1. News from Porsche AG · 2020. 2. 28. · Porsche Club News 4/08 6 1. News from Porsche AG On June 8, 1948 a new chapter in auto-mobile history began. For on this day, the first

Porsche Club News 4/08

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1. News from Porsche AG

On June 8, 1948 a new chapter in auto-mobile history began. For on this day,the first Porsche prototype with the ve-hicle identification number 356-001 re-ceived its official approval and homolo-gation for road service. “It all startedwhen I began looking around and justcould not find my dream car. So I de-cided to build it myself”, said FerryPorsche – and to this day, this geniusand pioneering spirit has shaped thephilosophy of the company.

However, in the past six decades,Porsche has not only experienced

Porsche celebrates its anniversary. Exactly 60 years ago the cornerstonewas laid for the family-operated industrial company, whose rise from mo-dest beginnings to become one of the most important sports car manufactu-rers in the world no one back then would have ever foreseen.

peaks, but also troughs. Yet thanks toefficient production methods, clearbranding and innovative models, suchas the 356 and the 911, Boxster andthe Cayenne, the once small sports carspecialist quickly transformed into oneof the most successful and profitableautomobile manufacturers in the world.

When Wiedeking took over manage-ment in 1992, Porsche had reachedthe peak of its most serious economiccrisis ever. The company was in dangerof losing its most valuable asset – its in-dependence. Porsche was suddenly

ripe for takeover. The situation had tobe handled immediately. And the share-holder families Porsche and Piëch toldthe Board that they would lend theirsupport.

Wiedeking and his Board colleaguesnot only had the Boxster produced, butalso brought about the company’s turn-around through other economic meas-ures. Under the generic terms “leanmanagement” and “lean production”,new organizational and productionworkflows were introduced and thecompany’s hierarchy and processstructures were reorganized from topto bottom. It did not take long for the in-ternal efforts to improve productivityand the newly developed model line tohave a positive impact. As early as1995, Porsche was back in the blackand began to assume a leading position

Made in Germany: The Porsche Success Story

60th Anniversary of the Porsche Sports Car

Ferry Porsche (centre), his father Ferdinand Porsche (right) and Erwin Komenda (left) in 1948 in front of the 356 No. 1 in Gmünd


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by breaking new revenue, sales andearnings records annually.

Not only the balance sheet, but also thereputation of the Porsche brand re-flects the company’s exceptional posi-tion. For the fifth time in a row, top Ger-man managers from all industries se-lected Porsche AG as the company withthe best image in a survey from “man-ager magazin”. The prestigious qualitystudy “Initial Quality Study” of the Amer-ican research institute J.D. Powerranked Porsche in first place for thesecond time. And the J.D. Power “Ap-peal” Study confirmed that theStuttgart-based sports car manufac-turer had, for the third time in a row,been ranked by American customersas the most appealing brand.

Over these 60 years, Porsche hasworked very hard to achieve this spe-cial image, mainly through its most var-ied innovations and also, in particular,in the area of environmental protection.Porsche engineers are never satisfiedwith only meeting current environmen-tal regulations passed by lawmakers. Ithas always been their goal to exceedthem. Porsche vehicles should also setan example when it comes to environ-mental protection. So, as early as1966, the first authorized emissionstest in Europe was performed using a911. Not long after, a separate depart-ment was established that also testedthe emission values from vehicles pro-duced by other manufacturers.

Porsche develops new technologiesnot just to improve driving features, butalso to continuously optimize the carsfor environmental sustainability. In thelast 15 years, Porsche has succeededin reducing the fuel consumption in itsnew cars, and thereby also CO2 emis-


356 A Coupé, MY. 1956 and a 356 Speedster, MY. 1955 in Stuttgart, press photo1956 (top). Engine installation in a Porsche 356 B (bottom)


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sions, by an average of 1.7 percent an-nually. With regard to engine perform-ance, Porsche currently already ranksamong manufacturers with the lowestCO2 emissions. And by 2012, the fuelconsumption in Porsche vehicles is go-ing to be reduced by a further 20 per-cent – new innovative engine technolo-gies and the hybrid drive for theCayenne and Panamera will make thispossible.

Former German Chancellor GerhardSchröder once said: “Porsche is amodel for Germany.” By this, he wasnot only referring the company’s engi-neering ingenuity which the companystands for, he also meant the “David”principle with which Porsche, as a smallautomobile manufacturer, has beenable to keep up with the “Goliaths” of itsindustry over the last 60 years. Withthe quality seal “Made in Germany”, itsrejection of subsidies as well as itssense of social responsibility toward itsemployees and society, Porsche hasunflinchingly pursued its own path.

This includes Porsche’s step toward anew future in September 2005: its ma-jority holding in Volkswagen AG. With al-


Ferry Porsche 1968 with a 911 2.0 Coupé

Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking, Ferry Porscheand the former Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Erwin Teufel (front left),celebrate the production of the millionthPorsche on 15/07/96


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most 31 percent of the voting sharecapital, Porsche is now the largestshareholder in Volkswagen. During thecourse of this year, its share will be in-creased to over 50 percent.

The goal of this path is clear: Under theumbrella of Porsche Automobil HoldingSE, not only will growth for Porsche andVolkswagen be ensured thanks to theirproven development and productionpartnership over the decades, but alsothe independence of both companies.And the Chairman of the Board, Dr.Wendelin Wiedeking promises that inthe anniversary year of the Porschesports car: “Porsche will remainPorsche in the future. Just as Volkswa-gen will remain Volkswagen. That is therecipe for success.”

Porsche Press Release


Model range 2008 with 911 Turbo Cabriolet, Cayman S, Boxster andCayenne GTS (top).

Wolfgang Porsche, Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking and Holger P. Härter (frontleft) at the Annual General Meeting of Porsche Automobil Holding SE

The first car to bear the Porsche name,the 356 “No.1”, was manufactured 60years ago. Porsche KG was relocatedfrom Stuttgart to Gmünd in Kärnten(Austria) due to the Second World War –and it was there that Ferry Porsche be-gan the production of a two-seaterRoadster in July 1947 at a formerwood-processing factory. “My father’sdream became reality”, says Dr. Wolf-gang Porsche, now Chairman of the Su-pervisory Board at Porsche AutomobilHolding SE. The basis for the firstPorsche sports car was the Volkswa-gen developed by Professor Dr. Ing.h.c. Ferdinand Porsche.

