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In an age when most of its competitors have been absorbed into larger manufacturers, Porsche remains a staunchly — and profitably — independent maker of high-performance sportscars. The Porsche name has become synonymous with sports cars and racecars because that is what company founders Ferdinand Porsche and his son Ferdinand ("Ferry") set out to build when they first set up shop with 200 workers in 1948.
The senior Porsche, whose engineering experience included Daimler-Benz, established an independent design and engineering firm in 1931 and designed the Volkswagen Beetle. He brought a half-century of experience with innovation, from a turn-of-the-century four-wheel drive gasoline/electric hybrid vehicle to the virtually unbeatable Auto Union Grand Prix cars of the 1930s.
The younger Porsche helped grow the new company and was instrumental in designing the first Porsche sportscar, the 356. Though sporting just 40 horsepower from a rear-mounted, slightly souped-up Beetle engine, the first Porsche quickly made its mark with agile handling, as well as attributes almost unknown among sportscars of the day — comfort and reliability.
Porsche introduced a series of front-engine models in the 1970s, starting with the four-cylinder 924 (1976) and the unrelated 928 powered by the company’s first V-8 engine (1978). From the 924 sprang the more powerful and sophisticated 944 and 944 Turbo, and finally the 968 in the early ‘90s. Porsche retired both the 968 and 928 in 1995 to focus on development of the rear-engine 911 and mid-engine Boxster.
February 2010- Porsche begins selling the new Boxster Spyder. March 2010- Porsche begins selling the new 911 Turbo and the GT3. On March 1st - Porsche reveals the spectacular 918 Spyder concept at the Geneva Auto Show. June - Porsche begins selling its all-new Cayenne S and Cayenne Turbo. On June 5th - the V-6 powered 2011 Panamera and Panamera 4 went on sale in the U.S. On July 28 - Porsche announces that it will build the 918 Spyder. One year after its international market launch, on September 10th, the Porsche Panamera reaches a production milestone of 22, 518. Matthias Müller becomes the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Porsche AG, officially, on September 29th. In October - Porsche Cars North America begins selling the V6-powered 2011 Cayenne. As part of its 60th anniversary celebration of selling cars in the U.S., Porsche Cars North America conducts a My Porsche Classic Search and locates what it believes is one of the oldest Porsche's sold in the U.S.- a lovingly restored 1952 Strawberry Red 356 Cabriolet. The My Porsche Classic Search also yielded the discovery of another distinguished and even rarer Porsche - a blue 1950 356 Cabriolet. This car is one of the very first series production 356s built in Stuttgart. On November 1st - Porsche Cars North America begins selling its first hybrid production vehicle ever-the 2011 Cayenne S Hybrid.
The 1898 Lohner-Porsche Elektromobil was the first car in the world with brakes on all four wheels.
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