THE LEGEND ON FOUR WHEELS TABLE OF CONTENTS HISTORY 1 ORIGIN OF THE BRAND 2 KEY DEVELOPMENTS 3 RACING HISTORY 5 Sources are primarily borrowed from Wikipedia. Even though I’ve done my best in order to communicate correct facts, please don’t consider this as an exercise in research. This is an exercise in layout. HISTORY Ferdinand Porsche founded the company Major, was put in charge of the factory. (In prototype car was shown to German auto el body. In 1952, Porsche constructed an called ”Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH” in Wolfsburg, the Volkswagen company ma- dealers, and when pre-orders reached a set assembly plant (Werk 2) across the street 1931, with main offices at Kronenstraße 24 gazine dubbed him ”The British Major threshold, production (with aluminium from Reutter Karosserie; the main road in in the centre of Stuttgart.Initially, the com- who saved Volkswagen”.)On 15 Decem- body) was begun by Porsche Konstrukti- front of Werk 1, the oldest Porsche buil- pany offered motor vehicle development ber of that year, Ferdinand was arrested onen GesmbH founded by Ferry and Lou- ding, is now known as Porschestrasse. The work and consulting, but did not build any for war crimes, but not tried. During his ise. Many regard the 356 as the first Pors- 356 was road certified in 1948. cars under its own name. One of the first 20-month imprisonment, Ferdinand Pors- che simply because it was the first model assignments the new company received che’s son, Ferry Porsche, decided to build sold by the fledgling company. After the was from the German government to de- his own car, because he could not find an production of 356 was taken over by the sign a car for the people, that is a ”Volkswa- existing one that he wanted to buy. He also father’s Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH in gen”. This resulted in the Volkswagen Beet- had to steer the company through some Stuttgart in 1950, Porsche commissioned le, one of the most successful car designs of its most difficult days until his father’s a Zuffenhausen-based company, Reutter of all time. The Porsche 64 was developed release in August 1947.The first models Karosserie, which had previously colla- The first Porsche produced, the 356 model from 1948 in 1939 using many components from the of what was to become the 356 were built borated with the firm on Volkswagen Be- (Left hand image). Ferdinand Porsche, the founder of Beetle. in a small sawmill in Gmünd, Austria. The etle prototypes, to produce the 356’s ste- the company (right hand image). During World War II, Volkswagen pro- duction turned to the military version of the Volkswagen Beetle, the Kübelwagen, 52,000 produced, and Schwimmwagen, 15,584 produced. Porsche produced se- veral designs for heavy tanks during the war, losing out to Henschel & Son in both contracts that ultimately led to the Tiger I and the Tiger II. However, not all this work was wasted, as the chassis Porsche desig- ned for the Tiger I was used as the base for the Elefant tank destroyer. Porsche also de- veloped the Maus super-heavy tank in the closing stages of the war, producing two prototypes. At the end of World War II in 1945, the Volkswagen factory at KdF-Stadt fell to the British. Ferdinand lost his position as Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen, and Ivan Hirst, a British Army Porsche - the legend on four wheels 1 ORIGIN OF THE BRAND he Porsche logo is among the ry. Since Porsche vehicles were, and still most iconic in the entire auto- are, built in Stuttgart, the coat of arms of motive industry, proudly dis- Stuttgart and the coat of arms of Württem- played on legendary models berg (of former Weimar Germany) were likeT the Porsche 911 and Boxster. But it combined to create Porsche logo. While hasn’t always been directly associated with the center crest still heavily resembled the performance cars. In fact, the origins of the Württemberg coat of arms, it was a clear Porsche logo can be traced back to the coat variation as the symbols were combined of arms of the state of Württemberg of for- with text that read “Porsche” and “Stut- mer Weimar Germany, which once called tgart,” which are still both present on the Stuttgart (where Porsche’s headquarters is logo today. The horse on the logo, which located) its capital. We did some digging to was taken from Stuttgart’s Coat of Arms. help answer the question, “What does the represents the stud farm on which the city Porsche logo stand for?” so we could get a was built. The antlers and red and black glimpse into the company’s storied histo- stripes are taken from the crest of the King- dom of Württemberg. The