porsche is one of the most popular sports car brands in the world. Originally from Stuttgart, the German automaker is responsible for producing iconic sports cars over the past few decades. This includes the popular Porsche 911 and the new all-electric Taycan.
Porsche has a rich history in the world of motorsport, competing in various competitions across Europe and the world. This racing pedigree is what has translated into the brand that makes some of the most powerful luxury sports cars on the market.
Want to know more about the iconic German car manufacturer? Here is everything you need to know about Porsche.
10 Started as a motor vehicle consultancy
While Porsche is now one of the most successful car manufacturers in the world, the brand traces its roots to Stuttgart in the early 1930s. Ferdinand Porsche founded the company as a motor vehicle consultancy that did development work for other manufacturers. of automobiles in the region.
The company evolved over time and helped design and build tanks during World War II. Before this, the German government instructed the company to build a car for the people, Volkswagen. It was then that the consultancy expanded and began to invest in car manufacturing and design.
9 luxury sports cars
After World War II, Porsche turned away from consulting and began designing its own luxury vehicles. In stark contrast to Volkswagen, the brand decided to design luxury sports cars for the European market.
This resulted in the Porsche 356, a sports car that shared several components with the Volkswagen Beetle but came in a more luxurious package. The brand built on the success of the 356 and developed high-performance vehicles that had the ability to compete across Europe.
8 history of motoring
Porsche has a long history of competing in various competitions throughout Europe. While many of the earlier competitions weren’t factory-backed teams, Porsche eventually created a racing division where they build and maintain race cars for a variety of different classes.
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&dpr=1.5)
The factory team has also competed at Le Mans, holding the record for the most wins as a manufacturer with 19. Porsche’s racing division has also grown to become the world’s largest race car manufacturer, producing hundreds of race cars every year. This division also works with the Porsche team to create street legal race cars.
7 Porsche 911
While Porsche managed to build a successful brand during the 1950s and early 1960s, the Porsche 911 helped take the brand to another level. This Porsche came with a rear-mounted engine and a unique design that helped it stand out from other sports cars on the road at the time.
The Porsche 911 featured round headlights and coupe-style bodywork. The popularity of this sports car defined the entire brand for decades to come, with modern models still using the same design language today. Porsche has evolved the 911 over the past few decades, creating efficient and powerful engines in the process.
6 Porsche designed the beetle
As mentioned above, Porsche used to be a small automotive consultancy in Stuttgart. This agency helped work on a number of automotive projects in Germany and was commissioned by the government to develop a new brand of car for the average German.
This saw Porsche work with local officials in Lower Saxony to create a local car company. This company evolved into what we know today as Volkswagen. Porsche helped develop the company by designing his first car, the Beetle. This development helped Porsche later as they used many of the same components to create the first Porsche.
5 Relationship with Volkswagen
Porsche has a long and profitable history with Volkswagen over the past decades. Despite Porsche’s influence in the creation of Volkswagen, Porsche operated as its own car company over the years. However, the two companies collaborated on various projects over the years, such as the Porsche 914 and 914-6.
Porsche has also restructured itself over the years. The family created a holding company to own 50% of Porsche and 50% of Volkswagen. This also led Porsche and Volkswagen to sign an agreement to become a unique automotive group. This deal saw the two brands share technology, resources, and finances within a single corporate structure.
4 Expansion to family vehicles
Porsche was known as a luxury sports brand for a long time. However, the new corporate structure saw Porsche take a slightly different direction. This caused the brand to expand into family vehicles such as the Cayenne, Macan and Panamera.
The Porsche Cayenne was the brand’s modern 911 as it helped redefine what a Porsche could be. This SUV radically increased the company’s sales and allowed Porsche to invest in more models such as the Macan. The sporty SUV was one of the first high-performance SUVs on the market, and Porsche is credited by many with creating an entirely new segment of the market.
3 Hybrid powertrains
Despite having a rich history of flax-six engines, Porsche has been investing heavily in hybrid technologies. This caused Porsche to offer hybrid powertrain options for a number of its models. This includes Cayenne and Panamera.
Known as the E-Hybrid powertrain, this unique option offers instant torque and increased engine efficiency. Porsche has also invested in other powertrain options and regularly hinted at its intentions to create a PHEV in the future. However, Porsche created a hybrid hypercar, the Porsche 918 Spyder.
two the taycan
Porsche announced its intentions to create a fully electric car in 2015 with the launch of the Porsche Mission E. The German automaker delivered on its promise with the Porsche Taycan in 2019. This fully electric sedan came with a fully electric design that included more than 200 range miles.
The Taycan also included modern trim and tons of new Porsche technology. In this way, Porsche was giving the automotive industry a glimpse of what the future of the brand would look like. The Taycan was an instant hit, with over 20,000 units sold in 2020 alone.
1 Competition with Tesla
As Porsche expanded into electric vehicles, the brand now finds itself in competition with US electric car company Tesla. While Tesla has been making electric cars for a while, Porsche has the prestige and history that other manufacturers struggle to compete with.
This heritage and experience help set the Taycan apart from the Tesla Model S and make the Taycan look and feel like the best value around. Even though the Model S has more power, the Taycan comes with a premium interior, superior build quality, and dynamic driving modes. This makes the Taycan look and feel just as nimble as the rest of the Porsche lineup.