About Porsche

Anthony Fontanelle asked:



Porsche AG has created another remarkable milestone in the automotive realm. The Stuttgart, Germany-based automaker produces another worthy page of amazing success in its survival book. The success story is boosted by its iconic sports car – the 911.

Earlier, the German automaker commemorated the production of 100,000th 911 unit built since April 2004. The milestone was attained with the latest (997) model manufactured at Porsche’s main plant in Zuffenhausen, Germany.

“It is with great pride that we celebrate this outstanding achievement for the 911, a vehicle renowned for its performance and style,” said Peter Schwarzenbauer, the CEO of Porsche Cars North America. “We look forward to many more years of delighting sports car enthusiasts who have long looked to Porsche to deliver unsurpassed engineering excellence.”

Year 2006 was a record sales year for the 911 in the United States, Porsche’s largest market, with 12,045 units sold. So far this year, sales of the 911 are up by nine percent over the same period in 2006.

The 911, the famous and distinctive sports car launched in 1963, has undergone continuous development since its introduction in 1964. The sports car is notable for being rear engined and air-cooled, until the launch of the all-new Type 996 in 1999. The sports car features exceptional styling and cutting edge parts accessories consist of OEM Porsche oil filter, engines, radiators, cold air intake, and more.

Since its introduction, the 911 has been enhanced the pool of the automaker’s engineers as well as by private teams. They were modified to conform to the demands of racing, rallying and other types of auto competition. Watchers in the industry say that the 911 is the most successful competition car ever built. This is especially true when its variations, including the powerful 935, are considered. In the international poll for the award of Car of the Century, the sports car came fifth after the Ford Model T, the Mini, the Citroën DS and the Volkswagen Beetle.

By the mid-1970s, the German automaker was thinking that its 911 sports car might be getting a bit archaic. With an air-cooled, flat-six engine hung behind its rear axle and ever-advancing competition, the company’s 911 was on the brink of being phased out for the new 928, with its ultra-modern, front-mounted, water-cooled V8 and breathtaking styling.

But something unexpected happened - people kept purchasing 911s and eventually the car outlasted even its presumed successor. And the rest is history…

It is likely that Porsche never imagined back then that in 2007, they would attain a new production record with their iconic 911 by producing 100,000 of the current Type 997 series in a span of three years, faster than any other preceding generation 911. Having debuted in April 2004, the 997 series will be produced in 16 variants by fall of this year, from the base 911 Carrera to the track-conquering, yet street-drivable - 911 GT3 RS.

According to the German automaker, by July 31, the end of the 2006/2007 fiscal year, around 36,000 units from the 911 series will have been sold around the globe setting another remarkable record in the history of the sports car.

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, or just Porsche, is founded in 1931 by then Austrian Ferdinand Porsche, the engineer behind the very first Volkswagen car.

The Atlanta, Ga.-based Porsche Cars North America, Inc. and its subsidiary, Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd., are the exclusive importers of Porsche sports cars and Cayenne sport utility vehicles for the United States and Canada. PCNA employs nearly 300 individuals who provide Porsche vehicles, parts, service, marketing and training for its 213 Canadian and U.S. dealers.

Oscar

Andrew Manifield asked:


