Porsche

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The Porsche 912, a Porsche of the 1960s

Porsche (Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG, correctly pronounced as pour-sha¹, but some English speakers use the incorrect pronunciation porsh) is a German manufacturer of sports cars, founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, the engineer who created the first Volkswagen. The company is located in Zuffenhausen, a city district of Stuttgart.

Porsche has a reputation for producing vehicles that, despite their high performance, are reliable and tractable enough to be used for daily driving, and of high manufacturing quality and durability, but perhaps less visual excitement than their competitors. This reputation is contrasted with that of Ferrari, their main competitor, whose machines are famous for their design flair and temperamental nature.

Porsche has for many years offered consultancy services to various other car manufacturers. Studebaker, Seat, Daewoo and Subaru have consulted Porsche on engineering for their cars.

The headquarters and main factory are still at Zuffenhausen, but for the Cayenne there is a new plant at Leipzig. Most Boxster production is outsourced to Valmet Automotive in Finland.

History

The first Porsche, the Porsche 64 from 1938, used many components from the Volkswagen Beetle. The second Porsche model, the Porsche 356 sports car of 1948, was initially built in Gmünd, Austria, where the company was evacuated to during war times, but after building 49 cars the company relocated back to Zuffenhausen. Ferdinand Porsche worked with his son Ferry Porsche in designing the 356 but died soon after the first prototype was built. Again, the car used components from the Beetle including its engine, gearbox and suspension. However, the 356 had several evolutions while in production and many VW parts were replaced by Porsche-made parts. The last 356s were powered by 100% Porsche designed engines. The sleek bodywork was designed by Erwin Komenda who had also designed the body of the Beetle

In 1963, after some success in motor-racing, the company launched the Porsche 911, another air-cooled, rear-engined sportscar, this time with a 6-cylinder "boxer" engine. The car, which is still in production, has become their most well-known model, successful on the race-track, in rallies, and in terms of sales. Far more than any other model, the Porsche brand is defined by the 911.

The company has had a close relationship with Volkswagen. As already mentioned, the first Porsche cars used many Volkswagen components. The two companies collaborated in 1969 to make the VW-Porsche 914, in 1976 with the Porsche 924 (which used many Audi components and was built at an Audi factory), and in 2002 with the Porsche Cayenne (which shares engineering with the VW Touareg). In 2003 Ferdinand Porsche's grandson Ferdinand Piech was the CEO of Volkswagen Group and the main shareholder of Porsche AG. Bernd Pischetsrieder is the current CEO.

Porsche's 2002 introduction of the Cayenne also launched production in Leipzig, Saxony. Today, nearly the half of all Porsche vehicles are built there. In 2004, production of the Porsche Carrera GT also started in Leipzig; at 450,000 euros this is the most expensive Porsche ever built.

Motor-racing

Porsche has been successful in many branches of motor-racing, scoring a total of more than 23,000 victories. Particular success has been in sportscar racing, notably the 24 hours of Le Mans (winning 16 times), in the Paris Dakar Rally, and in Formula One (supplying TAG-labelled engines for McLaren in the mid-1980s). However, Porsche's foray into Formula One as a constructor (rather than simply as an engine supplier) met with very limited success, as they won just a single event (the 1962 French Grand Prix) out of 71 race entrants. Moreover, Porsche's most recent attempt (in 1991) to provide F1 engines was an outright failure, as Porsche-powered Footwork cars failed to score a single point, had a best qualifying of 15th place, and failed to even qualify for more than half of the races that year; they have not been involved in Formula One since.

Models

See: Category:Porsche vehicles

Tractors

• Porsche Type 110
• Porsche AP Series
• Porsche Junior (14 hp)
• Porsche Standard (25 hp)
• Porsche Super (38 hp)
• Porsche Master (50 hp)
• Porsche 312

Consumer models

• Porsche 356
• Porsche 550 Spyder
• Porsche 911
  • Porsche 911 Classic (1963-1973)
  • Porsche 911 G Series (1973-1989)
    • Porsche 930 (1975-1989 911 Turbo)
  • Porsche 964 (1989-1993)
    • Porsche 965 (964 Turbo)
  • Porsche 993 (1993 - 1998)
  • Porsche 996 (1999 - 2004)
  • Porsche 997 (From 2004)
• Porsche 912 (1.6-liter 911)
• Porsche 914
• Porsche 924
  • Porsche 931 (924 Turbo)
• Porsche 928
• Porsche 944
  • Porsche 951 (944 Turbo)
• Porsche 959
• Porsche 968
• Porsche Boxster
  • Porsche 986
  • Porsche 987
• Porsche Cayenne
• Porsche Carrera GT

Racing models

• Porsche 64
• Porsche 360 (Cisitalia)
• Porsche 550
• Porsche 718 RSK
• Porsche 718 F2
• Porsche 804 F1
• Porsche W-RS (Spyder)
• Porsche 904
• Porsche 906 (Carrera 6)
• Porsche 907
• Porsche 908
• Porsche 909 (Bergspyder)
• Porsche 910
• Porsche 917
• Porsche 934
• Porsche 935
• Porsche 936
• Porsche 924 (Racing versions)
• Porsche 954
• Porsche 956/962
• Porsche 944 (Racing versions)
• Porsche 959 (Rally)
• Porsche 961
• Porsche Indy March (89P and 90P)
• Porsche 966
• TWR-Porsche
• Porsche 911 GT1

• Porsche 911 (Racing versions)

Prototypes and concept cars

• Porsche 114
• Porsche 356/1
• Porsche 695 (911 prototype)
• Porsche 901 (911 prototype)
• Porsche 916 (flat-6 914)
• Porsche 959 Prototype
• Porsche 942
• Porsche 969
• Porsche Panamericana
• Porsche 989
• Porsche Varrera
• Porsche Boxster Concept
• Porsche Carrera GT Concept

Notes

1. The correct pronunciation of 'Porsche'

External links

• Porsche official web site; (entrance may be defective for Mozilla; try the Porsche USA page)
• The Porsche category at Open Directory Project
• Technical specifications for most Porsche vehicles
• Information on Porsche production models
• Porsche engine sounds gallery

• Renntech - Porsche Technical Forum
• Flat6 - Porsche models information and forum
• Rennlist - Biggest Porsche forum
• Rennteam - The place for finding out the latest Porsche news

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