Top Luxury Brands | Porsche

Porsche is a unique company with strong ideals. Their values and philosophies permeate through everything they do to ensure that they always remain true to their principles.

In the beginning, I looked around and could not find the car I’d been dreaming of: a small, lightweight sports car that uses energy efficiently. So I decided to build it myself.

Ferry Porsche

This quote gets to the heart of everything that makes Porsche what it is. As a brand, as a company and as an automotive manufacturer. It has been our guiding star – for more than 65 years. And it covers all the values that characterise Porsche’s work and vehicles. It’s no wonder, therefore, that no-one can describe this better than the person who created the very first sports car to bear the Porsche name: Ferdinand Anton Ernst – or Ferry Porsche, for short.

His dream of the perfect sports car has always driven the company throughout their history.The underlying principle is to always get the most out of everything. From day one, Porsche have strived to translate performance into speed – and success – in the most intelligent way possible. It’s no longer all about horsepower, but more ideas per horsepower. This principle originates on the race track and is embodied in every single one of Porsche cars. They call it “Intelligent Performance”.

Design 

A Porsche is immediately recognisable. This is thanks to the distinctive design idiom and contours: the roofline, the wings which are higher than the bonnet, the powerful shoulders. Features that every Porsche model has picked up on and reinterpreted for its own era and character – for more than 60 years.

Every Porsche is a sports car. Whether it has two, four or five doors, whether it has a front, centre or rear-mounted engine, or whether it is powered by petrol, diesel or hybrid technology. Porsche builds sports cars because, fortunately, they’ve done nothing else since 1948. In addition to being responsible for countless victories on international racetracks, their motorsport technology also proves its worth in their production vehicles.

“Race on Sunday, drive on Monday” was the motto of many Porsche 356 drivers in the 1950s. The 356 could be a winner on the race track at the weekend and then go back to being a reliable everyday car again. Even today, a Porsche is not an everyday Sports Car. It is a Sports Car for every day and every type of weather. Incidentally, the 356 models were so popular that for many dealers it was a case of ‘Win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ – on account of the numerous Porsche racing victories.

See also: Top Luxury Brands | Lamborghini

History

Austrian engineer Ferdinand Porsche founded the company called “Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH” in Austria in 1931, then moved to its main offices at Kronenstraße 24 in the centre of Stuttgart. Initially, the company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting, but did not build any cars under its own name. One of the first assignments the new company received was from the German government to design a car for the people, that is a “Volkswagen”. This resulted in the Volkswagen Beetle, one of the most successful car designs of all time. The Porsche 64 was developed in 1939 using many components from the Beetle.

During World War II, Volkswagen production turned to the military version of the Volkswagen Beetle, the Kübelwagen, 52,000 produced, and Schwimmwagen, 15,584 produced. Porsche produced several designs for heavy tanks during the war, losing out to Henschel & Son in both contracts that ultimately led to the Tiger I and the Tiger II. However, not all this work was wasted, as the chassis Porsche designed for the Tiger I was used as the base for the Elefant tank destroyer. Porsche also developed the Maus super-heavy tank in the closing stages of the war, producing two prototypes.

At the end of World War II in 1945, the Volkswagen factory at KdF-Stadt fell to the British. Ferdinand lost his position as Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen, and Ivan Hirst, a British Army Major, was put in charge of the factory (in Wolfsburg, the Volkswagen company magazine dubbed him “The British Major who saved Volkswagen”). On 15 December of that year, Ferdinand was arrested for war crimes, but not tried. During his 20-month imprisonment, Ferdinand Porsche’s son, Ferry Porsche, decided to build his own car, because he could not find an existing one that he wanted to buy. He also had to steer the company through some of its most difficult days until his father’s release in August 1947. The first models of what was to become the 356 were built in a small sawmill in Gmünd, Austria.

The prototype car was shown to German auto dealers, and when pre-orders reached a set threshold, production (with Aluminium body) was begun by Porsche Konstruktionen GesmbH founded by Ferry and Louise. Many regard the 356 as the first Porsche simply because it was the first model sold by the fledgling company along with Porsche 360. After the production of 356 was taken over by the father’s Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH in Stuttgart in 1950, Porsche commissioned a Zuffenhausen-based company, Reutter Karosserie, which had previously collaborated with the firm on Volkswagen Beetle prototypes, to produce the 356’s steel body. In 1952, Porsche constructed an assembly plant (Werk 2) across the street from Reutter Karosserie; the main road in front of Werk 1, the oldest Porsche building, is now known as Porschestrasse. The 356 was road certified in 1948.

In post-war Germany, parts were generally in short supply, so the 356 automobile used components from the Volkswagen Beetle, including the engine case from its internal combustion engine, transmission, and several parts used in thesuspension. The 356, however, had several evolutionary stages, A, B, and C, while in production, and most Volkswagen sourced parts were replaced by Porsche-made parts. Beginning in 1954 the 356s engines started utilizing engine cases designed specifically for the 356. The sleek bodywork was designed by Erwin Komenda who also had designed the body of the Beetle. Porsche’s signature designs have, from the beginning, featured air-cooled rear-engine configurations (like the Beetle), rare for other car manufacturers, but producing automobiles that are very well balanced.

