Let's celebrate Porsche's 70th birthday!
Today, Porsche is celebrating. The German sports car maker has managed to set a new record for the fastest lap around Nürburgring-Nordschleife, registering a time of 5 minutes and 19.55 seconds with Timo Bernhard driving an unrestricted 919 Hybrid Evo. What better way to mark the company’s 70th anniversary!
To say thank you to its customers and fans around the world, Porsche has released a short emotional video featuring people born in the same years in which the brand released some of its most important models. It all started with the first-ever Porsche, the 356 from 1948.
“For 70 years, we’ve poured passion into making our sports cars. Thanks for returning the favor.”
Porsche’s existence actually begins in the 1930s, when Ferdinand Porsche set up a shop in the center of Stuttgart with the name “Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH.” However, the first model from the brand was registered on June 8 in 1948. Given that, it’s probably more accurate to say that Porsche celebrates 70 years since the very first vehicle bearing the Porsche name and logo was registered.
The first 356 was engineered by Porsche’s son, Ferry Porsche, and was a hand-built prototype made of aluminum. It was developed using mostly Volkswagen components and featured a lightweight, hand-beaten aluminum body over a tubular steel chassis. A total of 52 examples of this sports car were crafted over the course of a year in a small garage in the city of Gmund, Austria. Eventually, the company moved to Stuttgart.
Underhood was a 1.3-liter VW-sourced four-cylinder engine, mounted ahead of the rear axle. Ferry Porsche increased the motor’s cylinder bore, raised its compression, and added twin carburetors to boost the power from the factory 25 horsepower (18 kilowatts) to an impressive 40 hp (30 kW).
The rest, as they say, is history.
Source: Porsche on YouTube