The chassis was completed in February1948, for which a sleek Roadster bodyfrom aluminium was made. As a test,the Porsche 356 “No.1” took part in theInnsbruck City Race on the 1st July1948 and catapulted to the top of itsclass. The small-series production ofthe 356/2 model commenced in thesecond half of 1948. As with the proto-type “No. 1”, the Porsche 356/2 werealso given an aluminium chassis, de-signed by Erwin Komenda, head ofchassis development. The first sportscar from Porsche met with glowingpraise. Even Ferry Porsche’s father washappy with the result: “I wouldn’tchange a single bolt”, he said on his re-

Porsche Club News 4 /08

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turn from a prisoner of war camp. “Itwas the pinnacle of my father’s carrier”,said Wolfgang Porsche.

By 1950, 52 samples of the Porsche356/2 available as Coupé and Cabrio-let had been manufactured in Gmünd.But the provisional production plantsleft no room for further growth. Themanagers of the company therefore de-cided to move back to Stuttgart in1949.

Production was started for Porsche356 models equipped with steel platechassis in rented halls in March 1950.Initially, the production goal was set ata modest 100 vehicles per year. Butthe success spurred Ferry Porsche onto realize his vision of achieving “drivingat its most beautiful”: Just ten yearsafter the premiere, over 25,000 sportscars had been produced and the goalwas to increase production of this vehi-cle model to 77,766 by 1965. In a mat-ter of decades, Porsche sports carshad become classics in the automobilesector.

The 911 – the new sports car conceptBy the mid-1950s, Ferry Porsche wascertain: The technical advantageafforded by the Porsche brand couldonly be maintained by developing acompletely new construction. Evermore saloons with even higher perform-ance were closing in on the 356, basedon Volkswagen technology. When plan-ning officially commenced in 1957, thekey data for the successor of the 356defined by Ferry Porsche was alreadyset: The air-cooled Boxer rear enginewas to be kept, and the power andsmoothness of the sports car in-creased. The road-holding was also tobe improved and the vehicle interior

and luggage compartment enlarged.“The vehicle must be able to carry golfclubs easily”, was the requirement stip-ulated by Ferry Porsche.

The design was the only point on whichthe parties involved in the planningcould not agree. Following numerous in-ternal and external studies, FerdinandAlexander, the eldest son of FerryPorsche, presented a highly promisingsolution. However, his father decidedagainst the continued development ofthe four-seater “T7” in favour of the“T8” hatchback Coupé with 2+2 seat-ing. Despite this decision, the 25-year-old Ferdinand Alexander Porsche setthe course for the development of thenew model, saying: “A good product

Back to the Future:From the “No. 1” to the Panamera


Porsche 356 Coupé from 1950 (top),Monte Carlo rally 1953 (bottom)

The legendary “No. 1” of 1948


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must be discreet. Design is not fash-ion”. From 1962, development tookplace under the project name “Type901” – with the characteristics appliedfor the 356, which are still at the heartof Porsche developments to the pres-ent day: A sports car must be quick andreliable, while being suitable for every-day use, socially acceptable and retain-ing value.

The frame and suspension were com-pletely redesigned for the 901. Rackand pinion steering in the front of thevehicle was chosen for the benefit ofthe luggage compartment, along withspace-saving wheel mountings basedon the McPherson principle. The engi-neers replaced the outdated floatingaxle at the rear with a modern semi-trailing arm axle. A newly designed unitwas also chosen for the drive. Underthe leadership of Ferdinand Piëch,nephew of Ferry Porsche, an air-cooled6-cylinder Boxer engine was createdwith axial fan, dry sump lubrication andtwo overhead camshafts. The enginewas characterized by its diversity andwas manufactured in its basic form until1998.

Porsche presented the road-worthyprototype of the 901 on the 12th Sep-tember 1963 at the International Auto-mobile Exhibition (IAA) in Frankfurt. The

same prototype was subjected to ex-tensive tests in the following monthswith glowing results. On 14th Septem-ber 1964, the first series-production901 rolled off the production line. In Oc-tober, the model ready for series pro-duction was presented at the Paris AutoShow. Shortly afterwards, however, thesports car manufacturer from Stuttgartwas forced to change the name of themodel series. As the French manufac-turer Peugeot owned the name rightsfor three-digit numbers with the zero inthe middle, the 901 became the 911.Three digits which were to become ahousehold name in the sector and godown in history.

From the very beginning, Porsche suc-ceeded in continuously raising the stan-dard for fascination and driving per-formance with the 911. The 911 Targawas released in 1965, impressing themarket as a “safety cabriolet” with itsfixed roll-over bar and removable soft-top. In 1972/73, Porsche produced areal high-performance sports car withthe 911 RS Carrera 2.7.

As a reduced-weight homologation vehi-cle for race sport, it is still regarded to-day as one of the most coveted modelsin history. The next milestone in theproduct history was the 911 Turbo, pre-sented in October 1974 as a new top

60 Years of PorscheSports Cars –Chronology

1948The first sports car to bear the Porschename, the 356 “No. 1” receives on-roadapproval in June. 1950Porsche KG returns to Stuttgart-Zuffen-hausen and begins series productionfor the Porsche 356 in a rented hall.1951On 30th January, Professor Dr. Ing.h.c. Ferdinand Porsche passes away inStuttgart. He is laid to rest in Zell amSee, Austria.1953The race car Porsche 550 Spyder celebrates its debut run at the ParisAuto Show.1956The 10,000th Porsche 356 is producedin time for the 25th anniversary of thecompany. The Porsche 550 A Spyderis the overall winner for the first time atthe Targa Florio, billed as the racingworld championships. 1960In its first racing season, the Porsche718 RS 60 is the overall winner atTarga Florio and the Sebring 12-hourrace.1963With the Porsche 356 C, Porsche presents the final development stageof the sports car which was legendaryeven in the early days.1964The Porsche 911 presented in the pre-vious year under the name “901” enters series production. The Porsche904 Carrera GTS takes the market by


Ferdinand Alexander Porsche 1963 withthe Porsche 901

The first 911 Targa, MY. 1967


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turbo charging, the high-performancesports car made exceeding the 300km/h limit look like child’s play.