Porsche and Ferrari are German and Italian sides of the same coin, interpretations of the sports car idea. Both founded by a dominant patriarch, both honed in racing, both more than 50 years old, both with engineering and styling integrity. Whether on the track of Le Mains or on the streets, the two have always been put head-to-head and compared. Even the most naive motorist associates these two names with both performance and style.
We’ve decided to compare the methodical Porsche 911 Carrera 4S and the passionate Ferrari F430 because both of them astonish with their performance while attempting to maintain a reasonable amount of practicality but do not pretend to be anything other than sports cars.
A modern sports car should feature these characteristics: it should be started easily, maneuvered around town, blasted on a couple of country roads, it looks and performs the part on a racetrack but at the same time it is very safe.
The easier way to separate the two cars is by measuring figures since both of them have mastered the modern sports car requirements and basically there’s no other way to choose between these two phenomenal cars.
What initially impresses is Ferrari’s lightning fast 4-second 0-100km/h acceleration and thrilling exhaust tone. As the occupants are pinned to the seats, the new generation 4.3-litre V8 pushes out 368 snarling kilowatts. Porsche’s acceleration also offers that kick in the pants a super car should deliver, although it is 0.8 seconds slower at the 100 km/k mark.
With such acceleration performance, it comes natural for both cars to excel in the braking department. The two cars offer optional ceramic discs for impressive stopping.
Porsche’s engine gets the upper hand as it is more refined and on the economy rank leaps ahead Ferrari with a 11.8 liters per 100 km as opposed to 18.3 liters. Both cars deliver the power through impressive 6-speed gearboxes and offer top rate handling performance.
Both F430 and Carrera4S offer great interior comfort and even if the space is limited, the occupants don’t feel claustrophobic and flustered. Although an impressive mix of suede, carbon fiber and aluminum abound in the Ferrari, the Italians stand no chance when it comes to the high finish level attained by the Germans.
Speed and silence are key elements for any super car. The look and appearance is the biggest draw card. The Carrera 4S is a typical Porsche, despite the new proportions. It is a great looking car, like any other 911 but somehow the styling no longer creates the jaw dropping reaction that the Ferrari does. Indeed, traditionalists may say that Porsche pays homage to its roots, but the truth is that Ferrari F430 simply draws the attention.
However, even if Ferrari F430 takes your breath away with its appearance, the super car title goes to the Porsche Carrera 4S with a more complete all round package.

Gertrude

Amar Shah asked:


In no other area of the UK has limo hire proved more popular than London. With London limo hire, there are a vast array of limousines available to hire and sometimes choosing the right limousine to suit your taste and occasion can be tricky. Below are two of our more unique limousines available to rent.
The Range Rover Sports limousine
The Range Rover limo hire in London is one of the newest limo hire designs and models to hit the streets of London. The Range Rover limo is an extremely popular choice in London as it holds up to 14 passengers. The vehicle consists of mirrored ceilings, laser lights, disco lights, LCD lighting it also has plasma TVs with built in DVDs. There is even an amazing bar inside filled with soft drinks and bubbly. It is the first of its kind and has a full Range Rover body kit with 22′ Vogue alloy wheels.
Ideal for taking a trip around London and doing some sightseeing or even for a bar crawl or shopping trip. You can hire this new Range Rover limousine from anywhere in London.
If you want style then look no further than Range Rover limo hire in London, You will be amazed with its sleek look and comfort.
The Porsche Cayenne limo
Porsche cayenne limo hire in London has all you need for the perfect day or night. The Porsche Cayenne limo in London consists of on board flat screen TV’s which are positioned all round the cabin, LCD lighting, Disco lighting, laser lighting and a lovely bar which holds bubbly and soft drinks.
Why not use a Porsche Cayenne limousine for your London limo hire as we cater for all types of occasions such as birthday, stag nights, hen parties, wedding limo hire, school proms, anniversaries and even shopping trips!
The Porsche Cayenne limo typically comes in three colours which are black, grey and white and holds up to 12 passengers.
What better way to impress your friends, family, colleagues or guests than when your chauffeur arrives in the Porsche Cayenne, opens the door for you and reveals an interior filled with luxury. The vehicles come fully equipped with a plush leather interior, climate control, privacy partition and surround sound stereo system. For your safety and comfort, passenger seatbelts are fitted throughout.

Debra

Andrew Manifield asked:


