Porsche is a German sports car manufacturer which has become well recognised in the automobile industry. Porsche has shown great versatility through the years and has managed changes in the market with remarkable financial stability.
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Porsche Car Reviews
Porsche Overview
Brief History
Porsche was originally founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche who was also the engineer who designed the first Volkswagen. The first Porsche was the Porsche 64 that was introduced in 1939 and shared many components with the Volkswagen Beetle.
The first Porsche to actually see production was the Porsche 356 that was produced in 1948. The car was produced in Austria where the company had been evacuated to during the war.
In 1951, Ferdinand Porsche suffered a stroke and died shortly after. Ferdinand Porsche’s son Ferry Porsche would continue to pursue in the work that he and his father had started.
The Porsche 356 would undergo several enhancements in order to remove all Volkswagen parts and replace them with Porsche components all the way down to Porsche designed engines.
Porsche had experienced a good deal of success in motor-racing with the 550 Spyder and in 1963 the company introduced the Porsche 911. The car was designed with a 6-cylinder rear-engine.
Porsche maintained its close ties with the Volkswagen Company and in 1969 the two companies partnered to design the VW-Porsche 914 and the 914-6. In the years to follow the two companies would share many components and trade elements. In 2005, Porsche acquired an 18.65 per cent stake in Volkswagen.
In 1972, the Porche Company was restructured with an executive board that consisted of non-family members and in 1990 Porsche collaborated with Toyota in order to learn and improve production methods.
Model Range
Porsche have created many desirable models over the years.
Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 is a 2-door luxury GT coupé or supercar recognisable by its distinctive design which has remained pretty similar since it was first introduced in 1963, yet easily manages to remain current through its subtle developments.
Over the years the 911 has been made available as either a coupé a cabriolet of a Targa and has achieved much critical success. It came fifth in an international poll for the award of Car of the Century and second in the Automobile Magazines list of the “100 Coolest Cars” amongst others.
Porsche Cayenne
The Porsche Cayenne is a large 4X4 that was put into production in 2002. It shares the same platform as the Volkswagen Touareg and the Audi Q7 and has a wide range of engines to choose from.
It is currently in its second generation which went on sale in 2010 and can be bought with a Hybrid engine as well as diesel.
Porsche Panamera
The Porsche Panamera is a large executive 4-door coupé that was first introduced in 2009. It has a wide range of engines, as of 2011, including diesel, hybrid, GTS and turbo variants.
Porsche Boxster
The Porsche Boxter is a mid-engined roadster cabriolet which was designed to replace the Porsche 968. The Boxter has received many awards since it was first introduced in 1996 and has been produced in two generations. The car is available with several choices of flat-6 engines.
There are also special edition versions of the Boxster such as the Boxster Spyder which hold the title of being the lightest Porsche on the market.
Porsche Cayman
The Porsche Cayman is a 2-door coupé which has been produced in 2 generations since 2005. It is derived from the Porsche Boxter. The car is available with either a 2.7-litre flat six engine a 2.9-litre flat six engine or a 3.4-litre flat six engine.
There is also a limited edition model called the Cayman S Sport model which has been lowered by 1cm, feature a free flowing exhaust which increases power.