The electrically controlled suspension,programme-controlled four-wheel-driveand aerodynamic optimized chassis,paved the path for future Porschesports car generations. The “King ofPorsche models”, first presented as a“Group B” study in 1983, was produceda total of 292 times between 1986 and1988 and went down in automotive his-tory as the perfect sports car.

The 911 is still going strong – the ideas keep on comingNo car sets standards in technologylike the 911. “There’s always room forimprovement” is the motto of thePorsche engineers, who have devel-oped and improved a wide range ofsports cars of this model over 45

model. As the first series-productionsports car in the world with boost-pres-sure controlled turbo drive gear, the911 Turbo was the fastest series-pro-duction car of its time. The 911 “G-Se-ries” models with safety bumpers werein production since 1973 and domi-nated the appearance of the seriesthrough to the end of the 1980’s.

The 959 holds a unique status in theevolutionary history of the 911. Withthis model, Porsche showed competi-tors what was possible in the automo-bile industry in the 1980’s: Driven by a450 hp Boxer engine with water-cooledcylinder heads and biturbo sequential

storm with its unique design and out-standing driving performance. Like the911, the model was also designed byFerdinand Alexander Porsche.1965The Porsche 911 Targa is presentedas the “safety Cabriolet” and has beenin series production since 1966.1967Following the success of the Porsche906 Carrera 6 in the previous year, theteam at the Zuffenhausen factoryscores a hat-trick with the Porsche 910at the Targa Florio. Porsche achievesits first overall win in the legendary1,000 kilometre race at the Nürburg-ring track1968Porsche achieves its first overall win in the Daytona 24-hour race with the907-8, building on the major successesof the previous year in the 1,000 kilo-metre race at the Nürburgring and TargaFlorio. In rally sport, Porsche securesits first overall win with the 911 T atthe Monte Carlo Rally.1969The mid-engine sports car VW-Porsche914 is presented at the IAA in Frankfurt.In addition to the Monte Carlo Rally andthe Targa Florio, Porsche wins thebrand world championships for the firsttime with the 908/02 and the new 917.1970With nine out of ten possible victories,Porsche secures pole position in thebrand world championships onceagain. Hans Herrmann and DickAttwood celebrate the first overall vic-tory in the Porsche 917 at the Le Mans24-hour race.

60 Years of Porsche Sports Cars –Chronology


911 Carrera RS 2.7 Coupé, MY. 1973(top), Walter Röhrl, 1986 in the Porsche959 (right), 911 Turbo 3.0 Coupé, MY.1975 (bottom)


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years. And customers really appreciatethis approach and remain true to the“911” family through all stages of evo-lution.

Although the end of production for the“G Series” 911 Carrera and 911 Turbomodel in July 1989 marked the end ofan era, the new generation of the suc-cessful model was already waiting inthe wings. For the 25th anniversary ofthe 911 in November 1988, Porschepresented the four-wheel-drive Carrera4. Highlights of the sports car knownas the 964 included the 3.6 litre en-gine, optimized aerodynamic chassiswith plastic front and rear trim and auto-matically extracting spoiler. During thecourse of the model year 1990, the911 Carrera 4 (964 model) and the911 Carrera 2 (964 model) was avail-able as Coupé, Targa and Cabriolet.

Porsche presented the third generationof the impressively equipped 911 se-ries in 1990 with the 911 Turbo (964model), complete with traditional broadchassis and large rear spoiler.

The history of the 911 models is madeup of a long succession of innovations.The 911 Carrera 993 model celebratedits world premiere in 1993 at the IAA inFrankfurt, sporting the new aluminiumsuspension, harmonious design and3.6 litre Boxer engine with a range ofnew features. The world premiere ofthe 911 Carrera Cabriolet (993 model)took place in 1994 at the Motor Showin Detroit. The automatic transmissionsystem Tiptronic S with two rockerswitches on the steering wheel of the911 Carrera provided a new Porschedrive feeling from 1995 onwards. A fur-ther generation of the 911 Turbo (993model) was presented in Geneva inMarch 1995.

A highlight of the four-wheel drive supersports car is the biturbo engineequipped with exhaust control systemOBD II. In its time, the series-productionautomobile drive produced the lowestemission levels in the world. New fea-tures include the hollow-spoke alu-


1971The first departments move into thenew development centre in Weissach.In motor sport, Porsche once againdominates the Le Mans 24-hour raceand emerges victorious in the brandworld championships.1972With Ferry Porsche as Chairman of theSupervisory Board, Porsche KG convertsto a PLC. The Porsche 911 Carrera RS2.7 is launched as a sporty top model.1973“Dr. Ing h.c. F. Porsche AG” is enteredofficially in the company register. The911 “G Series” model with safety bum-pers is presented. The Porsche917/30 once again reigns supreme inthe Canadian/American CanAm raceseries, following in the footsteps of itspredecessor 917/10, which won thetitle in the previous year. 1974With the 911 Turbo, Porsche presentsthe first series sports car in the worldwith exhaust-gas turbocharger andboost pressure control at the Paris AutoShow.1975Porsche produces the 924 – the firstfront-engine sports car in transaxle de-sign. Porsche is the first automobilemanufacturer to use hot-dip galvanizedsheet metal on the chassis.1976The Porsche race cars 935 and 936are joint world champions in the brandand sports car assessment. 1977As the successor of the 911, thePorsche 928 enters new terrain withregard to technology and design. In ad-


911 Carrera 4S 3.6 Coupé, MY 1996


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minium wheel rims used for the firsttime in series vehicle production. The911 Carrera RS (993 model) offers apure sport feeling and outstanding per-formance weight with 300 hp and1,270 Kilogram. These features areonly topped by the Porsche 911 GT2(993 model) with 430 hp biturbo en-gine. After production was ceased forthe four-cylinder series 968 and eight-cylinder series 928 at the end of modelyear 1995, Porsche presented the 911Carrera 4S (993 model) and 911 Targa(993 model) in September 1995 as in-teresting alternatives in the classicsports car sector. The “Targa” comeswith the innovative electric sunroofwhich retracts behind the rear wind-screen.

