From Ferdinand to Ferdinand
Engineer, entrepreneur, automobile and aeronautics pioneer, Ferdinand Porsche (1875-1951) is at the origins of the saga.
This native of the Austro-Hungarian Empire first put his genius for innovation at the service of the German group Daimler, for which he designed the first Mercedes.
Member of the Nazi party, he created at Hitler’s request the first Volkswagen (“people’s car” in German) which would become the Beetle.
A few decades later, his grandson Ferdinand Piëch inscribed his name in automotive history: a talented engineer at Porsche then Audi, boss of Volkswagen from 1993 to 2002, he turned it into an international multi-brand empire, including Audi, Seat, Skoda , Lamborghini, Bugatti until finally taking control of Porsche, after a family war. Father of 13 children, he died in 2019.
Precursor of the electric
The Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen, near Stuttgart (south), presents a strange machine that looks like a stagecoach. Code name: P1. Particularity: designed and built in 1898 by Ferdinand Porsche, the vehicle had electric traction.
Two years later, the engineer presented a new hybrid “Lohner-Porsche” model, with electric propulsion via motors housed in the wheel hubs.
Technically perfected, the production of electric/hybrid cars was stopped in 1906 because of batteries that were too heavy and too expensive, compared to the gasoline engine.
These models now make the link between past and present.
Porsche, jealous of the performance of its gasoline cars, took a long time to return to the electric race but is reaping first successes with its “Taycan” model released in 2019.
911, magic number
In 1963, Porsche caused a sensation by unveiling a new model with a six-cylinder engine.
The envisioned name, 901, must be dropped as Peugeot claims a monopoly on three-digit numbers with a zero in the middle. So go for the 911 combination, the beginning of a commercial saga that still lasts.
With a general aesthetic almost unchanged, the 911 still represents some 15% of sales.
The group devotes a cult to the number that made its legend: each telephone number of the company begins with 911 after the local code.
For its IPO, Porsche has divided its capital into 911 million shares, and the title will be traded under the symbol P911.
The firm intends to pay a dividend for the year 2022 which will amount to 911 million euros.
Engine !
Mafiosos, detectives or heartbreakers, there are dozens of heroes who have crossed the big screen at the wheel of a Porsche.
Steve McQueen is one of the most famous for his role as a racing driver in the film “Le Mans” (1971), driving a Porsche 917 on the 24 Hours circuit.
In the detective film “Bad Boys” (1995), the character of Will Smith drives a 911 Turbo, in a high-tension investigation into a major drug robbery.
hard to imagine Al Pacinoalias Tony Montanadrug lord in “Scarface”, without his Porsche 928.
A sky blue Porsche 911 with big eyes plays one of the main roles in the Pixar Studios animated film “Cars” (2006), that of Sally Carreracompanion of the hero Flash McQueen.
A silver-colored Porsche 550 Spyder crashes on a California road – it’s not cinema: on September 30, 1955, actor James Dean kills himself at the wheel of the racing car he has just acquired.
In the race
Monte-Carlo Rally, Paris-Dakar race and especially the 24 Hours of Le Mans: Porsche has collected victories in motorsport.
The German manufacturer has won nineteen times on the Sarthe circuit. His first victory dates back to 1970 with the 917, the last dates back to 2017, with the 919 Hybrid.
Reference in endurance, Porsche was less constant in F1 where the team raced between 1957 and 1962, before supplying engines to McLaren in the 1980s.
Tempted by a return to the league, the German firm saw its discussions with the Red Bull team fail this summer but remains on the lookout for a partnership.