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 Gmnd, 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. The Porsche of today is still about the sports car. But today there are innovative solutions to technical problems. Today's Porsche has amazing handling, agility, electronic gadgets that are improved over the past, better fuel economy, a higher safety rating, and even an environmentally friendly build. The Porsche price range is wide starting at around $107,000 and going up over $300,000 so there's a car for every budget. |