One year after the successful launch ofthe Porsche Boxster, the new 911 Car-rera (996 model) “Evolution 911” waspresented at the IAA in September1997. The sport car is driven for thefirst time by a water-cooled four-valve/six-cylinder Boxer engine. Thedesign is an innovative interpretation of

the classic line of the 911 and is char-acterized by a low cd value of 0.30. InAutumn, Porsche presented the 911Carrera 4 (996 model) with permanentfour-wheel drive in Paris as a further di-mension of the product campaign. Inaddition to the choice between Coupéand Cabriolet, enthusiasts can now alsochoose between the manual 6-speedgearbox and the five-speed Tiptronic S.

In early summer 1998, Porsche pre-sented the 911 Cabriolet (996 model)at the Geneva Auto Show – the first au-tomobile in the world with side airbagssuitable for Cabriolets.

The 911 GT3 (996 model) wowed theaudience at the Geneva Auto Show asthe successor of the 911 Carrera RS(993 model). The GT3 is a sporty nichemodel with dry-sump lubrication andseparate oil tank and is also availableas a Club sport model for use on therace track. The 911 Turbo (996model), presented in 1999 at the IAA inFrankfurt, was the first model in thePorsche Turbo generation also avail-


dition to the victory in the brand worldchampionships, Porsche wins the LeMans 24-hour race once again.1981The Porsche 944 with 163 hp four-cylinder engine is added to the transaxlemodel range. Porsche celebrates its50th anniversary with the overall victory of the Porsche 936/81 in LeMans.1982With the 911 SC Cabriolet, Porschepresents an open-top version of theclassic sports car. Porsche wins agrand total of five team, manufacturerand driver world championships between 1982 and 1989 with the956/962 models.1984The TAG turbo engine triumphs in theMcLaren Formula-1 race car MP4/2.With a total of 25 Grand Prix victoriesand three world championship titles(Niki Lauda and Alain Prost), the Porscheengine is the leading drive gear in Formula 1 racing between 1984 and1986. In addition to the brand worldchampionships, Porsche celebrates avictory for the first time at the Paris–Dakar Rally with the 911 Carrera 4x4.1985The high-performance sports car andtechnological pioneer Porsche 959 ispresented at the IAA. From the biturboBoxer engine with water-cooled, four-valve cylinder heads, through to theelectronically controlled suspensionand four-wheel-drive system or theaerodynamic optimized chassis, thePorsche 959 sets standards in thefield of automobile construction.


Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Coupé (996)



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able with 5-gear Tiptronic S. Parallel tothis model, Porsche presented thePorsche Ceramic Composite Brake“PCCB” as the first of its kind in theworld. At the start of 2001, the com-pany added a new top model to therange with the 911 GT2 (996 model).With an impressive 462 hp and 620Newton meters, the 911 GT2 becamethe most powerful series productionsports car manufactured by Porsche todate.

The new 3.6 litre engine of the opti-mized 911 Carrera (996 model) hasbeen available since September 2001,impressing the market with its variablevalve stroke and 320 hp performance.The range was also expanded to in-clude the four-wheel drive 911 Carrera4S and the 911 Targa. A new modelrange of the 911 GT3 was available topurchase from dealers as of March.The engine performance of the ex-treme sport model with the dominantrear wing was increased to 381 hpthrough increased speed. In late sum-

mer 2003, a Porsche 911 Turbo waslaunched as a Cabriolet for the firsttime since 1987. The Porsche 911GT3 RS with on-road approval was alsoavailable as a base for motor sportevents. The 911 Carrera 4S Cabrioletwas launched in October 2003 as a fur-ther exclusive model for open-top driv-ing. Porsche extended the product rangein the upper market segment in 2004to include the 911 Turbo S Coupé and911 Turbo S Cabriolet. The new “S”model was characterized by the in-creased performance potential of theengine and the standard ceramic brakesystem PCCB.

The latest Porsche 911 Carrera gener-ation was launched in July 2004. Themodel series known at Porsche as the“997 model” was initially available as911 Carrera and 911 Carrera S. TheCabriolet model launched the secondstage of the model campaign for thenow 6th 911 generation at the DetroitMotor Show 2005. Both the Coupé andthe 911 Cabriolet are available as Car-

1986The Porsche 944 Turbo Cup islaunched as an environmentally-friendlyrace series. Following the victory of thePorsche 959 at the Pharaoh Rally inthe previous year, the success contin-ues in 1986 at the Paris–Dakar Rally.1988In the 25th anniversary year of the 911,Porsche presents the newly developed911 Carrera 4 (964 model) with four-wheel-drive.1989The Porsche 911 Carrera is availablewith the innovative automatic trans-mission “Tiptronic”. At the race in MidOhio, the Italian driver Teo Fabi securesthe first CART victory for Porsche inthe Porsche Quaker State with Marchchassis.1990Ferry Porsche is named Honorary Chair-man of the Supervisory Board. FerdinandAlexander Porsche follows in the foot-steps of his father and becomes theChairman of the Supervisory Board atDr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG.1991Porsche is the first automobile manu-facturer in Germany to equip all modelswith a driver and passenger airbag asstandard. As the successor of thePorsche 944, the Porsche 968 is avail-able as Coupé and Cabriolet since latesummer 1991.1992Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking is speaker ofthe Porsche Board of Directors. Basedon the concepts “Lean Production” and“Lean Management”, new organizationand production procedures are intro-duced and fundamental changes madeto the hierarchy and process levels.


Porsche 911 Carrera S (997) on the acoustics test stand


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rera and Carrera S. The 911 Carrera 4and Carrera 4S have been part of themodel range since Autumn 2005.Porsche presented the latest 911Turbo (997 model) at the Geneva AutoShow 2006. The latest top model of the911 series is the first series vehiclewith petrol engine to be equipped with aturbocharger with variable turbinegeometry (VTG). The new 911 GT3 wasalso presented to the public in Genevaparallel to the 911 Turbo.

The 3.6 litre aspirating engine canreach a performance of 415 hp, whichcorresponds to a specific litre perform-ance of 115.3 hp. With these statistics,the GT3 set a new standard for seriessports cars in its cubic capacity classwith aspirating engine and on-road ap-proval. The 911 GT3 RS has been avail-able on the market since October2006. The GT3 model with reduced

weight of 1,375 kilograms served as abase and homologation model for usein numerous race car series. Porschepresented two further 911 series mod-els in November 2006 with the 911Targa 4 and the 911 Targa 4S. Themost significant features of the twofour-wheel drive sports cars are thelarge glass roof and the rear wind-screen which can be opened as de-sired.