Ferdinand Porsche played an important role in the development of airplanes and racing cars, and the construction of tanks for the Wehrmacht. He is an automobile engineer with more than a thousand patents to his name. He was appointed chief engineer at Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart in the 1920s. Later on, he set up his own engineering workshop and designed among others the Volkswagen. At the plant where Volkswagen was made, Wolfsburg, he was chief of operations and at the end of the war he was interned by the Allies.
He was released a few years later and started building his first car with his son, Ferry Porsche. The car was named the Porsche 356 and it was a sports car and a reminiscent of the Volkswagen. It had the same four-cylinder boxer engine that was rear-mounted, just like the VW. It was far from being a powerful sports car, developing only 40 bhp and a maximum speed of 87 mph (140 km/h). First produced as a convertible and later as a hard top it distinguished by the very elegant and innovative body. It was developed in the workshop of Erwin Komenda, a master of restrained streamlining who had been in charge of sheet metal and design techniques at Porsche since the VW Beetle. The new style of closed coupe was designed by Komenda and it soon became the embodiment of the sports car, thanks to its fastback.
This tradition was continued by Komenda and Ferdinand “Butzi” Porsche, the founder’s grandson, with the 911.
The 911 became easily recognizable: it had attractive sloping bonnet and what later became characteristic “frog eye” headlights, curves running from the top edge of the windscreen to the rear bumper and a straight waistline. From a functional and technical point of view it was more like BMW 1500, although it retained the stylistic features of the original Porsche. The new 911 will become the foundation stone of Porsche’s identity, even though the design was not always appreciated. During the 1970`s and 1980`s, the designers attempts to distance Porsche from its legendary design brought the company to the edge of disaster. The more modern 924 model, “a people’s Porsche”, developed with Volkswagen, as well as the 928 were far from fulfilling the expectations.
In the 1990`s, the company realized that what for over twenty years was perceived as a straitjacket, it was in fact a market advantage. During the 1990`s, Porsche became highly profitable since they now knew that the typical Porsche features were timeless. Nearly forty people now worked in the design department on further developments of the long-running 911. These developments included the 911 GTI, a powerful combination of sports and racing car, put forward by the in-house designer Anthony R. Hatter. In 1999, chief designer proudly presented the new Boxster which enabled Porshe to establish a second independent range of models.

Larry

Peter asked:


My dad’s always had a decorative horse on his Cadillac’s and just bought a Porsche Cayenne. Is there some extremely strong double sided tape or High powered magnet system available. I don’t want it to get stolen or to fly off on the highway? Drilling holes in the hood of a Porsche would really hurt the value

Reginald

Benjamin Hudson asked:



The rumor about Porsche taking over Volkswagen is one of the longest enduring controversies in the auto industry. And with the additional shares purchased by Porsche at the Wolfsburg-based automaker will further strengthen the speculation of the rumored takeover. But how true is it?

Despite the additional shares purchased by Porsche at Europe’s largest automaker a takeover is surprisingly has never been the objective of the German sports car manufacturer.

The shares of Volkswagen, Europe’s largest automaker and producer of the popular range of VW head gaskets had rose and close at 5.24 euros ($6.96) or 6.5%, to 83.90 euros ($111.52) higher on Friday, after a report from Germany’s Manager Magazin stating that members of Porsche’s controlling Piech and Porsche families have purchased a third of Volkswagen’s preference shares which means that they had likely gone higher than the 30% limit set by the German corporate law for the initiation of a full takeover.

But despite the announcement from Porsche that they will not be taking over Volkswagen, some analysts still believe that the families which include VW’s chairman Ferdinand Piech have or will go beyond the set ceiling anytime soon.

According to Roman Mathyssek, Global Insight’s senior automotive analyst, “The cost benefits of increasing the stake in Volkswagen are doubtful at the moment. This has to do very little with logic and that’s why nobody believes it. From an industrial point of view there might be a good argument for the two companies to develop more products together, but you can do all that without increasing the equity stakes.”

The earlier purchase of the 20% stakes of Porsche at Volkswagen in the year 2005 was viewed by most analysts as a defensive move geared at safeguarding Europe’s largest automaker from any type of foreign takeover by hedge funds or by the likes of US corporate raider Kirk Kerkorian, who is a billionaire and president/CEO of Tracinda Corporation.

And from then on Porsche has been increasing its stakes reaching 27.4%. Chief Executive Wendelin Wiedeking announced just earlier this March that the company, Porsche is considering increasing its stake in Volkswagen to reach 30%.

Mathyssek said that the controlling families will not probably go beyond the 30% threshold not because they don’t want to but they would like to first negotiate an exemption from the takeover law while waiting for Volkswagen’s share price to drop significantly and once it does, “it wouldn’t surprise me if they filed for an exemption (with the government) so that they can get a whole 40% or 50% and not have to launch a takeover.”

