Hoffman Motors Memorabilia

Max Hoffman’s New York showrooms, dealer price lists, and correspondence for the Porsche 356, from Registry members’ collections.

Max Hoffman was the original importer of the Porsche 356 in the United States. Below is a preview of the archive: photos of his New York showrooms, dealer price lists, and correspondence spanning 1953 through 1964.

July 27, 1960 Hoffman

The rest of this page is for members

Registry members get the full article, the workshop video, and every magazine and forum reference behind it.

Literature Zentrale / Hoffman Motors Memorabilia

Hoffman Motors Memorabilia

Max Hoffman’s New York showrooms, dealer price lists, and correspondence for the Porsche 356, from Registry members’ collections.

About Max Hoffman

Maximilian Edwin Hoffman (12 November 1904 – 9 August 1981), was an American importer of luxury European automobiles during the 1950s. Known equally for his acumen and influence, Hoffman was instrumental in development and refinement of several iconic luxury sports cars, including the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, Porsche 356 Speedster, and V-8 powered BMW 507 roadster. (According to Wikipedia.)

Mr. Hoffman (few people were allowed to call him Max) hired the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright and together they created a New York City automotive landmark. The Hoffman showroom is now gone, but not forgotten...

In a timeless article from the March/April 2014 issue of the 356 Registry Magazine, Gordon Maltby captures the history of the flagship showroom of Max Hoffman, original importer of the Porsche 356. In its first years after opening, Porsche and Mercedes Benz were the main marques sold there. Read more Frank and Max article.

Below are some photos of the dealerships - view also in a photo album to download images - Hoffman Center Photos. See what Hoffman Motor Corporation had to offer.

Hoffman Showroom
Chicago, IL
Circa 1952

Hoffman Showroom
430 Park Ave, New York City, NY
Circa 1955

Hoffman Showroom
62nd Street and Broadway
New York City, NY

Hoffman Card Size Price Lists

Porsche 356 Price Lists

When Mr. Hoffman imported Porsches into the US and made them available for purchase, he offered the various configurations offered by the factory. The card price lists show the offerings for several years. Below click on the left image to display the full document.

Translating to current US Dollar values, $1.00 in 1953 is equal to approximately $11.50 in 2023. By comparison, the 1.5 Litre Super Convertible offered at $2,995 in 1953 would cost $34,442 in 2023's dollars.

To the right is a graph of the past 9 years of 356 Speedster sales, one can see that the current value of a 356 Speedster in decent shape is approximately another 10-fold increase to around $350,000. Fantastic investment for those who had the foresight 'back in the day'.