Porsche launched the new 911 TurboCabriolet in September 2007. The out-standing 911 open-top model contin-ued the 20-year tradition of the 911Turbo with classic soft top. The 911GT2 is the fastest, high-performancePorsche 911 model with on-road ap-proval and has been available on themarket since November 2007. The 3.6litre Boxer engine with biturbo chargeroffers 530 hp (390 kW) at 6,500 rpm.


1993At the MotorShow in Detroit, Porschepresents the study for an open Roadsterwith Boxer mid-engine: the Boxster.Porsche presents the completely revised 911 Carrera (993 model) atthe IAA. Dr. Wiedeking is named Chair-man of the Board of Porsche AG.1995With the exhaust control system OBD II,the 911 Turbo becomes the series vehicle with the lowest emission levelsin the world. In addition to the 911 Car-rera 4S, the model range is expandedto include the 911 Targa with electronicsunroof. Short-run production of thePorsche 911 GT2. 1996The 1,000,000th Porsche is producedas a 911 Carrera police car. After a development period of just three and ahalf years, production is started for themid-engine Roadster Boxster. 1997Under the motto “Evolution 911”,Porsche presents a new generation ofthe 911 Carrera (996 model). The 911series is driven by a water-cooled four-valve/six-cylinder Boxer engine.1998Porsche celebrates a double victory inLe Mans with the 911 GT1 and canlook back on a grand total of 16 overallvictories.1999Porsche expands the 911 to includethe sporty GT3 model. The Boxster Sis launched on the market as a high-performance version of the mid-engineRoadster. The Porsche Ceramic Com-posite Brake (PCCB) is presented as aworld innovation.


Porsche 911 Turbo (997)


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A VW-Porsche with mid-enginePorsche and Volkswagen – a chapter initself. Professor Ferdinand Porsche in-vented the VW Beetle and his son Ferrywent on to continue the developmentwork for Volkswagen for severaldecades. The most significant fruit ofthis partnership was manufactured atthe end of the 1960s – the VW-Porsche914. Ferry Porsche aimed to create asports car in a lower class than the 911to appeal to younger buyers. Porschetherefore developed a two-seater mid-engine car incorporating as many partsas possible from Volkswagen seriesproduction and a four and six cylinderengine available from April 1969 from“VW-Porsche-Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH”.The engineers in Stuttgart faced a par-ticularly difficult challenge when design-ing the new model. The 914 had to becompatible with the Volkswagen salesprogramme and recognizable as aPorsche – without competing with theestablished 911. For this reason, the914 with its clear and simple lines wasmet with some scepticism. The positionof the mid-engine was selected fortechnical reasons. It enabled optimaluse of the limited space in the vehicle,while ensuring the best possible weightdistribution with a low centre of gravity.

A further advantage was afforded bythe “crumple” zones at the front and

rear of the vehicle. In conjunction withthe integrated roll-over bar, thesezones became a convincing sales pitchfor the model. At a starting price of un-der 12,000 Deutsche Mark, the VW-Porsche 914 became a bestseller andwas the best selling German sports carat the start of the 1970s. By the end ofproduction in 1976, a total of 128,982VW-Porsche 914 had been manufac-tured.

The transaxle era – the 928 as“Car of the Year”The Porsche 928 became the firstsports car to be awarded the title of“Car of the Year” in 1978. And the cre-ation of this vehicle is a story in itself.Porsche was commissioned by Volks-wagen to build a successor to the VW-Porsche 914. The aim was to design anew sports car with significantly lowermanufacturing, maintenance and re-placement part costs than the Porsche911 by using standard Volkswagenproducts and parts. After the initialdrafts, the decision was made in favourof the construction recommended byPorsche, with a water-cooled four-cylin-der front engine and transaxle drive onthe rear axle. The development project“EA 425” was already in the preparationstage for series production when Volk-swagen AG terminated the project in


2000Porsche presents a study of a high-per-formance car for the road at the ParisAuto Show with the Carrera GT. Theground-breaking ceremony is held for a new Porsche factory in Leipzig.2001The 911 GT 2 takes its place at the topof the Porsche sales programme. Therefined Porsche 911 Carrera receives a 3.6 litre engine with variable valvestroke. The 911 Carrera 4S and 911Targa are available as new models.2002The sporty, off-road Cayenne utility vehicle is presented as the thirdPorsche series. The opening of theLeipzig factory is celebrated and production of the Cayenne begun. The revised Porsche Boxster offers increased power, along with reducedconsumption and exhaust values due to VarioCam technology.2003Series production of the Porsche Carrera GT begins in Leipzig. By 2006,1,270 models of the super sports carcapable of speeds up to 330 km/hwere made. In addition to the newPorsche GT3 and GT3 RS, the salesprogramme was expanded still furtherto include the 911 Turbo Cabriolet and911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet.2004The sixth generation (997 model) ofthe legendary sports car series islaunched as the 911 Carrera and 911Carrera S. The second generation ofthe Boxster is also presented.2005The 911 Carrera Cabriolet and the 911Carrera S Cabriolet are introduced as


VW-Porsche 914-6, MY 1970

Porsche 924, MY. 1983



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additional models. The Porsche Cayman S with six-cylinder Boxer mid-engine is presented at the IAA. Themodel range is expanded to includethe 911 Carrera 4 and the 911 Carrera4S as Coupé and Cabriolet. In Septem-ber, Porsche announces the purchaseof shares in Volkswagen AG. With theacquisition of over 20 percent of thevoting capital, Porsche becomes thelargest individual shareholder in theWolfsburg-based automobile company.2006In addition to the new 911 GT3, the521 hp Porsche Cayenne Turbo S setsa new record in the field of perform-ance. The new 911 Turbo with biturboBoxer engine and variable turbinegeometry (VTG) is presented at theGeneva Auto Show. A 245 hp Caymanbasic model is added to the Boxsterseries. Further new additional includethe 911 GT3 RS, the 911 Targa 4 andthe 911 Targa 4S. The new modelsCayenne, Cayenne S and CayenneTurbo are offer reduced consumptionand more powerful engines with DirectFuel Injection. The sports prototypePorsche RS Spyder wins a champion-ship in class LMP2 in the American LeMans Series.2007Porsche presents the 911 Turbo Cabri-olet as an open-top model in the 911series. The 911 GT2 is launched as thequickest, most powerful Porsche 911with on-road approval. The CayenneGTS highlights the exceptional positionoccupied by the successful series inthe sporty off-road vehicle segment.