About Porsche:

Porsche AG or Porsche is short for Dr. Ing. H.c. F. Porsche AG is a German sports car manufacturer founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, the engineer who was responsible for creating the first Volkswagen. The company is headquartered in Zuffenhausen which is a city district of Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg.

Porsche was awarded first place as the most prestigious automobile brand by Luxury Institute, New York in a survey conducted last May of 2006. At least 500 households with gross annual income of at least $200,000 USD and a net worth of at least $750,000 have participated in the said poll.

The current Porsche lineup includes sports cars starting from the Boxster roadster to their most famous product the 911. Another model similar to the Boxster is the hard top Cayman which has a slightly higher price range. The Cayenne is Porsche’s mid-size luxury SUV. The Carrera GT Supercar was removed from the line up last May 2006. The upcoming lineup of Porsche includes high performance Panamera which will be offered in luxury saloon/sedan. Porsche was also the first to use variable geometry turbocharger in a gasoline powered production automobile.

Last 2006 J.D. Power and Associates awarded Porsche for highest Nameplate Initial Quality Study (IQS) of automobile brands. Porsche as a company is renowned for withstanding changing market conditions with its remarkable financial stability. Most of its productions are done in Germany unlike other German automakers that have moved their operations partly to Eastern Europe or overseas.

Janet

EpicRacer asked:


i was looking at a used porsche 944 that needed a new ring and pinion. if the car is $1500, is it worth it to fix it?

Christian

Wonderboy asked:


Was there anything changed in the 1979 928 Porsche then the 1978 year?
Any details you know of would be helpful thanks.

Zachary

Anthony Fontanelle asked:



Europe will see the rise of a new automobile empire. The much-anticipated conglomeration will be composed of Porsche, Volkswagen, and Scania.

Porsche Automobil Holding SE was given the green light by its board Monday to acquire majority stake in Volkswagen AG which owns Audi, Skoda, Seat, Lamborghini, Bentley and Bugatti brands. VW, meanwhile, said it will take a controlling interest in Scania, a Swedish truckmaker. This also means Porsche is in a position to absorb Scania with MAN AG, a German truckmaker which Volkswagen holds 29.9 percent, reported the Associated Press.

VW Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said Volkswagen will focus on synergies with Scania AB, mainly in purchasing raw materials such as steel as well as research and development and electronic components.

Analysts in the industry said the deals are aimed at accumulating more wealth. The deals also strengthen the control held by the grandson of Porsche founder - Ferdinand Piech. He is the chairman of Volkswagen and MAN supervisory boards.

The maker of Porsche parts has been gradually increasing its stake in Volkswagen for more than a year and won a significant victory in 2007 when the European Union’s highest court promulgated a decision that the German government had to remove a cap on voting rights at VW.

“Volkswagen has announced that they’re taking a majority share of Scania. Next they could upgrade their stake in MAN to a majority stake, merge the two companies into a Volkswagen Commercial AG and sell that to Porsche SE. Then they could hand back to Porsche … or to their stock owners, a special dividend from the revenues of that sale,” said Christoph Stuermer, an auto analyst with Global Insight.

In a statement, Porsche said the reviews by the regulatory authorities are expected to take several months. And when requisite clearances are finally acquired, Porsche can take majority stakes in Volkswagen. The statement added that Porsche does not intend to merge the two companies.

“Our aim is to create one of the strongest and most innovative automobile alliances in the world, which is able to measure up to the increased international competition,” said Porsche Chief Executive Wendelin Wiedeking.

Were a tie-up happen, VW and Scania would effortlessly upstage giant rivals such as Volvo AB and Daimler AG, Europe’s largest truckmaker.

“It shows the trust that the people in Porsche AG have in Volkswagen,” Winterkorn noted at the Geneva Motor Show. “It means a lot of interesting things in the future.”

Lisa

lauraleah asked:


I recently purchased a 2008 porsche cayenne turbo. It came with 21″ factory rims and wheels. I purchased custom aftermarket rims and wheels and had them put on but am left with the factory wheels. A person has offered to buy the factory wheels but I am not sure what price I should sell them for. Any one know the most i could get for them? They are brand new, only drove on them for 1 week and then had them taken off.

Helen