Porsche - a brief history

Ferdinand Porsche played an important role in the development
of airplanes and racing cars, and the construction of tanks for
the Wehrmacht. He is an automobile engineer with more than
a thousand patents to his name. He was appointed chief engineer
at Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart in the 1920s. Later on, he set
up his own engineering workshop and designed among others
the Volkswagen. At the plant where Volkswagen was made,
Wolfsburg, he was chief of operations and at the end of the war
he was interned by the Allies.

He was released a few years later and started building his first car
with his son, Ferry Porsche. The car was named the Porsche 356
and it was a sports car and a reminiscent of the Volkswagen.
It had the same four-cylinder boxer engine that was rear-mounted,
just like the VW. It was far from being a powerful sports car,
developing only 40 bhp and a maximum speed of 87 mph (140 km/h).
First produced as a convertible and later as a hard top it distinguished
by the very elegant and innovative body. It was developed in the
workshop of Erwin Komenda, a master of restrained streamlining
who had been in charge of sheet metal and design techniques at
Porsche since the VW Beetle. The new style of closed coupe was
designed by Komenda and it soon became the embodiment of the
sports car, thanks to its fastback.

This tradition was continued by Komenda and Ferdinand “Butzi”
Porsche, the founder’s grandson, with the 911.

The 911 became easily recognizable: it had attractive sloping
bonnet and what later became characteristic “frog eye” headlights,
curves running from the top edge of the windscreen to the rear bumper
and a straight waistline. From a functional and technical point of
view it was more like BMW 1500, although it retained the stylistic
features of the original Porsche. The new 911 will become the
foundation stone of Porsche’s identity, even though the design
was not always appreciated. During the 1970`s and 1980`s, the
designers attempts to distance Porsche from its legendary design brought
the company to the edge of disaster. The more modern 924 model,
“a people’s Porsche”, developed with Volkswagen, as well as the
928 were far from fulfilling the expectations.

In the 1990`s, the company realized that what for over twenty years
was perceived as a straitjacket, it was in fact a market
advantage. During the 1990`s, Porsche became highly
profitable since they now knew that the typical Porsche features
were timeless. Nearly forty people now worked in the design
department on further developments of the long-running 911.
These developments included the 911 GTI, a powerful combination
of sports and racing car, put forward by the in-house designer
Anthony R. Hatter. In 1999, chief designer proudly presented the
new Boxster which enabled Porshe to establish a second
independent range of models.

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Porsche Panamera

In 2009 is set to be launched a four-door, four-seat coupe,
called Porsche Panamera. The car, powered by a modified
version of the 4.5 L V8 found in the Cayenne, equipped with
the FSI system will be front engined and rear wheel drive.
Although it is extremely unlikely, rumors is that an option
for the Panamera will be the V10 engine from Porsche’s
limited-run Carrera GT supercar.

Porsche Panamera will be produced in the new plant at Leipzig
alongside the Cayenne. It is the first V8-engined sports car built
by Porsche since 1995, when the 928 was discontinued and
some consider it a suitable successor to the two-doored 928.
The company built the new model as a direct competitor to the
Mercedes-Benz CLS 55 AMG and Maserati Quattroporte and
(to a lesser degree) a less expensive alternative to expensive
vehicles such the, Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, Bentley Continental GT
and Aston Martin Rapide.

Like Porsche Carrera`s name, the Panamera`s derives from the
Carrera Panamerican race. Before it, there were other four-door
sedans prototypes, such as the 1991 Porsche 989 prototype
or the even earlier 4 door prototype based on the 911, but they
never went into production.

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Porsche and Formula One

When Porsche entered into races, Porsche astonished the world
with its performances. But participation in Formula One races
brought mixed results. In the 1961-1962 season, Porsche participated
as a constructor but produced just one win in a championship
race, claimed by Dan Gurney at the 1962 French Grand Prix.
In a non-championship race, one week later Stuttgart’s Solitude
it repeated the success. At the end of the season, Porsche retired
from F1 due to the high costs.

In 1983, Porsche returned to Formula One, supplying engines
badged as TAG units for the McLaren Team. It was a success
as the Porsche-powered cars won two constructor championships
in 1984 and 1985 and three driver crowns in 1984, 1985 and 1986.