1975 due to model politics. But Porschewas so confident in the quality of itsown development that the Stuttgartcompany purchased the series-readyconstruction and launched the sportscar in 1976 as the Porsche 924.

By using a wide range of componentsfrom Volkswagen, the 924, assembledat Audi in Neckarsulm, could be offeredfor a basic price of 23,240 DeutscheMark. Due to the high level of demandall over the world, production rose to80 vehicles per day. By July 1976, thebeginner model represented 48% of thevehicle turnover at the end of the busi-ness year. When production of the 924S was terminated in 1988, a total of150,684 vehicles had been producedin this model. The design of the 924with its transaxle construction and wa-ter-cooled four-cylinder front enginewas continued in the successor models944 and 968 until 1995. A total of325,231 vehicles were produced inthese four-cylinder series.

In 1977, these models were used as abase to create the luxury travel sportscar 928. In addition to a V8 alloy en-

gine, aluminium suspension andcourse-correcting “Weissach rear axle”,the Porsche 928 also entered unchar-tered territory with regard to chassisdesign. And the innovations paid off.Experts praised the car and awardedprizes. Demand among customers washigh. The 928 was produced a total of61,056 times in its various forms by1995.

Boxster and Cayman set new standardsEven the experts at Porsche were sur-prised – the demand for the two-seaterBoxster was so high that 10,000 or-ders had already been placed before


Porsche 928, MY. 1980

Porsche 968 CS, MY. 1993


19


The Porsche AG Supervisory Boardnominates Dr. Wolfgang Porsche asthe new Chairman. Porsche AutomobilHolding SE, Stuttgart, is entered in theCompany register at Stuttgart countycourt in November.

The conversion to a Societas Europaea(SE) is followed by the transfer of theoperative business to a 100 percentsubsidiary with the name Dr. Ing. h.c. F.Porsche AG.

In the constituent meeting in July 2007,the Porsche SE Supervisory Boardnames Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking Chair-man of the Board and appoints Finan-cial Director Holger P. Härter as ViceChairman of the Board.

2008The constituent meeting of thePorsche Automobil Holding SE WorksCouncil takes place in January. UweHück, General Chairman of the WorksCouncil for Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG,is appointed Chairman in March, theSupervisory Board of Porsche Automo-bil Holding SE authorizes that theshares in Volkswagen AG be increasedto over 50 percent.

Press release Porsche AG

the start of sales. Porsche set newstandards in safety and performancewith this vehicle in the Roadster marketsegment in 1996. The open-top mid-en-gine sports car with a design reminis-cent of the legendary sports car model550 Spyder was welcomed with openarms by the media, dealers, importersand customer from the offset. TheBoxster combines the dynamic drivingqualities of a sports car with completesuitability for everyday use. The elec-tronic kinematics enables rapid open-ing and closing of the soft-top roof injust 12 seconds. The update of theBoxster model series 986 saw an in-creased cubic capacity of 2.7 litres inthe base model and the 252 hp BoxsterS powered by a 3.2 litre unit. A secondgeneration of the Boxster was pre-sented at the Paris Auto Show 2004with the new Boxster and the Boxster S(987 models). The Boxster series wasexpanded in 2005 to include thePorsche Cayman S and the Cayman in2006 – a sporty mid-engine Coupépriced between the Boxster model andthe 911 serie.

The Porsche Carrera GT – a high-performance sports carFor readers of the German automotivemagazine “auto motor und sport”, themodel was the clear winner of the“Sports Car of the Year” title. The read-ers voted the Carrera GT, which cele-brated its world premiere in Geneva on3rd March, 2003, as No. 1 in its cate-gory in a survey of “best cars” carriedout in 2004. The high-performancesports car comes with a carbon-fibrechassis and ten-cylinder aspirating en-gine based on pure race sport technol-ogy. The driving performance was asextraordinary as the design. The Car-


Study for the Boxster, exhibited in 1993 in Detroit and Geneva

Carrera GT in front of the factory inLeipzig


20

rera GT can accelerate from nought to200 km/h in just 9.9 seconds and has atop speed of 330 km/h.

The limited edition high-performancesports car was manufactured in thePorsche factory in Leipzig. The 612 hpV10 aspirating engine came from theengine factory in Zuffenhausen. Whenproduction was terminated in 2006, atotal of 1,270 Carrera GTs had beenproduced. The model was launched on28th September 2000 at the Paris AutoShow as a close-to-production study.

The Porsche Cayenne – conquering new terrainGuests at the official opening celebra-tion of “Porsche Leipzig GmbH” metwith a surprise. Former German Chan-cellor Gerhard Schröder tightened thelast bolt and Chairman of the Board Dr.Wendelin Wiedeking presented thesporty off-road Cayenne on 20th Au-gust 2002 in Leipzig – even before theworld premiere at the Paris Auto Show.Porsche entered unchartered territory

The model series created in coopera-tion with Volkswagen from the eight-cylinder Cayenne S and Cayenne Turbowas launched in 2002 and a six-cylindermodel added in 2003. 2006 saw thelaunch of the 521 hp Cayenne Turbo S.Porsche AG presented the second gen-eration four years later in December2006. The new models Cayenne,Cayenne S and Cayenne Turbo areequipped with low-consumption, high-performance engines with Direct FuelInjection (DFI). The Porsche Active Sus-pension Management (PASM) can beupgraded to the new Porsche DynamicChassis Control used for the first time

with the off-road Cayenne and the ap-proach paid off. The Cayenne provedits sporty qualities yet again in 2007. Atthe Transsyberia Rally three PorscheCayenne S Transsyberia came in poleposition on 7,100 kilometres of one ofthe hardest off-road marathons in theworld. Seven Porsche Cayenne S camein among the top ten.


