The first Porsche was built in 1948 in a collection of sheds on the site of a former sawmill in a place called Gmund, in Austria. Its designer had recently been released from prison where he had been interned by the Allies. The car had more than a passing resemblance to the Volkswagen Beetle – and with good reason, for the same man had designed both.
He was called Ferdinand Porsche. All its moving parts – engine, brakes, suspension and steering – were either lifted directly or derived from Beetle running gear and despite the engine being given a fairly monumental tuning upgrade, the 1.1-litre flat four still only generated, wait for it, 40bhp.
It is fair to say Porsche has come some distance in the past 70 years. During that time the car maker has become the most profitable on earth, and its sphere of operation is now so wide that it makes everything from hypercars to SUVs. It has won in Formula 1 and amassed an unrivalled 19 victories at Le Mans. Today those SUVs are the most coveted cars of their kind, yet Porsche has not forgotten its roots: it still makes a flat four open two-seater with its engine located behind the driver, just like that first 356 all those years ago.
So to celebrate we thought we’d look at some of the very greatest (and just a few of the not so great) cars that brought Porsche from some huts in Austria to becoming the most successful manufacturer of sporting cars the world has yet known.
1948-58
1954 356 Speedster
Six years into the story of Porsche and the little company was growing fast. Its success was built on the reputation of Ferdinand Porsche as one of Europe’s pre-eminent automotive engineers, and the vision of his son, Ferry, who saw a clear gap in the market for a super-high-quality sporting car that could be used not merely as recreation but as daily transport, too. The essential rightness of that idea can be seen in the fact that much the same thing can be said about a 2018 Porsche 911.
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I really like the 1966 911S model It was powered by a 2.0-liter air-cooled flat-six engine that produced 160 horsepower. This engine was paired with a five-speed manual transmission and rear-wheel drive. The 911S also featured a stiffer suspension, larger brakes, and a unique tachometer that was mounted in the center of the dashboard. The 911S was praised for its performance and handling, and it quickly became a favorite among sports car enthusiasts. Its lightweight design and powerful engine allowed it to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in around 7 seconds and reach a top speed of over 130 mph.
Today, the 1966 Porsche 911S is considered a classic car icon, and well-maintained examples can fetch high prices at auction. Its timeless design and impressive performance continue to inspire car enthusiasts around the world.
The Cayenne should not be on
The Cayenne should not be on this list. Why does everyone simply accept the line from Porsche that they had to or they'd have gone out of business??? They said this to make it acceptable to people -- and apparently people believe it. How can anyone say with certainty that various "great" Porsches wouldn't exist if not for the Cayenne? It's not possible to know this. Porsche got itself into trouble in the early '90s not because it didn't build SUVs, but rather because it didn't pay attention to costs. Then, forced into it, they did start paying attention to costs and -- every Porsche sports car from the 993 on has been profitable in its own right, so there is no reason to conclude that Porsche would have failed without the Cayenne. With profitable sports cars, why wouldn't there have been great GT3s? They built some pretty great stuff before they built a Cayenne. Let's not forget, the profits from the SUVs and sedans are NOT just poured back into building GT3s and GT4s, they're poured back into the next Cayenne, and the Panamera, etc. Porsche has certainly made more money building SUVs and sedans, but I have yet to see a genuine reason that they wouldn't have built great, perhaps greater, sports cars if they hadn't gone down the SUV road.
A missing link
A great car - the 928 - is missing here due to its mediocre economic success. But it was one of the very best Porsche cars.