The Porsche 356 body was produced by hand at the Reutter carbody factory. The outer skin, comprising several pieces welded together, was placed on a basic vehicle frame. The gaps were filled with soft solder, a costly and time-consuming process, and ground off. In 1965, Porsche 356 production was shut down. At the end, the number of units produced totaled 25 bodies per day. With the launch of the Porsche 911 in 1964 Porsche broke away from the previous production methods. Various assemblies were now pre-assembled and then welded or bolted together to form the body. In 1973, Porsche was the first in the automobile industry to weld galvanized sheet-metal panels into the Porsche body. This marked a milestone in corrosion protection for automobiles.

The first robot put into operation at Porsche was a welding robot for the 911 rear axle transverse tube. 1988 marked the beginning of a new era in body shell assembly. The newly constructed body plant was opened for use, with 15 robots in operation for the first time. In July 1989, the last 911 body left the old Reutter building.

With the launch of the latest generation of vehicles, the degree of automation was increased while retaining the same level of flexibility. The mixed-model system is used in production so that the Boxster and 911 can be built in any order.

Next chapter: Paint shop