Porsche Cayenne GTS

Special model Boxster RS 60 Spyder

Porsche Cayman S as Porsche Design Edition 1


21

viding a comfortable and relaxed driv-ing feel with the option of high speeds ifdesired. The elegant, modern cockpitin high-quality material is designed tooffer the driver the sporty, distinctivedriving dynamics characteristic ofPorsche.

The new Gran Turismo Panamera willcelebrate its world premiere in 2009and will be launched initially with the

in Porsche vehicles. With the GTS,Porsche added a particularly sportymodel to the Cayenne family at the endof 2007. The new model was charac-terized by a special suspension and a405 hp eight-cylinder aspirating enginewith Direct Fuel Injection.

By the end of the decade, Porscheaimed to offer a version of the sportyoff-road Cayenne with hybrid engine. Inthe Cayenne Hybrid, the 6-cylinderspark-ignition engine with Direct Fuel In-jection (DFI) is combined with an electri-cal machine. Porsche introduced anumber of additional measures toachieve a consumption of 8.9 litres per100 kilometres in the New EuropeanDriving Cycle (NEDC) by the marketlaunch.

Panamera – The name of the futureThe next milestone for Porsche isscheduled for 2009 with the launch ofthe four-door Gran Turismo Panamera.In August 2005, the Supervisory Boardand Board of Directors at Porsche AGdecided to develop and produce thisfourth series. Like the Cayenne, thePanamera will be manufactured in theLeipzig factory. Alongside the signifi-cant expansion of the production ca-pacities, around 600 new jobs will becreated in the Leipzig factory. In theZuffenhausen and Weissach plants,around 400 jobs will be created by2009.

The wide, flat chassis of the Panameragive both a dynamic and compact over-all impression. The generous space inthe vehicle also offers a completelynew feeling of space. The two comfort-ably positioned sporty seats in the frontof the vehicle offer adult passengers aunique freedom in the head area, pro-


tried-and-tested drive concepts. A hy-brid version may follow in the future de-pending on the market situation.

Press release Porsche AG

The latest 911 Carrera and Carrera S models

Porsche Panamera with hybrid engine


22

The aerodynamic wind-tunnel experts have a new colleague. Her mission: to take herchances against the wind in a Cabriolet.

Bride of the Wind:Test Dummy Susi Loves to Feel the Wind on Her Face

Weissach


23

Storm alert once again in the wind tun-nel at the development centre in Weis-sach. Gusts of wind rush over thePorsche 911 Turbo at 150 km/h. Butthe new colleague sits in the vehicleand lets the wind flow over her with sto-ical calmness. Susi can take it. And shealso has the sensitive approach neces-sary to provide the aerodynamic ex-perts with precise data.

“We have fitted Susi with 26 sensors”,says Michael Preiss, Head of Aerody-namic Development at Porsche. Based

on the measurements recorded bythese sensors, reproducible figures arecollected relating to the level of windforce passengers are subjected to in anopen-top Porsche. Eleven of these air-speed measurement points are fittedwith two balls, the second of which isheated. The current strength requiredto retain the temperature can be usedas a gauge to determine the air-currentforce experienced by the Cabrioletdriver. The level of turbulence can bemeasured using the 15 small pressuresensors.

Susi has quite a prickly appearance.And her name stands for the Germanphrase “System zur Untersuchung vonStrömungsphänomenen im Innenraum”(system for assessing turbulence in thevehicle interior).

The idea of creating an artificial yet reli-able test person has been in discussionin the Weissach Aerodynamics team fora long time. In the past when peoplewere invited to comparison tests, par-ticipants would often deliver differentresults under the same conditions on

Please take a seat. Susi is carried to her workplace in the wind tunnel in Weissach


24

different days. These were not optimalconditions for the engineers in Weis-sach, who needed objective data onwhich to base their work.

Before Susi could take over her turbu-lent new job, standard values and limitvalues for had to be defined for com-fortable driving in the Cabriolet. To de-fine these values, numerous test candi-dates were asked to sit in the vehicleand subjected to the air current in thewind tunnel. They then had to entertheir perceptions both with and withoutwindbreak in a list which was then as-sessed by the experts. “We are surethat we have found the correct formulafor comfortable driving in the vehicle”,says Preiss.

The windbreak plays an essential role inensuring the required level of comfortin the Cabriolet. It prevents the air cur-rent which breaks away from the roof

frame of the vehicle and forms a“transient wake vortex” from flowingbetween the seats and the side wall.The larger the windbreak, the lower theturbulence. But the risk of bangingnoises increases. Larger bearings arerequired. “It is possible to conduct anobjective assessment of the effect atwo-centimetre windbreak has”, saysPreiss.

The results in the 911 Cabriolet provethat the work of the aerodynamics teamhas paid off. The windbreak only per-mits minimal turbulence in the open-topPorsche classic compared with com-petitors. Susi, who would never dreamof wearing a hair net, is “living” proofthat it works.

Susi is currently only used in the windtunnel. Contrary to travelling in theopen air, where wind can blow from alldirections, air currents in the wind tun-

nel are easier to recreate with directedair current. “We have since developedthe system to enable us to use Susi onthe road – as a passenger at least”, saysPreiss. A power supply installed in Susi’sstomach area works with the vehicle’sthe on-board 12 volt power supply.

Despite her long, black eyelashes, thedoll is not destined for shop windows.Because Susi is no lower torso. “Herlegs are left behind in the store room”,says Preiss. But at some point, thesetoo will be fitted with sensors. “Then wecan measure the effect the air currenthas on the legs”. But that is a projectfor the future. First of all, the systemwill be refined so that Susi also deliversreliable results for the Targa or sportscars with a sliding sunroof. Susi isready to brave the next storm alert.

Carrera Edition 3/2008

The next test is on its way. In future, Susi will also be used for measurements in theTarga and vehicles with a sliding sunroof


26

Colleagues in the historical archive have to sit on packagedboxes. They are due to move into the new Porsche Museumat the end of the year.

