In 1954 a small team in Zuffenhausen, a Stuttgart suburb, led by Ernst Fuhrmann began a new, pure Porsche engine. Designated the Type 547, it had dual overhead camshafts, chrome-lined cylinder liners, dual Solex carburetors, 39 degree valve included angle, 48mm intake and 41mm exhaust valves, a roller bearing crankshaft, dry sump lubrication, dual ignition and an extremely over-square 1.288:1 ratio of bore to stroke, 85x66mm.These engines were fitted to a revised 550 chassis. With the Type 356A in 1955, Fuhrmann took into consideration, the engine space of the 356 in designing the 547 four-cam engine. Four-cam engines had been circulating around Zuffenhausen since 1954 in the works' engineering test car and in Ferry Porsche's cabriolet. The Porsche 550 Spyder had taken convincing class victories in 1952, 1953, and 1954 at the Carrera Panamericana. The race contributed its name to the new engine. At the Frankfurt Show in September 1955 the new 356A Porsche was joined on the stand by a Carrera Porsche with a modified four-cam engine designated 547/1. The four-cam "Carrera" engine, initially available only in the 550 race cars, became an extra cost option starting with the 356 A, and was available through the 356 model run. At full chat the 1498cc engine could reach speeds of almost 120 mph and was capable of 100 bhp, which was more than enough for the 356A's 820 kilogram kerb weight and remarkable feat in the 1950s. Carrera is a spanish word and stands for race. The Carrera name has been added to many racing and race-ready models since 1955: the 356, 904, 906, 911 up to 1977 and the 924. The name was also used for the Carrera GT supercar.

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