The Official 356Talk Forum

Greg Bryan wrote:

Mike DeJonge wrote:I believe D'letern built 49 of the single grille roadsters and the rest were 2 grille roadsters, think I read that somewhere
stand to be corrected

According to the article above (which is a real eye test to read) quoting Roland D'Ieteren,
"In 1961, we assembled 657 Roadsters and in 1962, 87. The total amount thus, 744."
So, if 744 total were built and 248 are twin grill, they built almost 500 single grill cars.

That makes more sense.

So Dan, did spell-check twice add L to the name to help you out?

Hi Paul
'Every day is a day at school' When you stop learning , You are Dead !
Greg, pleased my 61 Factory Pic question prompted this great Topic
Regards Jay

I believe the 744 number given by Mr. D'Ieteren back then in an interview might have been his estimate based on production forecast of 10 per day and may not have been the correct total assembled. He actual says that the actual assembly figures are missing in that article.

The production numbers from Porsche as posted at Stoddard, site below, indicate the actual number of roadsters by year produced by Drauz and by D'Ieteren. I have summarized those production figures by overlaying the math in the attachment.

356 Roadster Production 1959-1962 from https://www.stoddard.com/Werkstatte/bodyengineid

This shows 472 single grill and 248 twin grill roadsters produced by D'Ieteren.

Not sure where I got this from ... or who to credit.

Good job for a tall man. Interesting how shiny the black paint on the engine appears.

D'Ieteren does indeed still exist, as a world leader in auto glass, car rental, auto distribution and "Moleskin" (don't ask me, look it up). The history tab on their website is very interesting. I have been collecting info for another article sometime, including material from their annual reports, like this one from 1950:

• "Since September 1950, we also represent the Porsche car, designed by the engineer who created the Volkswagen, an elegant passenger car for speed enthusiasts" (in: Annual Report D'Ieteren, 1950)
• November 1950: The first Porsche is imported into Belgium (see handwritten note by Pierre Guérisse, probably based on the information provided in the register "1. Porsche, 1951-1958" This car was a 1300 cc limousine, chassis 5254, engine n ° P.3560255, silver gray (Fischsilber), delivered to Baron Emmanuel Houtart, living in Uccle.

And in 1960:

• "The Porsche firm has entrusted D'Ieteren with the manufacture of the" Roadster "bodywork and the assembly of this model, which is intended to be re-exported worldwide but is mainly intended for the United States. 3000 cars, to be supplied at a rate of 10 vehicles a day, was obtained in November 1960 ". [Editor's note: The assembly of these cars was done in "Hall F" of the Forest factory "(Letter from Ph. Casse to J. Sloniger, 23/07/1990, in:" Porsche. Porsche D'Ieteren Roadster "(Archives SdB / H.3, Porsche, Correspondence Divers) In reality, the assembly of Porsche roadsters lasted only two years (1961-1962) and totaled 724 cars (in: Archives D ' Ieteren, "Forest Plant, Production.ppt").

They built a lot of cars. Here's a shot of one of their assembly lines where they cranked out Studebakers and Volkswagens.

Has anyone else noticed the ventilated 15" wheels on the single cab VW transporter? Makes me wonder what they may have under the engine lid.

D'ieteren builds Audis today. The A1 is built in Brussels in the same plant that built our roadsters. They were almost bankrupt a couple of decades ago and F. Piech could not let that happen... history.

this one is a bit older. Zoom in an you can see the single gauge dash

Anyone confirm what the black rear bumpers were doing on the first three cars in the G photo above (visible after downloading and editing to rotate 90 deg)? Shop dress or something else?

The bodies were aluminum; appear to be bare of paint. The bumpers and doors were steel, so maybe a protective primer? Can't see the doors in this shot.
There is another photo from the left side, showing the front of the cars, with front axle beams lined up next to the first car. Doors are visible, and appear to be bare, not primered, but noticeably darker than the alloy bodies. Don't know where i got it, maybe somebody can post it.
That shot also shows three more cars along the walls, in addition to the ten in the row. Probably the well-known "Last Eleven".

Stuttgart 1951?