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History of Porsche, from 356 to 911. Protos, GT, RSR from track to street and vice-versa.
Ferdinand Porsche founded the company called "Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH" in 1930, with main offices at Kronenstraße 24 in the center
of Stuttgart. Initially, the company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting but did not build any cars under its own name.
The full details of the history is available here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche and includes all models (race and street), with pictures and many technical data, including an extensive article on the Porsche 911 starting from the 64 model, 356 and finally the 911 legend with allmilestones from 964, 993, 996 and 997.
Professor Ferdinand Porsche founded the company called "Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH" in 1930, with main offices at Kronenstraße 24 in the center of Stuttgart. Initially, the company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting but did not build any cars under its own name.
History
Ferdinand Porsche's son, Ferry Porsche, decided to build his own car because he could not find an existing one that he wanted to buy. The first models
of what was to become the 356 were built in a small sawmill in Gmünd, Austria. Many regard the 356 as the first Porsche simply because it was the
first model sold by the fledgling company. The 356 was road certified in 1948.
The 356, however, had several evolutionary stages, A, B, and C, while in production and many Volkswagen parts were replaced by Porsche-made parts.
The last 356s were powered by entirely Porsche-designed engines.
In 1964, after some success in motor-racing, namely with the Porsche 550 Spyder, the company launched the Porsche 911 another air-cooled,
rear-engined sports car, this time with a 6-cylinder "boxer" engine. The team to lay out the body shell design was led by Ferry Porsche's eldest
son, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (F. A.).
The design group gave sequential numbers to every project (356, 550, etc.) but the designated 901 nomenclature contravened Peugeot's trademarks
on all 'x0x' names, so it was adjusted to 911. Racing models adhered to the "correct" numbering sequence: 904, 906, 908. The 911 has become Porsche's
most well-known and iconic 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. It remains in production; however, after several generations of revision, current-model 911s share only the basic mechanical
concept of a rear-engined, six-cylinder coupe, and basic styling cues with the original car. A cost-reduced model with the same body, but 356-derived
running gear (including its four-cylinder engine), was sold as the 912.
The first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Porsche AG was Dr. Ernst Fuhrmann. He planned to cease the 911 during the 1970s, and replace it with the
V8-front engined grand sportswagon 928. As we know today, the 911 outlived the 928 by far.
In 1990, Porsche drew up a memorandum of understanding with Toyota to learn and benefit from Japanese production methods. Currently Toyota is
assisting Porsche with hybrid technology, rumoured to be making its way into a Hybrid Cayenne SUV, and announced for the 2011 model four-
door coupe, the Porsche Panamera.
Porsche's 2002 introduction of the Cayenne also marked the unveiling of a new production facility in Leipzig, Saxony, which once accounted for nearly
half of Porsche's annual output. The Cayenne Turbo S has the second most powerful production engine in Porsche's history, with the most powerful belonging
to the Carrera GT.
In 2004, production of the 612 horsepower (456 kW; 620 PS) Carrera GT commenced in Leipzig, and at EUR 450,000 ($440,000 in the United
States) it was the most expensive production model Porsche ever built.
In mid-2006, after years of the Boxster (and later the Cayenne) as the dominant Porsche in North America, the 911 regained its position as Porsche's
backbone in the region. The Cayenne and 911 have cycled as the top-selling model since. In Germany the 911 clearly outsells the Boxster/Cayman and Cayenne.
Auto racing
Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport, scoring a total of more than 28,000 victories. Porsche is currently the world's largest race car manufacturer. In 2006, Porsche built 195 race cars for various international motor sports events. In 2007, Porsche is expected to construct no fewer than 275 dedicated race cars (7 RS Spyder LMP2 prototypes, 37 GT2 spec 911 GT3-RSRs, and 231 911 GT3 Cup vehicles).
Porsche – Fact sheet
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