9781422270356

ALFA ROMEO: A LEGACY FROM MILAN BENTLEY: THE BEST IN ITS CLASS MASERATI: ITALIAN STYLE AND PERFORMANCE PORSCHE: THE ULTIMATE SPEED MACHINE RANGE ROVER: THE ULTIMATE IN LUXURY ROLLS-ROYCE: INNOVATION AND ASPIRATION TESLA: THE FEELING IS ELECTRIC

Anne Newson

MASON CREST M I A M I

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Series ISBN: 978-1-4222-4784-6 Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4222-4793-8 Series ebook ISBN: 978-1-4222-7026-4 ebook ISBN: 978-1-4222-7035-6

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CONTENTS

Introduction .....................................................................6 Chapter 1: The 356 and Its Evolution into the 911 ..........17 Chapter 2: It’s What’s Up Front ......................................33 Chapter 3: Of Turbos, Four-Wheel Drives, and Other Exotics .........................................51 Chapter 4: Reinventing the 21st-Century Sports Car ......71 Series Glossary of Key Terms ..........................................92 Further Reading & Internet Resources.............................93 Index ..............................................................................94 Author’s Biography and Credits ......................................96 KEY ICONS TO LOOK FOR: Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic sports moments, and much more! Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains terminology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field.

T wo momentous events defined the summer of 1996 for Porsche AG. In June, Porsche-powered cars reigned supreme at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, capturing the top three finishing positions and all three class titles. Then on July 15, the one-millionth Porsche sports car rolled out of the company’s assembly plant at Stuttgart-Zu ! enhausen to considerable fanfare. Sports car enthusiasts who noted the occasion no doubt observed, with considerable irony, that the 285 horsepower vehicle was a police version of the venerable Porsche

Ferdinand Porsche was working for automotive manufacturer Lohner when he designed the Lohner–Porsche Mixte Hybrid in 1901.

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Porsche: The Ultimate Speed Machine

The 1948 Porsche 356 1 roadster. Only one was ever built.

911, and it would be utilized by the German state of Baden Wurttemberg, where it would patrol the autobahn for speeders. Still, the police could not be blamed for wanting to level the playing field. Porsche AG has had a long and proud tradition of designing and producing high-performance vehicles exclusively for the sports car market. The First Million The first sports car to carry the Porsche name, the 356, was built in 1948, in Austria. Production was quickly moved to the suburbs of Stuttgart a " er the first fi " y examples were manufactured, and over the next fi " een years, approximately 77,000 356 coupes and convertibles were delivered to customers around the globe. The 356 was replaced in 1963 with the vehicle that defines the Porsche legend: the 911. Over one million units of the 911 and its derivatives have been produced to date, and it remains one of the most desired of automotive conveyances. From 1969 to 1975, the company made 118,000 Porsche 914 mid engined cars, which, because of their powerplants, were looked

Introduction

7

One of the first 911s from the early 1960s. This model was originally known as the 901.

down upon by so-called true Porschephiles as being little more than glorified Volkswagens. The 914 was replaced by the front-engined 924; it, and its successors, by the 944 and 968. Because of limited capacity at the Stuttgart plant, these four-cylinder models were nearly all built at Audi’s factory in Neckarsulm. Rounding out the company’s million-car tally is the prestigious 928. The only sports car of its time to be awarded the accolade of “Car of the Year,” the Porsche 928 was bought by 61,000 customers during its 1977–95 production run. The company’s achievements over the past seventy-six years are hard to ignore, and a flood of innovations have emerged from the engineering concepts underlying the original 356, many of which

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Porsche: The Ultimate Speed Machine

were first found on the company’s racing machinery. As time has progressed, the concept of what constitutes the ultimate Porsche driving experience has been refined. Dr. Porsche It all began with the genius of Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951). He was the son of a tinsmith, born into a world built upon centuries of respect for cra " smanship. At the time of his death, only the first few production examples of the 356 had rolled o ! the assembly line, but by then he had established himself as a true visionary, one of the few great designers who were able to visualize and create a car in its entirety. The Porsche surname first appeared on a vehicle that

Dr. Ferdinand Porsche in 1940.

created a sensation at the Paris Exposition of 1900. The Lohner Porsche was a battery-powered two-seater, with electric motors driving its front hubs. Porsche had designed those motors, as well as the car’s lightweight chassis. Even then, his designs had a sporting purpose, and there were plans for a racing version of the car, targeted for a then-incredible 37-miles-per-hour top speed. By 1906, the thirty-one-year-old designer moved on to Daimler Motor Co., where he served as technical director. Thus began an association that lasted for two decades. He designed several