In 1964, after a fair amount of success in motor-racing with various models including the 550 Spyder, and with the 356 needing a major re-design, the company launched the Porsche 911: another air-cooled, rear-engined sports car, this time with a six-cylinder “boxer” engine. The team to lay out the body shell design was led by Ferry Porsche’s eldest son, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (F. A.).

The design office gave sequential numbers to every project (See Porsche type numbers), but the designated 901 nomenclature contravened Peugeot’s trademarks on all ‘x0x’ names, so it was adjusted to 911. Racing models adhered to the “correct” numbering sequence: 904, 906, 908. The 911 has become Porsche’s most well-known and iconic model – successful on the race-track, in rallies, and in terms of road car sales. Far more than any other model, the Porsche brand is defined by the 911. It remains in production; however, after several generations of revision, current-model 911s share only the basic mechanical configuration of a rear-engined, six-cylinder coupé, and basic styling cues with the original car. A cost-reduced model with the same body, but with 356-derived four-cylinder engine, was sold as the 912.

F. A. Porsche founded his own design company, Porsche Design, which is renowned for exclusive sunglasses, watches, furniture, and many other luxury articles.

Company logo

Porsche’s company logo was based on the coat of arms of the Free People’s State of Württemberg of former Weimar Germany, which had Stuttgart as its capital (the same arms were used by Württemberg-Hohenzollern from 1945-1952, while Stuttgart during these years was the capital of adjacent Württemberg-Baden). The arms of Stuttgart was placed in the middle as an inescutcheon, since the cars were made in Stuttgart. The heraldic symbols were combined with the texts “Porsche” and “Stuttgart”, which shows that it is not a coat of arms since heraldic achievements never spell out the name of the armiger nor the armigers home town in the shield.

Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern became part of the present land of Baden-Württemberg in 1952 after the political consolidation of West Germany in 1949, and the old design of the arms of Württemberg now only lives on in the Porsche logo. On 30 January 1951, not long before the creation of Baden-Württemberg, Ferdinand Porsche died from complications following a stroke.

The Porsche Museum

Immediately next to the headquarters of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, you can today find one of the most spectacular car museums in the world. The Porsche Museum, where you can get inspired by over 80 vehicles on 5,600 square metre exhibition area.

The Viennese architects office Delugan Meissl Associated Architects were chosen from over 170 entries from all over Europe in the competition that was held to find a design for the museum. Actual construction began in October 2005. The opening of the Porsche Museum took place on Saturday 31 January 2009.

The building designed by Delugan Meissl is a bold statement. Supported on just three V-shaped columns, the museum’s dominant main structure seems to float above the ground like a monolith.

This bold and dynamic architecture reflects the company’s philosophy. It is designed to convey a sense of reception and approachability in order to welcome visitors in a friendly manner.

“The Porsche Museum creates a space that gives architectural expression to the company’s confident outlook and discerning standards, while also capturing Porsche’s dynamism. Knowledge, credibility and determination are as fundamental to the philosophy as courage, excitement, power and independence. Every idea is treated as an opportunity actively to tackle fresh challenges and probe the limits, yet still remain true to yourself. This museum endeavours to reflect all that,” declares architect Delugan Meissl in his dedication.

More than 80 vehicles and many small exhibits are on display at the Porsche Museum in a unique ambience. In addition to world-famous, iconic vehicles such as the 356, 550, 911, and 917, the exhibits include some of the outstanding technical achievements of Professor Ferdinand Porsche from the early 20th century. Even then, the name of Porsche stood for the commitment never to be satisfied with a technical solution that fails to fully meet or exceed all of its requirements, including opportunities for further improvement.

From the lobby, visitors ascend a spectacular ramp to the entrance of the spacious exhibition area, where they can gain an initial overview of the impressive collection.

Here the visitor can choose whether to start with the company history before 1948 or head directly into the main area of the exhibition which represents Porsche`s product and motorsport history in chronological order. Both areas are interlinked by the “Porsche Idea” section, which forms the backbone of the exhibition.

The Idea section explains what makes the various themes and exhibits so unique. It tells of the spirit and the passion that motivate the work at Porsche, and pays tribute to the company as well as the people behind the product.

As a living automobile museum, the Porsche Museum presents numerous special exhibitions on specific topics or meaningful anniversaries. As a result, exhibits are changed on a regular basis and visitors always find something new to discover.

The new interactive „Porsche Touchwall“ is waiting for the visitors at the end of the museum’s tour. The 12 meter long installation covers nine decades of exciting automobile history on the basis of 3.000 pictures, drawings and technical data allowing the visitor to explore almost all Porsche street- and racecars.

