Porsche = 911 ? Or: How difficult it is to design a Porsche

by: Jan Tomaschek

Table of contents

1. Introduction  p.3

2. The first 911  p.3

3. Porsche tried out completely new designs  p.4

4. Back to their roots – with compromises p.5

5. Back to the roots – After winning back the Wealth p.7

6. Conclusion p.8

7. References  p.9

8. Figures  p.9

1. Introduction

In 1963 Porsche introduced the first 911 at the IAA (aka. “Frankfurt Motor Show”). This car series, which is still in production, has become their most well-known model. Far more than any other Porsche model, the brand is defined by the 911 for most people.

2. The first 911

The first 911 was designed by the 25- year-old Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, the oldest son of Ferry Porsche, head of the company at that time and inventor of the VW Beetle. A sixcylinder engine in boxer configuration worked in the tail of the car. To this day, this hasn′t changed. This configuration had originally arisen from a technically less-than-ideal solution. Company founder Ferry had to go back to VW technology for reasons of cost at the end of the nineteen-forties when he created the first Porsche, the model 356. At first no technical problems arose with an engine put behind the rear axle because the performance of the first Porsche vehicles was a mere 40 hp. But the rear engine was kept also with the successor, the 911, in 1963. Its performance was boosted more than 200 hp with appropriately disadvantageous effects on the road performance. Impetuous Porsche driver frequently slid forwards with the tail which followed the centrifugal force from the cur ve. Nevertheless the 911 quickly advanced to be a best seller. On the 21st of September 1966 the 100000th Porsche was delivered. The era of the original type continued to 1973. Many changes were made during this time. There was a Targa model, a more reasonably priced version (912) with simpler equipment and 90 hp four-cylinder from the old 356 as well as different engine variants and gradual cub ic capacity extensions up to 2.4 litres.

Fig.1: Porsche 911 (1963) [figur only in downloadfile]

The car had round headlights which stood out strikingly from the high bended wings. Also the gutters at the roof edges were a very popular feature. In the interior there was an edged instrument panel with big, round instruments and knobbly pull-buttons. However, doubts about the long-term future of the type 911 appeared in the company in the middle of the seventies. Porsche, therefore, tried to establish new top models.

3. Porsche tried out completely new designs

At first this seemed to turn out well. During the “car calm” of 1975, VW suddenly pulled out of jointly developing the 924. Porsche brought this one out on their own and had initial success. But the Porsche 924 wasn′t accepted by many people as a real Porsche. This was on the one hand due to the many components used off the Audi/VW shelf, on the other hand also due to the engine program which exclusively contained 4 cylinder engines. This shortfall was also found in further developments. Practically all of the remarkable characteristics of the old 911, and thus of the brand Porsche, seemed to have gone.

Fig.2: Porsche 924 (1975) [figur only in downloadfile]

At the beginning of the seventies Porsche had already started the development of a completely new model, which was thoroughly different from its predecessors. In addition, in the middle of the car boom in 1977, Porsche then launched the 928. The Engine moved from the tail to the front and was water-cooled. The ‘trans-axial’ style, with the engine fitted in the front and transmission lying behind, provided a good spread of weight. The bodywork boasted lightweight constructed doors, wings and a hood made of aluminium. However, the supposed Porsche luxury coupé of the future had had many difficulties from the moment of its creation. Sports car consumers faithful to the Porsche brand found no real advantages in this plump and portly model. The Porsche fans found more than enough reasons for their aversion. The decisive one: It was not what they thought what a Porsche should be. Moreover, the newcomer’s outer measurements were so broad that it was hardly possible to open the doors within normal garages. It was also more than 1.5 tons heavier than the 911 and considerably more expensive. Furthermore, 240 hp didn′t help the new Porsche to get the same performance as the old 911.

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