Introduction

9

notable automobiles and ultimately was rewarded with the position of chief engineer in 1923. The company was known by then as Daimler-Benz, and one of Dr. Porsche’s Mercedes designs brought fame to the factory when it won the Targa Florio race in 1924. Later that decade, Porsche designed some of the most incredible automobiles ever created—the Mercedes-Benz S series. Coveted by gentlemen and sportsmen seeking speed and comfort, the great S, SS, and SSK models graced roads on both sides of the Atlantic. They were particularly popular with Hollywood celebrities, such as Zeppo Marx, who owned one of the thirty-one rare, supercharged SSK roadsters that were produced. But a breach between Porsche and the Daimler-Benz board of directors soon

developed. Porsche wanted to engineer a Mercedes-Benz for the common man, mass produced and a ! ordable. Then, as now, conscious of its image as a maker of prestigious transportation, Daimler-Benz turned the request down; Porsche, frustrated by the company’s conservatism, quit. “My father found that when he signed a contract with a firm, they could live another ten years on his designs, but he couldn’t,” said Ferry Porsche, the son and successor of Dr. Ferdinand, many years later.

Unfortunate associations: Adolf Hitler laying the foundation stone at the Volkswagen factory in 1938. Ferdinand Porsche is on the far right.

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Porsche: The Ultimate Speed Machine

An early publicity shot of a family playing by a river with a KdF-Wagen (original Volkswagen circa 1939).

Everyman’s Car Rounding up backing from a group of investors, Dr. Porsche went into business for himself, and the Porsche Konstruktionburo für Motoren-Fahrzeug-Lu " fahrzeug und Wasserfahrzeugbau came into being on March 6, 1931. The Stuttgart-based firm readily found work for the design of car, aircra " , and ship engines from Germany’s reawakening military sector, which had already coalesced around the deadly charisma of Adolf Hitler. Hitler himself became an enthusiastic backer for Porsche’s pet project, the car for Everyman, and soon Porsche and his designers were creating sketches for the car that would ultimately become known as the Volkswagen. Prototypes emerged through the mid

Introduction

11

A German press ball in January 1939. Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, fourth from the left, presents the Volkswagen tombola prize to Mrs. Elsa Ellinghausen, the lucky winner.

1930s. They reflected their creator’s philosophy of starting with a radical design and then slowly, through painstaking evolution, a ! irming the engineering integrity underlying each component. The engine for what would later be known as the “Bug” is an example. Porsche’s original vision saw a four-cylinder, horizontally opposed, air-cooled engine, mounted in the rear, powering the people’s car. It was sturdy and simple to maintain. Still, Porsche designed, built, and tested twenty di ! erent engines before returning to his original concept. The integrity of this process can be seen in the overwhelming popularity that the Volkswagen achieved

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Porsche: The Ultimate Speed Machine

in the 1950s and 1960s, largely attributed to the car’s sturdiness. “Bugs” were still being manufactured in Volkswagen’s Latin American facilities until 2019. It was in the Volkswagen that the seed for the idea of today’s Porsche sports cars grew. Aerodynamic coupes of the cars, three of them, were built to compete in the Berlin-Rome rallies of the 1930s, and the visual similarities between these vehicles and today’s Porsches are so striking that some historians consider them prototypes.

The Porsche headquarters are still in Zuffenhausen, near Stuttgart.

Introduction

13

World War II and Beyond The year 1938 saw Porsche relocate his company to new facilities in Zu ! enhausen, just outside of Stuttgart. As the war broke out, the company moved from designing tractors to engines for the feared “Tiger” tanks that filled the Panzer divisions. At war’s end, Porsche was finally freed of distractions from his central dreams. Work on the “people’s car” continued under a separate company, largely directed by British personnel. As for Porsche’s own company, his son, Ferry, and daughter, Louise Piech, were by then involved with his plans for a sports car based on the Volkswagen design.

A Tiger I tank is loaded on a special rail transporter. Porsche designed engines for the tanks.

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Porsche: The Ultimate Speed Machine

The “people’s car” (or volks wagen in German) was launched in 1938. Designed by Ferdinand Porsche, the car was affordable and reliable. This model is from 1965.

Introduction

15

A 356 1500 GS Carrera from 1956. The 356 was a responsive car with excellent road manners; however, with the engine mass in the rear, drivers had to be vigilant about turning under acceleration.

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Porsche: The Ultimate Speed Machine