See also: Top Luxury Brands | Hermès

Porsche Models

The current Porsche model range includes sports cars from the Boxster roadster to their most famous product, the 911. The Cayman is a coupé otherwise similar to the Boxster. The Cayenne is Porsche’s mid-size luxury sport utility vehicle (SUV). A high performance luxury saloon/sedan, the Panamera, was launched in 2009.

Porsche Boxster 

The precise, lightweight chassis ensures an impressively dynamic drive, with practically no body roll or pitch. Or, in short, a safer and more comfortable drive.

Power is transmitted to the road by 18-inch Boxster wheels. Their distinctive five-spoke design affords an unobstructed glimpse of the braking system’s black four-piston aluminium monobloc fixed calipers. And you can keep an eye on the pressure in all four tyres thanks to tyre pressure monitoring (TPM).

The large air inlets illustrate character. The sound produced by the central tailpipe in brushed stainless steel is unmistakably Porsche.

High-quality, stylish materials are used in the interior. The steering wheel rim, gear lever/selector and door pull inlays are finished in leather. The refined tone is enhanced by silver-coloured details, such as those found on the dashboard trim strip, the side and centre air vent surrounds and the centre console.

Lean, muscular and athletic, the car has inherited motorsport genes. They are characteristic of the Porsche family and vital to the irresistible appeal of the sports car. They are traits that make the Boxster the sports star among roadsters. Dynamic performance, whether the hood is open or closed, has become synonymous with driving pleasure.

Porsche Cayman

Impressive driving dynamics with practically zero pitch and roll are ensured by the precise, lightweight chassis. Giving you the benefit of a more comfortable and safer drive.

The front section, with its large air intakes, is distinctive. The 18-inch Cayman wheels with tyre pressure monitoring (TPM) are succinctly styled. The brake system with four-piston aluminium monobloc fixed calipers in black is robust. The sound from the central tailpipe in brushed stainless steel is unmistakable.

And inside? High-quality materials are used in the interior. The steering wheel rim, gear lever/selector and the door pull inlays are finished in leather. And another striking feature are the silver-coloured details such as those found on the dashboard trim strip, the side and centre air vent surrounds and the centre console.

Porsche 911

The classic Porsche model. Currently with new front and rear design with fourspot LED daytime running lights, threedimensional taillights and four-spot brake lights. New sports exhaust system with central tailpipes announces where the 911 feels at home: on the racetrack.

Mode switch on the multifunctional GT Sports steering wheel for four driving modes – plus SPORT Response button for maximum responsiveness.

Porsche 918 Spyder

Porsche Panamera

Saloon or sports car? Power or efficiency? Quite simply, there’s no decision to make. That’s because the Panamera and the Panamera 4 blend all these apparent contradictions into one sporty overall concept.

Standard features of the Panamera and the Panamera 4 include Bi-Xenon main headlights, the 18-inch Panamera wheels, the two single-tube tailpipes of the exhaust system and the automatic rear hatch.

Both models are equipped with Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) as standard. In the Panamera, it transfers engine power to the rear axle; in the Panamera 4 to all four wheels via the active all-wheel drive of Porsche Traction Management (PTM).

The steel spring suspension is fitted as standard and offers a high level of comfort coupled with a sporty setup. Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), an electronic damping control system and the adaptive air suspension are available as an option. The interior boasts high-quality materials, and the partial leather package is available in a choice of three colours. The rim of the multifunction steering wheel fitted as standard and the PDK gear selector are finished in smooth-finish leather, the interior trims in black (high-gloss).

Other standard features of the Panamera and Panamera 4 are cruise control, Tyre Pressure Monitoring (TPM), automatic climate control and Porsche Communication Management (PCM). Options include the BOSE® Surround Sound System or the Burmester® High- End Surround Sound System.

Porsche Macan

The new Macan is built for an intensive life in which the thirst for experience and thrills and spills are ever-present, and in which new challenges are a permanent driving force.

Built for a life that refuses to be hemmed in by conventions and feels all the more authentic for it. Direct and intimate. A Sports Car that gives us what we’re looking for: that feeling of being alive.

Porsche Cayenne

Inside and out, this vehicle exudes one thing above all else: enthusiasm. For life, and for the road.

The front is the perfect expression of dynamic character. This is clearly reflected in the completely revised bonnet and sporty contoured wings. Also new is the sharper design of the Bi-Xenon main headlights with integrated daytime running lights featuring four LED spotlights, which are fitted as standard.

The new Cayenne comes with 18-inch Cayenne wheels in multispoke design, which enable you to give free rein to the vehicle’s athletic prowess. When it comes to decelerating, the braking system offers impressive performance, even when fully laden and with a braked trailer load of up to 3,500 kg.

Inside, too, there’s no shortage of enthusiasm, in both the look and feel of the interior. The rising centre console and the multifunction sports steering wheel also emphasise the car’s sporting heritage.

Safety and comfort levels can be enhanced still further with a range of optional driver assistance systems. These include adaptive cruise control (ACC) with Porsche Active Safe (PAS), Lane Change Assist, Lane Departure Warning and ParkAssist with reversing camera or Surround View.

Gallery