Jeff Zwart is not shy about flogging his 1953 Porsche 356. We’ve seen the car sliding through the snow with Jeff at the wheel, and now getting sideways and dirty. While nowhere near as swift as Jeff’s 964 rally car, which he ran at Big Sky Ranch the same day, the 356 looks like an absolute riot on the loose gravel surface. The 356 is both more docile and substantially softer than an early 911, which coupled with its Beetle-like suspension make it very much at home on dirt, gravel and ice.
While I doubt Jeff’s much-watched 356 adventures will inspire Leh Keen Safari Car-style 356 builds, hopefully it will incite some cautious 356 owners to really wring their road cars out. Of course, on the motorsport side of things, 356s are still a fairly common sight in rallying. 356s are still regular entrants in events ranging from the revived Carrera Panamericana to the 33-day Peking to Paris rally, as well as local and regional events.
Of course, those events are very costly. You can always sling your 356 down a dirt road, because in this case there is no shame in having a dirty bathtub.