Porsche built about 8,500 examples of its 356 B in 1960, and of that total, just over 1,600 were cabriolets, a convertible with a fixed windshield, wind-up side windows, and a thickly padded folding top that could be hidden beneath a canvas boot. The 356 B offered a number of useful changes from the preceding “A” model, including reshaped front fenders with raised headlights and larger, reinforced bumpers front and rear. New vents to help bring cooling air to the front brakes were added to the lower front valance, and the front lid handle was enlarged for improved ease of use.

Because of their high level of finish and many luxurious amenities, cabriolets were quite expensive. The 356 B 1600 Normal Cabriolet carried a base price of $3,962 FOB New York, according to a 1960 price list from Hoffman Motors, the New York importer. That was about a hundred dollars more than a new Corvette. The 1600 Super versions and Carrera versions were even more costly. No matter the powerplant, Porsche cabriolets were extremely well built by Reutter, adjacent to the Porsche Works in Zuffenhausen, and were very comfortable all-weather touring automobiles. Adjustable seatbacks and good soundproofing provided occupants with a smooth and reasonably quiet ride at high speeds; a 1600 Normal could run all day at 100 mph and not stop except to refill the 52-liter (13.6-gallon) fuel tank. When it came time to slow, Porsche’s very effective hydraulic brakes—finned aluminum drums with pressed-in iron liners—were more than up to the task.

Offered is a very nice, late-production 356 B Cabriolet in fine condition, fitted from new with a 1.6-liter Normal engine and a four-speed manual transmission. This car left the factory on November 2, 1960, and was shipped to Competition Motors in Los Angeles, California, where it arrived April 4, 1961. Its first recorded owner was a Leo Wheeler of Torrance. Two service visits are recorded on the factory Kardex; the first, with the odometer reading 569, occurred on April 6, 1961, and the next on July 5, 1961, with an odometer at 4,028.

The Silver Metallic paint is said to have been applied by a 356 specialist in Laguna Beach, California, and the dark blue leather interior by Thomas Pocious. The carpeting is blue-grey, and there is a matching dark blue canvas top boot and a black canvas folding top. The instruments were rebuilt by North Hollywood Speedometer. This 356 is equipped with a Blaupunkt tri-band AM/FM/short-wave radio, a rare and desirable VDM steering wheel with optional horn ring, and wider-than-stock chromed steel wheels with crested hubcaps.

The Porsche enthusiast looking for an attractive 356 B Cabriolet in which to enjoy fair-weather touring could scarcely do better than this example.