Preparations for the Big Move:The History of Porsche is Two Kilometres Long

Historical Archive

The history of the company can bemeasured. During the preparations forthe move, the measuring rule has be-come one of the most essential work-ing utensils. The employees in the his-torical archive work metre-by-metrethrough the 2.40 metre high rows ofshelves taking measurements with thetrusty rule. The data is then entered

meticulously into a list. When the inven-tory is complete, the general recordsplan covers eleven DIN-A4 sides. Underthe table, the actual figure is an impres-sive: 1,175 running meters. “We haveour own currency”, says Dieter Landen-berger, Head of the Porsche HistoricalArchive, and explains that the overallfigure has increased to almost 2 kilo-

metres following the reorganization andcombination of different parts of thearchives and relocated stock.

This is the figure planned and measuredfor in the move and the subsequentspace requirements for the archivequarters in the new museum. The entirefurniture from the showcase and 59steel cupboards right through to thefive safe boxes are meticulouslyplanned based on these figures. All par-ties involved know that the move is noeasy task.

Order is essential: Dieter Landenberger pulls out all the stops


27

The employees in the Porsche Archiveonly have to look out of the window tofeel excitement in the lead up to themove into the new museum. The em-ployees can follow the progress madeon their new workplace from the oldbuilding in Schützenbühlstraße. Thepreparations for the move have beenunderway for almost one-and-a-halfyears and are now almost complete.Landenberger: “We’re ready for themove.” The Porsche Archive is not onlymoving to a new home, but is also be-ing given a new look (see the box on the

right). The move is also being used as achance to make structural changes.“The archive has grown considerablyover the past few years. Material relat-ing to the same topics was stored in dif-ferent locations due to space prob-lems”, says Landenberger. “We nowhave the chance to combine things to-gether logically.”

Around 3,500 boxes will dominate theappearance of the Porsche Archive.The special laminate surface of theboxes will protect their contents from

“An Innovation inthe Sector”

Bright and open – the Historical Archivewill have a completely new look afterthe move. “Our transparency whendealing with history is clear at the veryfirst glance”, states Dieter Landen-berger. For the Manager of the Histori-cal Archive, one thing is clear: "”Our vi-sual archive is the first of its kind in thesector.”

The impressive library and large userroom can be seen from three sidesthrough glass walls. The new museumwill be the centre of expertise for theentire history of the Porsche company.In addition to the exhibition and the His-torical Archive, the Porsche MuseumWorkshop is also located on the groundfloor, responsible for the restorationand repair of historical museum andcustomer vehicles. Here, visitors will beable to get an idea of the wealth of spe-cialization employed by the Porschebrand when dealing with the culturalcommodity automobiles.

History well in hand: Jens Torner, motor sport specialist and responsible for the picture archive


28

light, moisture, dust, mould and acids.But hard manual labour is required toturn this into reality. The pre-scoredsheet is folded into a 27 centimetrewide, 38 centimetre deep and elevencentimetre high box. The boxes comein three colours: red for company docu-mentation, products and racing history,blue for press releases, media re-source analysis and press reviews andgray for the brochure archive. Eachcontainer is carefully labelled. The codeis linked to the content in the databaseand can be accessed at any time. Butthe appearance must be perfect as well

as the organization. Many of thecoloured boxes will be visible to visitorswhen the museum opens.

The removal company employees, whowill be transporting furniture and heavyobjects along Schwieberdinger Straßeat the end of the year need to get stuckin and pay attention. Detailed plans andnumbered boxes tell them exactlywhere they should be positioned in thenew archive building. And there is alsoroom for growth. Many boxes are al-ready being planned in for the materialexpected to flow in relating to the forth

serie Panamera. And a wealth of infor-mation is also stored in numerous fold-ers, as was discovered recently duringthe inventory carried out for all docu-ments submitted by the formerPorsche racing engineer NorbertSinger. This motor sport archive alonecontains a total of 1,338 folders. Inarchive currency, this means: an addi-tional 130 running meters of Porscheknowledge.

Carrera Edition 3/2008

Movement is the key to success: Dieter Gross, responsible for moving images and documentation


29

Facts and Figureson the HistoricalArchive

Dieter Landenberger is fond of telling aparticular joke about a British gardenerwho, when asked to share his secret ofhow he makes his grass so beautiful an-swers, “mowing and watering over 200years.” The same approach can also beapplied to a successful companyarchive, says the Manager of thePorsche Historical Archive. The archiveis a service provider, preparing andmaking history accessible. Historicaltopics relating to the brand are also ac-tively communicated in books andpress releases as a part of our publicrelations work.

The Historical Archive is made up ofthree major areas: product history (se-ries and race cars, studies, in-house

and outsourced development), com-pany history (information and docu-ments relating to Porsche AG, sub-sidiary companies, shareholding com-panies) and the media archive(pictures, films, sound recordings). Anever-growing amount of the content issaved in digital form on man-highserver.

With over 2.5 million photos, Porscheboasts one of the largest picturearchives in the automobile sector. Thenumerous cupboards are also home toaround 1,000 hours of film material.The list containing the most importantcontent of the archives makes impres-sive reading. Over 8,000 press re-leases, every calendar made since

1954, practically every poster, count-less reels of film from eight millimetresright through to HDTV, over 2,000DVDs, image material and brochures,advertising brochures, material on theearly history of Porsche with corre-spondence from Ferdinand Porsche, awealth of model cars, extensive adver-tisement material and technical docu-mentation. The data sheets for all 356models alone (around 78,000 vehicles)fill five cupboards. The fountain ofknowledge is rounded off by a librarycontaining over 3,000 automobilebooks

In addition to the internal Porsche spe-cialist departments, the HistoricalArchive is available to journalists andscientists, as well as Porsche cus-tomers by appointment. All users of theHistorical Archive are helped in theirsearch for the answer to their specificquestion (several thousand enquiresare received each year) by PorscheArchive employees. And this will notchange after the move.

Manager of the Historical Archive, Di-eter Landenberger, is available to an-swer any enquiries. He can be reachedby phone on +49 711 911 25985.Other members of the HistoricalArchive team in Zuffenhausen includeYvonne Knotek (reception, brochures,posters), Jens Torner (picture archive,motor sport archive) and Dieter Gross(film archive, documentation, companyhistory).

Carrera 3/2008

Documents

1. News from Porsche AG · 2020. 2. 28. · Porsche Club News 4/08 6 1. News from Porsche AG On June 8, 1948 a new chapter in auto-mobile history began. For on this day, the first