Porsche Vision 357 (2023). The 356 reinvented on the basis of 718 GT4 RS

For its 75th anniversary, Porsche presents the Vision 357 concept, which pays homage to the 356 with which the manufacturer made its debut. Its retro silhouette, which incorporates state-of-the-art materials and technologies, houses an atmospheric 500 hp six-cylinder.

Porsche kicks off its 75 festivities^e anniversary with a concept car that reinterprets its roots. Called Vision 357, it offers a futuristic reinterpretation of the 356, which was the first model marketed under the Porsche brand. This style study takes the silhouette of a 356 Coupé, brings it up to date and adds design elements that could be found on future models from the manufacturer from Zuffenhausen. Electrification point on the horizon, the Porsche Vision 357 is 100% thermal.

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A concept straddling the ages

It is more precisely the racing 356 that the Vision 357 evokes, an orientation reinforced by the choice of the 718 Cayman GT4 RS as the technical basis. This means that a naturally aspirated 4.0 flat-six sits in the rear center position theoretically and sends 500 hp to the rear wheels. via seven-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission. A handwritten inscription on the right front fender indicates that the car is designed to run on synthetic gasoline.

The livery of the concept also mixes gray and white, like some 356 competition. The LEDs making up its lights are individually integrated into the bodywork. At the front, they form four arcs on each side to reminiscent of both the round optical units of the 356 and the four-focus light signature of current Porsches. The taillights are in the same spirit, with four horizontal lines at each corner rather than a light bar. In the center of the rear bonnet, the vertical black streaks extending the third brake light housed under the rear window echo the ventilation grille of the 356’s engine bay. – rear overhang on the production models, which were 2 + 2. But the ancestry of the 718 can be traced back to the 356 « No.1 » Roadster of 1948, whose engine was installed just behind the two-seater cockpit.

The most iconic shape of a Porsche

The direct descendant of the Porsche 356 is not the 718 but the 911, the first generation of which was presented in 1963. The latter pushed further the attributes of the 356 Carrera 2, a powerful and top-of-the-range version. Moreover, the 356 and 911 cohabited for nearly two years in the catalog. Over time, and particularly from the 996 generation (1997), the 911 has become considerably longer, wider and flatter. By basing the Vision 357 on the 718, Porsche gives back to its most iconic silhouette the compactness it had lost.

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The concept’s low-angle windshield envelops a narrow cabin. Its black pillars highlight this curvature to evoke the visor of a helmet, but also the replacement of the « split » windscreen in two flat parts by a rounded element on the 356 in 1952. At the foot of these pillars are retro cameras.

Lightweight material construction

The wheel arches are truncated in their lower rear part for better evacuation of hot air. The side sills combine plastic and linen fibre. The narrow width of the cockpit brings out the muscular width of the rear fenders. Above, in the extension of rear quarter windows that conceal the door handles, the engine air intakes are located. On the driver’s side, a bubble indicating « air » reminds us that the engine of the 356 was air-cooled.

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That of the liquid-cooled Vision 357 is expressed by an exhaust silencer combining ceramic and titanium. The 20-inch rims are made of magnesium and covered with aerodynamic carbon fiber covers reminiscent of the wheels of the 356 with drum brakes. These evocations, it will be possible to see them directly by going to the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, where the Vision 357 will be exhibited alongside many historic models of the brand until mid-February 2023.

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