New York:
Buyers of collector cars sometimes justify purchases in terms of their investment potential, which can be significant even in times when stocks and real estate are shaky. But in recent years, the returns have been strongest for cream-of-the-crop classics -- cars typically so pristine and valuable that they are rarely driven.
Owning a Porsche sports car from the 1950s or early '60s -- the model known as a 356 -- represents an entirely different approach to collecting. Many of these charming coupes and convertibles still sell for reasonable prices (when an owner actually decides to part with one), despite a steady trend of rising values. Porsche experts say that a drivable 356 can be found for less than $20,000, and one that looks and feels like new might go for $35,000 to $40,000.
Utterly dependable unless they have been severely neglected, the Porsches that preceded today's 911 model are straightforward designs that a competent home mechanic can readily maintain. Nimble handling and responsive controls make them a treat to drive, unlike some of the behemoths with which they shared the road when new.
Said to be the 356th project of a German engineering company established in 1931 by the genius behind the original Volkswagen, Ferdinand Porsche, the original Porsche car was more or less a hot-rod Beetle, a reliable but sporty vehicle shaped like an inverted bathtub. Ferdinand Porsche had always wanted to build a sports car, and basing one on the design used for the lowly Beetle was a good way to get it done on a modest budget.
Porsche's roots as an automaker trace back 60 years. After hand-building a run of aluminum-body 356 prototypes at its wartime haven in Gmünd, Austria, the Porsche engineering company moved back to Stuttgart, an industrial city in southwest Germany, and in 1950 set up a corporation to make steel-body sports cars for sale to the public.
The first rear-engine Porsches weren't fast -- certainly not compared with Jaguar or Alfa Romeo sports cars of the day -- but they had a distinct appeal. Performance improvements to VW's humble 4-cylinder engine included twin carburetors in place of the Beetle's restrictive single carburetor; a higher compression ratio (a brave step, considering the poor quality of fuel in postwar Europe); and lightweight aluminum cylinders with long-wearing chrome-plated bores to replace the cast-iron cylinders of its air-cooled engine.
A publication of the era, Auto Sport Review, described one of the early 1950s cars this way: "Here is a luxury car with a jewel-like body by Reutter coachbuilders, beautifully fitted cloth and leather trim, carefully engineered forced-air heating system, Telefunken radio, reclining seat for the passenger."
There was a limit to the praise, however; the article included comments on the thumping of the engine, the raucous transmission and the fussy clutch.
That wasn't all: "When you start the engine, for one horrible moment you have the feeling you are trapped in a drastically shrunken Greyhound bus -- the rear engine is so 4-cylindered and so air-cooled-sounding, with a thin, emphatic beat."
Especially for American drivers used to the sound of a V-8, the Porsche did look, feel and sound as if it were from another world, but like the Beetle, the performance and feel of the 356 was compelling. Even at a time of 20-cents-a-gallon fuel, getting more than 30 miles per gallon was a welcome bonus.
Racing the 356 was not part of any Porsche marketing strategy -- the engineers simply couldn't help themselves. After all, they had made a competent sports car out of the utilitarian Beetle, and a few more tweaks to make their car raceworthy seemed a natural extension of developing their production car.
As a result, a 46-horsepower 356 coupe began decades of Porsche motor sports victories by winning the 1.1-liter class at the 1951 Le Mans 24-hour race. Later that year in the United States, the importer behind the success of many European brands, Max Hoffman, won his class at the Mount Equinox hill climb in Vermont. When a 1.5-liter Porsche won its class in the 1952 Mille Miglia road race in Italy, the nickname Riesentöter -- German for giant-killer -- began to catch on.
Racing became more relevant for Porsche than for most automotive brands. The modifications made for that first Le Mans car grew to include an entire purpose-built racing powerplant -- the dual-overhead-cam Carrera engine, which found its way into a handful of the rarest 356 road cars.
