Intro: Although it has never possessed the emotion of the Italian supercars, Porsche is held in every bit as high regard and is known world-wide as a producer of the highest quality, soundly engineered sports machines. Although Dr Ferdinand Porsche established the company, his dealings with Hitler’s German government led to the creation of the VW Beetle, which went into full production immediately after WW2. Yet, the modern day success of the company is entirely due to his son, ’Ferry’ Porsche. When his father died in 1951, Ferry and his sister, Louise Piech (who is the mother of Dr Ferdinand Piech, the former VW Group Chief Executive) took over the firm. By acting as the design and development centre for VW, Porsche was able to earn a nice commission that helped to make it into a very profitable business. The 356 model gave Porsche its first step into the sports car scene, but it was the 912 and then 911 line-up that opened the door to outstanding success. The VW link has existed throughout the company’s history, but it has been carried out in a totally independent fashion and invariably to Porsche’s benefit. Despite the company’s attempts to kill off the 911, by introducing a variety of front-engine, rear-drive models (924, 944, 968 and 928), it steadfastly refuses to die. So, the company has determined to go the other way and now the 911 provides the backbone for the company. However, the Boxster provides a less costly route to Porsche ownership and the Cayenne 4x4 model open a new route to Porsche ownership.
The first Porsche off-roader, called Cayenne was introduced in 2002 and by 2005 over 100,000 units were sold world-wide. |
