Retro Review Showdown: C1 Corvette vs. Porsche 356

Apples and Oranges?

Since day one through today, it's never made much sense to compare a Porsche with a Corvette. Sure, both are sporty performance cars, but that's essentially where the similarities end. Thus, you can't blame the staff at Motor Trend for being a little surprised when then associate editor Wayne Thoms suggested they pit the two against each other way back in 1958. 

No Contest

But hey, why not? The Ford Thunderbird had grown so big that it no longer provided a proper rival to the 'Vette. But the 356 and Corvette weren't exactly an even match, either. Especially in terms of power. The 1959 Corvette in the test sported a 250 hp 283 V8, which made the Porsche's 96.5-inch, 70hp flat-four look downright diminutive.  

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Too Much Power?

Which makes this test seem like a ringer by today's standards. But MT didn't see it that way at the time. “But that force has to be transmitted to the ground, converted into forwarding motion, stopped, turned, controlled—sometimes by persons who don’t fully realize the potential dangers involved,” Thoms said. “The result is that for all practical purposes a lot of that horsepower becomes excess—an unusable excess.” 

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Good Old Beat Down

It certainly wasn't "too much power" on the drag strip, where the Corvette managed a 7.8-second 0-60 time and 15.7-second quarter-mile. The Porsche, on the other hand, took 15.2 and 19.9-seconds, respectively. That's what we call a good old fashioned beat down, no matter what era you're talking about. 

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Better in the Twisties

Of course, the lighter, nimbler Porsche proved to be a more astute handler. “Match the two cars on a tight mountain road where the Corvette’s torque and acceleration can’t be utilized and you’ll probably get there quicker in the Porsche. It just hangs on better in the turns.” 

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Make a Choice

That superior cornering prowess didn't matter at Riverside Raceway, however. The Corvette bested the Porsche with a 2:32 lap time, a full 15 seconds faster than the 356's 2:47. The Porsche did win the less important (in our minds) fuel economy war (35 mph vs. 14.6), as well as fit and finish. So which one did MT ultimately prefer? Well, both it seems.

The staff “became extremely partisan—on both sides of the fence. Feelings were evenly divided except for one nameless male who refused to choose, insisting that he would be happy only with both cars.” As for us, the choice is quite obvious, however! 

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