Porsche

The start of Porsche didn't start with the first Porsche car it actually started much earlier than that back in the 20th century. Check out the interesting history of Porsche.

1900: Ferdinand Porsche invented the wheel hub motor which made the Porsche name famous around the world. The Lohner Porsche Electric Car was displayed at the Paris Expo.

1928: Daimler Technical Director F. Porsche developed the Mercedes SS and SSK super charged sports car.

1931: In Stuttgart Ferdinand Porsche founded the Porsche Engineering Office.

1936: In the backyard of the Porsche villa in Stuttgart extensive testing was done on the first VW prototypes.

1938: Ferdinand Porsche directed the first VW assembly lines in Wolfsburg. The type 60 had seen the finishing touches and was read for production. Too bad that WWII interfered with the plan delaying the production of VW until 1946.

1947: Ferdinand Porsche Jr's next design was a Grand Prix racing car created in Gmünd, Austria.

1948: Ferry Porsche build's Porsches first sports car the 356 which is based on the VW parts. This roadster is the first to wear the Porsche name.

1949: The Torino Motor Show features the 12 cylinder Cisitalia race car with it's 385 bhp at 10,600 rpm. This car's top speed was an impressive 186 MPH and the four wheel drive gave great control. It was definitely the talk of the era impressing a considerable number of sports car buffs.

1950: A new chapter in the Porsche legacy begins back in Zuffenhausen where they finally become an independent auto factory. This change resulted in some considerable changes to the way Porsche did business.

1951: Ferdinand Porsche Sr. dies at the age of 75. It was a sad day but Porsche as a company didn't miss a beat with family continuing on. The 356 gets it's first international win in the 1100 CC class.

1953: The Fuhrman engine is presented in the Porsche 550 Spyder. This 1.5 L four cylinder engine has an impressive 110 BHP that definitely turned heads.

1956: Commemorated the 25th anniversary of Porsche and at the same time the 10,000th Porsche produced hits the streets.

1961: A new Porsche is in the works that included a 6 cylinder engine. Ferry Porsche's son Ferdinand designed the body.

1963: The 911 is presented at the Frankfurt International Automobile Show. The rear air cool engine concept is retained.

1964: The production of the 911 begins and so does the production of the 911 coupe.

1969: These were the year of the 914-4 and 914-6 mid engine mount sports cars. Both showed at the Frankfurt Motor Show and both win the World Championships for the working class.

1970: The 917 with its 4.5 liter 12 cylinder boxer engine is introduced to the world and it wins almost every competition it enters.

1971: The Weissach Research and Development Center work begins.

1972: Porsche goes public.

1974: The 911 Turbo is the beginning of a completely new Porsche era.

1975: The 924 is introduced. This is the first transaxle sports car and the engine is at the front with the transmission and drive wheels at the rear.

1977: The 928 production begins in Stuttgart. It had a light alloy V8 engine with transaxle configuration combined with the Weissach axle.

1982: The 956 is the most successful sports car of the time.

1982: Porsche Type 956

1985: The 959 spearheaded the technology of the era with only a limited number built and it was the first sports car to win the Parkis Dakar

1988: The 911 Carrera 4 was launched.

1989: The tiptronic four speed automatic transmission was introduced and what was neat about this transmission is could be operated manually or as an automatic. This was the first time it was seen in the 911 Carrera 2.

1993: The first Boxer concept car was launched and it was shown at the Detroit Auto Show. It was also where the new 911 Carrera was launched.

1995 The new 911 Turbo came to market staring it bi-turbo engine. It was the first production car to have an onboard diagnosis II and the lowest emissions of any car on the market.

1996: The production of the new Porsche Boxtser mid engine roadster begins.

1997: The 911 was released with a water cooled six cylinder boxer engine.

The history of Porsche never ceases to amaze the world with their uncompromising quality and sexy sporty cars that still today attract an elite market that has a true understanding of sports car class.

Porsche 911

The illustrious Porsche 911 sports car (pronounced as Nine Eleven, German: Neunelfer) is made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. The 911 has a unique design with a rear engine and a swing axle rear suspension, similar to the Porsche designed VW Beetle.

Although the car has gone through continuous development throughout the years (from 1964 to now), the 911 manages to keep its basic design. Thus the basic concept of the vehicle has seen minimal changes throughout its evolution.

Before the the introduction of the newly designed Porsche 911 model in 1998, the "Type 996", the previous models of the 911 were all used air cooled opposed rear engine layouts.

911 Modifications:Since its introduction to the sports car world until now, the 911 has been modified both by private owners and teams and by the factory itself for racing, rallying and other forms of automotive competition, of course this only underscores the wide appeal of this iconic sports car.

911 Success In Motorsport: The Porsche 911 has won thousands of motorsports races over a period of four decades, thus establishing itself as a world champion in motorsports. In the mid 1970s, the 911 Carrera RSR won major world championship sports car races such as Daytona, Targa Florio, Nurburgring and Sebring.

Mainly because of certain rules, the 911 was absence from much of the races in the 1980s. That said when it returned in the 1990s as the Porsche 993 it had a lot of success on the motorsports circuits, including the like the GT2 turbo model.