better than the $161,000 bid that failed to meet the mark back in September of 2020.

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