Meet the Million-Mile Porsche 356 Daily Driver

Way back in the late ’60’s I bought a ’62 normal cabriolet in heron grey from a friend. That car was, at the tender age of 19, my introduction to the concept of quality. For me it wasn’t about trying to impress my friends, rather I wanted to see and feel what the road testers and other owners were talking about in such reverent terms. My Sprite had been fun so how could this car be all that

much better. Over time the answer revealed itself to me and I slowly developed an appreciation for everyday objects that make “honed utility” an art form. It wasn’t especially fast, the heater was marginal, driving fast
certainly required attention. It did everything a car is supposed to do but the
experience was different. The seats made driving for hours a pleasure, the suspension was comfortable though accurate in the extreme, the panel gaps were impossibly accurate, the paint was perfect, there were no exposed seams
in the body, the doors did close like a bank vault. Friends would enter the car and, without prompting, say “wow this car has a nice feel”. A friend
who collected watches said “this car reminds me of my Rolex”. Over time I would drive Healeys or Alfas or Mercedes or anything and immediately know that I’d happily keep my Porsche. Eventually I bought a 912. Within a week I knew this had been a mistake even though I assumed it was a better car. Within a month I found a fellow who agreed to trade his ’65 slate grey coupe for my red 912, I accepted a few dollars from him to avoid his thinking there was a problem with my car. I would happily have paid him to make what most would have considered a rearward move. I’m now driving an ’86 Carrera 3.2. This car reminds me how Porsche listens to its owners and makes changes that address problem areas (like the hvac system). It’s the last of the strictly original spec cars and is just as much a friend as the old 356 was

Beautiful car dude! I could only dream of having a car like this, but tell me the truth, is it really that awesome?

…245,00 miles per (re)build.

What a great story and lovely car. British weather, heavy traffic and salted roads limit the chances of my 911 ever achieving that mileage. On the basis my car computer records a long term average speed of 25mph it would take me 4.5 years of solid driving plus £350k of petrol.