Less than ten years later, in 1991, Porsche returned as a engine
supplier, but this time the results were disastrous: Footwork, the
Porsche-powered cars, didn’t score a single point and at over half
of the races it even failed to qualify. Since that year, Porsche has
not participated to Formula One.

Still, lightly-modified Porsches participate in many competitions
around the world, mostly in amateur classes for enthusiasts. The
only professional category is the Porsche Michelin Supercup raced
as a support category for European Formula One rounds.

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Porsche turbo 1975 - now

In 1975 Porsche introduced the first Turbo. The engineers
experienced this new engine and Chairman Ernst Fuhrman
decided that they could use a turbo on a production car. The
first prototype was displayed at several European shows in
1973. In 1974, “911 Turbo” went on sale and at the time it had
a 3.0 liter 260 bhp engine.

The new Porsche was full of luxury. The standard Turbo had
air-conditioning, electric windows, tinted glass, headlamp washers,
a leather interior and Bilstein shocks. Originally, it was supposed
to be a limited edition, with only 500 models to be sold. However,
the demand was so high that more than 1000 cars were sold. It was
now clear that Turbo would have a secure future.

What attracted so many customers was its huge rear wing, widened
wheel and big tires. This great look combined with the powerful engine
made the Turbo look faster than any other 911.

In 1978, the model was improved by the increase of the engine
capacity to 3.3 liter and some other modifications. Now the engine
produced 40 bhp more. The rear wing was also revised: the two
separate grilles were replaced by one larger smooth surface, placed
a little higher in order to make room for an intercooler.

In 1979 though, the Turbo was withdrawn from US and Japan, as a
response to the second energy crunch.

In 1986, Turbo became again available in the US. This was the first
year Porsche used flares that were created in the stamping - process
of the fenders. In 1992 Porsche showed the Turbo S at Geneva’s
Motorshow. It’s engine delivered 381 bhp. The car weighted 120
kg less then the standard Turbo and this helped making Turbo S
really fast. There were built only 80 Turbo S.

In 1993, the engine capacity was increased again, now reaching 3.6
liter. It was easily recognized by the Turbo 3.6 badge. Also, there was
a 93 Turbo 3.6 based 911 Turbo S built.

In 1996 Porsche launched yet another Turbo, based on the 993 series.
Its engine produced 408 bhp, featuring a six-speed gearbox and
four-wheel drive. It looked more elegant thanks to the less evocative
rear-wing. The wheels are 18 inch in diameter. It saves 20% of the
weight because the five spokes are hollow. The front wing has
air-ducts that lead extra cooling air to the brakes, making them more
powerful than before. They can stop the Turbo from 100 hm/h in 2.6
seconds and from 200km/h in just 5 seconds, increasing car’s safety.

Porsche has recently introduced the 996 Turbo. The styling is different
from the previous Turbo models. Its aerodynamics are improved, making
it much faster than the 993 Turbo. It gets to 100 km/h in only 4.2
seconds and has a top speed of 305 km/h. The new Turbo has a few
details that make it easy to recognize: bi-xenon headlights, air intakes
behind the doors and a movable rear-spoiler.

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Porsche

Almost a century after its founder started designing automobiles,
Porsche is still going strong and that’s the result of a premier cure
for a mid-life crisis similar to Harley - Davidson. Porsche’s lineup
includes four model lines: the Boxster, the 911 models, the
Cayenne SUV, and the Carrera GT. And if these vehicles are
too expensive, Porsche also offers watches, luggage, and tennis
rackets bearing its name. Descendants of the founding family
still control the company and these days it has enlarged its area
by offering consulting services to other companies involved in
auto and furniture manufacturing, mechanical and electronic
engineering, and construction.

Over the years, Porsche transformed itself from serious
money-loser into one of the most profitable car companies in
the world, all this while other car manufactures toil over cash
incentives, market share and strategies for the Chinese market.
Porsche has constantly rolled out new products and despite
the costs and risks is has quadrupled its annual unit sales in just
under a decade. The most recent debuts are the Boxster and the Cayenne.
And so far, the key of their success seems to be the long
product life cycles and the company intends to maintain this
strategy.

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