- A Porsche 356 with acres of rear legroom is up for auction.
- The stretched 356 was built in 2001, has rear-hinged rear doors.
- Power comes from a 1.6-liter boxer-4 from a later Porsche 912.
That distinctive bob-bob-bob-bob sound of a Porsche flat-4 is one of the defining characteristics of an early Porsche. But in this one you’ll probably struggle to hear it at all, because the engine’s almost in the next zip code.
We’ve see plenty of stretched Porsches before, mostly Cayennes and Panameras, but also the odd 911. But none were as odd as this 356 coupe that’s currently up for grabs on Bring a Trailer.
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The listing doesn’t give an exact length, but a stock Porsche 356 measured 152 inches nose to tail, and this thing must be almost twice as long. It looks stock up to the A-pillar, and also from the D-pillar backwards, but everything in between is new territory in every sense.
Don ‘The Egyptian’ Boeke, a car builder well known on the custom scene, performed the stretch in 2001 for Porsche collector John Dixon by combining a 1953 356 coupe with the chassis of another 356. Rather than simply hire a limo for his daughter’s wedding like most dads would, Dixon commissioned an entire build.
The front doors were modified to work with the flatter roof, and a pair of custom rear-hinged rear doors were added to the back half of the car. Porsche 356s aren’t exactly renowned for their rear-seat accommodation, but this one is so big it almost seems a waste to only have one bench in there.
Fully Separate Rear Cabin
Boeke closed off the rear compartment with a glass partition, added Venetian-style blinds, foot rests, and recesses in the interior wood trim for champagne flutes. There’s also a thermometer showing both inside and outside temperatures, so you can decide whether it’s worth opening the fabric sunroof before you commit.
And way in the back is the engine and four-speed manual transmission. The motor is apparently from a later 912, which must mean it’s a 1.6-liter flat-4 (the listing doesn’t specify). Those late 1960s 912 engines put out around 90 hp, though this one has been rebuilt with a hotter cam, upgraded pistons, and new carburetors. It’s still going to be no fireball, but with drum brakes at each corner, that’s probably for the best.
Porsche never built a four-door 356 in period, but it did create a four-door Type 542 prototype for Studebaker in the early 1950s. The project was ultimately scrapped, and so were plans for a Porsche-branded four-door sedan in the early 1990s. Chairman Ferry Porsche was gifted a coachbuilt four-door 928 on his 75th birthday in 1984, but it wasn’t until 2009 and the launch of the Panamera, that we got the chance to buy a production Porsche with back doors.
You can check out the full Bring a Trailer auction listing here.