Next, entire racecars were built around this exotic power plant, including the midengine 550 Spyder, the model James Dean was driving when he was killed in a 1955 crash.
Dean had owned a Porsche Speedster, a 356 roadster with a distinctive low windshield, that he raced. During the filming of "Rebel Without a Cause," he traded his Speedster for the 550, one of some 75 such cars made.
Although his contract barred him from racing during a movie shoot, when his next film, "Giant," was completed, Dean was free to compete in the sports car races at Salinas, Calif., with his silver 550. On his way to the track, an oncoming car crossed into his lane, and they collided head-on.
For anyone interested in connecting with the rich history of Porsche, or someone who is simply lusting to own a first-generation car, a few suggestions are worth considering. Jim Schrager, an inveterate Porsche collector who teaches at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, says first-time buyers of collector cars, regardless of brand, would do well to find a car being sold by its original owner. Mr. Schrager's theory: people who bought their cars new are more likely to have serviced it faithfully, kept the receipts and even noted each gas fill-up in a logbook.
Restoration experts say that the potential for compromising a valuable car with mediocre repairs and cheap replacement parts increases with each owner. With luck, that downward spiral stops at some point -- when another buyer commits the money needed to restore it with care. And fortunately, the popularity of the 356 has attracted good suppliers who make the quality repair parts no longer available from the original manufacturer.
Experts generally agree that the best choice for a first-time collector is a 1961-63 coupe -- the 356 B hardtop. The '61 and later cars include many of Porsche's most significant refinements in the steering, shifting and suspension, but they are not as expensive as the 1963-65 C models, the last 356 cars. Naturally there are collectors who prefer the design of the earlier 356, informally known as the A, with its lower headlights and bumpers.
Porsche fans more interested in driving vintage machines than archiving them may prefer the top-down rewards of 356 Speedsters, roadsters and cabriolets, which are of course more costly.
Among those ranks is Harold Chalfant, who bought a 1958 Speedster in 1966.
"I paid $1,300 for it, which was every penny I had," said Mr. Chalfant, 66, who still owns the car. "There's nothing else like it. I feel free whenever I drive that car, especially with the top down. In fact, I haven't had the top up in the past 20 years, although I used to drive it year-round."
Mr. Chalfant developed his family's business into one of the top purveyors of 18th-century fine art and antiques. He now owns three Porsches; two are weekend racers, and the Speedster is reserved for leisurely drives through Chester County, Pa.
Not everyone enjoys his car in such obvious ways. John Heckman's first Porsche was a '62 356 B Cabriolet, which he owned for 25 years.
"Although it was a convertible, my favorite way to drive the car was with the top up and all of the windows down, including the clear plastic one at the rear," Mr. Heckman, of Blue Bell, Pa., said. "I could hear the engine and exhaust sound better this way."
The spike in prices at collector-car auctions in recent years has made authenticity and faithful restorations an increasingly important component of values, but making a vintage Porsche as good as the day it drove out of the factory is also increasingly expensive.
These factors, along with the reality that not all owners are interested in having their cars nitpicked by a concours judge, has led to a rising number of what purists label "outlaw" cars. Flared fenders with larger wheels, huge engines and bizarre custom interiors are just a few of the modifications, which in most cases would disqualify the car from show classes.
Some experts feel the show-car paint and upholstery of a complete restoration can actually erase a car's true identity. In fact, it is not uncommon to see collector cars that are clearly overrestored -- to better-than-factory condition, including chrome where there should be paint and leather where there was once fabric, vinyl or painted metal. As a result, many car enthusiasts prefer the patina and scars of a well-maintained, unrestored car.
Among other things, it makes it easier to imagine the day when a Porsche engineer, maybe Ferdinand Porsche's son, Ferry, first drove that very car out of the factory and down the road, listening for errant squeaks and rattles, checking the upholstery stitching, sensing the steering and shifting while sizing up engine response, then pronouncing it ready for shipment to an enthusiast in America.