The Look – ’62 356B

We've made mention before of the high standard of cars being built these days, and it's never more evident than in the currently popular Resto Cal scene. A style that evolved in the UK from basically a slammed and repainted UK Cal Looker with the trim left on, these cars have developed into an art form - 100-point restorations taken to another level in terms of detail and then treated to one or two very specific sets of wheels and a killer stance, achieved by severe lowering and now the almost ubiquitous use of a narrowed front beam. Among the aficionados, the use of NOS parts in the construction process has become de rigeur, while some accessories have gained favour over others and chosen colours have usually remained stock VW.
But where do you go if you've built a car such as this? Build another one in a different colour, or with a different set of wheels? Build a hard-core Cal Looker or something totally different, such as a Baja? If you're a member of the renowned Resto Cal club The German Folks, the latter two ideas wouldn't even cross your mind, so that leaves the first one. But not everyone wants to keep building similar versions of the same car, so what's the next step? A Porsche 356, perhaps? It's a fair bet that most people that are into air-cooled VWs also have a soft spot for the cars that started the German manufacturer's hugely successful sister company, Porsche, on the road to success. The links between the two car makers are well documented already, and though the Beetle is seen by the majority of Porsche enthusiasts as far removed from the throbbing supercar sitting on their driveway, those that are into the 356 models tend to be more accepting of their car's lineage. And while early pre-A and A Porsches are little more than Beetles in dresses, by the time they got to the late B and C models, the cars were starting to develop a character of their own and heading down the performance route that the Stuttgart-based company would go on to be so well known for.

For the full story on this car make sure you pick up a copy of the October 2009 issue of VolksWorld

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