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 founded the company Major, was put in charge of the factory. (In prototype was shown to German auto el body. In 1952, Porsche constructed an called ”Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH” in , the 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 .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. 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, , 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). , 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 , 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

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 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 .

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 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 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, , 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- 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 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: -model. Right hand le), rare for other car manufacturers, but 356-derived four-cylinder engine. needed to contract out one last project to image: -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 which raised the S’ com- ners’ existing products. Later sources have Porsche and VW to market and sell sports 944 stablemate, and dropping the model pression ratio from 9.7:1 to 10.2:1, the rejected this idea. While acknowledging cars (Ludvigsen: Porsche, Excellence was left Porsche without an affordable entry-le- knock-on effect being an increase in the that Porsche was aware of the Gugelot de- Expected). For Volkswagen, it was inten- vel option. The decision was made to equip octane rating, up from 91 RON to 95. This sign, they assert that the 914 design was ded to be that company’s flagship coupé the narrower bodied 924 with a slightly made the 924S slightly faster than the base done in-house at Porsche, and is primarily sports car and was dubbed ”Project 425” detuned version of the 944’s 163 bhp 2.5 944 due to its lighter weight and more the work of body engineer Heinrich Klie. during its development. For Porsche, it was litre straight four, upgrading the suspensi- aerodynamic body. The 1988 model also Production of the 914 ended in 1976. to be its entry-level sports car replacing on and adding 5 lug wheels and 944 style gained three point safety belts in the rear The 2.0 L flat-4 engine continued to be the 914. At the time, Volkswagen lacked a brakes, but retaining the 924’s early inte- . used in the 912E, introduced that year as significant internal research and design di- rior. The result was 1986’s 148 bhp 924S. With unfavourable exchange rates in the an entry-level model until the front-engi- vision for developing sports cars; further, Porsche also decided to re-introduce the late 1980s, Porsche decided to focus its ef- ned four-cylinder 924 was introduced the Porsche had been doing the bulk of the 924 to the American market with an initial forts on its more upmarket models, drop- following model year. company’s development work anyway, per price tag of under $20,000. ping the 924S for 1989 and the base 944 The 914/4 became Porsche’s top sel- a deal that went back to the 1940s. In ke- In 1988, the 924S’ final year of producti- later that same year. ler during its model run, outselling the eping with this history, Porsche was con- on, power increased to 158 PS (116 kW; Porsche 911 by a wide margin with over tracted to develop a new sporting vehicle 156 bhp) matching that of the previous 118,000 units sold worldwide. with the caveat that this vehicle must work year’s Le Mans spec cars and the base mo- Lower left hand image: the 1969 914-model. Lower with an existing VW/ inline-four del 944 (itself detuned by 3 PS (2 kW; 3 right hand image: the 1975 924-model. / 924S engine. Porsche chose a rear-wheel drive The 924 was the first road-going Porsche layout and a rear-mounted for to have a front engine rear wheel drive the design to help provide 48/52 front/ configuration. It was also the first Porsche rear weight distribution; this slight rear to be offered with a fully automatic trans- weight bias aided both traction and brake mission. The 924 made its public debut balance. in November 1975. It was criticised by In 1984, VW decided to stop manufac- enthusiasts for its mediocre performance, turing the engine blocks used in the 2.0 L but was a sales success with just over 150,000 produced during a 1976-1988 produc- tion run, and an important profits generator for the company. The closely rela- ted 944 introduced in the U.S. market in 1983 was me- ant to replace the 924, but 924 production continued through 1985, followed by a 944-engined 924S through 1988. The 924 was originally a joint project of Volkswa- gen and Porsche created by

4 Porsche - the legend on four wheels Racing history

Porsche has been successful in many bran- company. With the 911 Carrera RS and with reliability, low drag, low weight and and the private Joest Racing team raced ches of motorsport of which most have the Turbo, Porsche domina- good handling. the cars in Europe for two years, winning been in long distance races. ted the 1970s, and even has beaten sports back-to-back Le Mans with the same chas- Despite their early involvement in motor- prototypes, a category in which Porsche Le Mans-success sis, termed the Porsche WSC-95. This is a sports being limited to supplying relatively entered the successful 936, 956 and 962 The is considered one of the feat Porsche had also achieved in the 956 small engines to racing underdogs up until models. most iconic racing cars of all time and gave era, contrasting with the 1960s and 1970s the late 1960s, by the mid-1950s Porsche As Porsche only had small capacity road Porsche their first 24 Hours of Le Mans where most cars ran only one or two races had already tasted moderate success in the and racing cars in the 1950s and 1960s, win, while open-top versions of it domi- for the works before being sold on. realm of sports car racing, most notably in they scored many wins in their classes, and nated Can-Am racing. After dominating the Carrera Panamericana and Targa Flo- occasionally also overall victories against , 5, and 6 racing in the 1970s with Porsche in rallies rio, classic races which were later used in bigger cars, most notably winning the Tar- the 911-based 934 and 935 and the proto- Until the beginning of the 1980’ies, Pors- the naming of street cars. The Porsche 917 ga Florio in 1956, 1959, 1960, 1964, and type 936, Porsche moved on to domina- che had only had limited history with of 1969 turned them into a power house, every year from 1966 to 1970 in prototy- te Group C and IMSA GTP in the 1980s 4-wheel drive. The type 953 was developed winning in 1970 the first of over a dozen pes that lacked horsepower relative to the with the /962C, one of the in 1983 with the purpose of attending the 24 Hours of Le Mans, more than any other competition, but which made up for that, most prolific and successful sports proto- Paris-Dakar Rally the following year. The type racers ever produced. engine was a 3.2 litres with a lower com- Porsche scored a couple of pression, making it capable of consuming unexpected Le Mans wins gasoline with varying octan levels. It had in 1996 and 1997. A return double suspenders all the way around, an to prototype racing in the enforced kevlar body, a 120-litres tank in US was planned for 1995 the front, and a 150-litres tank behind the with a Tom Walkinshaw seats. The differential of the 4-wheel drive Racing chassis formerly was managed in the cockpit. The car came used as the Jaguar XJR-14 as number 1 in the race. Later, the experi- and the Mazda MXR-01 fit- ences from the Paris-Dakar winningvehic- ted with a Porsche engine. le were used in the , the 959 that as IMSA rule changes struck well had 4-wheel drive. this car out of the running

Left hand image: the 917-model that won Le Mans in 1971. Right hand image: the 953-model that won Pa- ris-Dakar rally in 1984.

Porsche - the legend on four wheels 5