Four-Cam Coupe Porsche 356 Carrera GS/GT Driven
The Porsche 356 brought the automaker into a new era. The model started the trajectory that would eventually lead to the venerable 911, and prototype versions of the car earned Porsche its first major achievements in endurance racing—namely a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In addition, the 356 can be seen as something of a democratizer of Porsche’s racing efforts, with coupes and roadsters and speedsters being a popular choice for privateer competitors the world over.
This week we’re taking a drive with our host Sam Hancock in a special 356 bred for motorsport, the Carrera GS/GT. Efforts to reduce weight went as far as swapping out the side and rear window glass for lighter Perspex, suspension and braking was treated to higher-performance setups, but the real draw of the GS/GT was its motor—that twin-plug, four-cam, dry-sumped and air-cooled four-cylinder is a piece of mechanical engineering artwork, and a perfect partner for dancing along these mountain roads in Italy.