Porsche logo was established in the 1950s and has un- dergone very few changes since it was ori- ginally designed, unlike many automotive logos which have evolved greatly through the years. While the Porsche logo’s origins trace back to several coats of arms of for- mer states, the logo is now a clear symbol of incredible automotive performance. Af- ter more than 60 years, the logo has only grown in prominence and still sits proud- ly in front of all-new models like the 2015 Porsche Macan. The Weimar-era Württemberg Coat of Arms (left hand side), the Coat of Arms of Stuttgart (middle), and the Porsche logo (right hand side) which is crea- ted by combining the two coats of arms. 2 Porsche - the legend on four wheels KEY DEVELOPMENTS n post-war Germany, parts were ge- being the last of the air-cooled Porsche The 914/4 / 914/6 Porsche to fulfill the contract, and decided nerally in short supply, so the 356 sports cars. The Porsche 914 or VW-Porsche 914 is to make the 914 that project. Ferdinand automobile used components from The 911 has been modified by private a mid-engined sports car designed, ma- Piëch, who was in charge of research and the Volkswagen Beetle, including the teams and by the factory itself for racing, nufactured and marketed collaboratively development at Porsche, was put in charge Iengine case from its internal combustion rallying, and other forms of automotive by Volkswagen and Porsche from 1969 of the 914 project. engine, transmission, and several parts competition. It is among the most succes- to 1976. It was available as a targa-topped In 1966 and 1967, German company Gu- used in the suspension. The 356, however, sful competition cars. In the mid-1970s, two-seat roadster powered by either a flat- gelot Design GmbH began showing a pro- had several evolutionary stages, A, B, and naturally aspirated the 911 Carrera RSR 4 or flat-6 engine. posed design for a sports coupe built with C, while in production, and most Volkswa- won major world championship sports car By the late 1960s, both Volkswagen and technology developed in partnership with gen-sourced parts were replaced by Pors- races, such as Targa Florio and 24 Hou- Porsche were in need of new models; Pors- Bayer to several major car builders, inclu- che-made parts. Beginning in 1954 the rs of Daytona, even against prototypes. che was looking for a replacement for their ding Volkswagen and Porsche. Some sour- 356s engines started utilizing engine cases The 911-derived 935 turbo also won the entry-level 912, and Volkswagen wanted a ces have suggested that the Gugelot pro- designed specifically for the 356. The sleek 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979 and Pors- new range-topping sports coupé to replace posal, suitably adapted, was the origin of bodywork was designed by Erwin Komen- che won World Championship for Makes the Volkswagen Type 34 Karmann Ghia the design of the 914. The rationale is that da, who also had designed the body of the titles in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979 with coupé. At the time the majority of Volkswa- an outside design would be able to plea- Beetle. Porsche’s signature designs have, 911-derived models. In 1964, Porsche gen’s development work was handled by from the beginning, featured air-cooled made the 912, which was a cost-redu- Porsche as part of an agreement that dated rear-engine configurations (like the Beet- ced model with the same body, but with back to Porsche’s founding. Volkswagen Left hand image: Porsche 356-model. Right hand le), rare for other car manufacturers, but 356-derived four-cylinder engine. needed to contract out one last project to image: Porsche 912-model. producing automobiles that are very well balanced. The 911 / 912 The Porsche 911 (pronounced Nine Ele- ven or in German: Neunelfer) is a two-do- or, 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car made since 1963 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a re- ar-mounted flat-six engine and all round independent suspension. It has undergone continuous development, though the ba- sic concept has remained unchanged. The engines were air-cooled until the introduc- tion of the Type 996 in 1998, with the 993, produced from 1994–1998 model years, Porsche - the legend on four wheels 3 se both Volkswagen and Porsche without the Vertriebsgesellschaft (VG), the joint 924, leaving Porsche with a predicament. bhp) for 1988). This was achieved using appearing too similar to either of the part- sales and marketing company funded by The 924 was considerably cheaper than its different pistons which raised the S’ com- ners’ existing products.