50 Fun Facts About Porsche

In which German city is Porsche headquartered?

The company's factory and museum are in the city's Zuffenhausen district.

In which year did Ferdinand Porsche found the company, with Adolf Rosenberger and his son-in-law Anton?

The first offices were at Kronenstraße 24 in the city centre; one of the first jobs was designing a people's car for the German government.

Which mass-market car did Ferdinand Porsche's firm design for the German government in the 1930s?

Its military offshoots, the Kübelwagen and Schwimmwagen, were built in their tens of thousands during the war.

Ferdinand Porsche was born in 1875 in Maffersdorf, a town in Bohemia that is now part of which country?

It was part of Austria-Hungary at the time; he only became a naturalised German in 1934.

What pioneering vehicle did Ferdinand Porsche create at Jakob Lohner & Company in 1901?

The Lohner-Porsche Mixte used a Daimler engine to drive a generator feeding electric wheel-hub motors, a series-hybrid layout.

Where were the wheel-hub motors mounted on Porsche's electric Egger-Lohner car of 1898?

Adding two more motors at the back made it four-wheel drive; an Englishman ordered one in 1900.

Which 1930s Grand Prix racers did Ferdinand Porsche design, alongside the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK?

He was named Car Engineer of the Century in 1999.

Porsche's rejected wartime chassis design for the Tiger I was reused as the base for which vehicle?

Henschel & Son won both Tiger contracts; Porsche also built two prototypes of the enormous Maus.

Where were the first Porsche 356s built, in a small sawmill, while Ferdinand Porsche was jailed?

Ferry Porsche started the car because he could not find an existing one he wanted to buy; about 50 aluminium-bodied cars were made there.

Which honour did the 356 win at its first outing, a race at Innsbruck in 1948?

It had been road-certified in Austria on 8 June 1948.

Roughly how many Porsche 356s were built between 1948 and 1965?

About half of them survive; production continued until April 1965, months after the 911 debuted.

Which designer shaped the body of the 356, having also designed the Beetle's body?

He led Porsche's body department until the 911's design caused friction with the family.

The Porsche crest is based on the arms of which former German state, dissolved in 1952?

The city arms with its rearing horse sit in the middle as an inescutcheon.

Ferdinand Porsche died on 30 January 1951 from complications following what?

He had spent 20 months in French custody after the war.

Ferry Porsche got his nickname because his parents disliked which more usual short form of his name?

It reminded them too much of a typical coachman's nickname, a profession the family's work was making obsolete.

The 911 was originally to be sold under which number, before Peugeot objected?

Peugeot claimed exclusive French rights to three-digit names with a zero in the middle; 82 cars carried the original badge.

At which motor show was the 911 first presented, in 1963?

The show car had a non-working mock-up engine; production began in September 1964.

Who penned the styling of the original 911?

He later left the company and founded Porsche Design, known for sunglasses, watches and furniture.

What engine configuration has every 911 used since 1964?

The 356-derived four-cylinder version in the same body was sold as the 912.

With which generation, in 1998, did the 911 switch from air-cooled to water-cooled engines?

Torsion-bar suspension gave way to MacPherson struts and multi-link rear suspension over the same decades.

The 911 Targa takes its name from a road race held where?

'Targa' means 'plate' in Italian; Porsche's last Targa Florio win, in 1973, came with a 911 Carrera RS.

Where did the 911 rank in the 1999 Car of the Century poll?

It and the original Beetle were the only two in the top five still in continuous production.

In which year did Porsche build the one millionth 911?

The car is kept in the company's permanent collection.

Which car gave Porsche its first overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 1970?

Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood drove the winning Porsche Salzburg 917K; the car repeated the win in 1971.

How many 917s did Porsche line up in April 1969 to satisfy the homologation inspectors?

He even offered to let the inspectors drive any of them; they declined.

What was the engine layout of the Porsche 917?

It grew from 4.5 to 5.0 litres; the turbocharged 917/30 Can-Am car made about 1,100 bhp in 1973.

What does the K stand for in the name of the Porsche 917K?

The long-tail Langheck was designed for minimum drag; Gulf-liveried 917Ks star in Steve McQueen's film about the French endurance classic.

How many outright 24 Hours of Le Mans wins had Porsche taken by the end of 2025?

A record for any manufacturer; the 911-derived 935 turbo added one of them in 1979.

Which was the first production road-going Porsche with a water-cooled, front-mounted engine?

Built in Neckarsulm from 1976, it began as a joint venture with Volkswagen and was the first Porsche with a fully automatic gearbox.

Which Porsche, the firm's first production V8, won European Car of the Year in 1978?

It was one of the few times the award did not go to a mass-produced family car; it was meant to replace the 911 but the 911 outlived it.

What was the top speed of the twin-turbo Porsche 959, then the fastest street-legal production car?

It debuted at DM431,550, still less than half what each car cost to build; 292 were completed by 1988.

Which rally did Porsche's all-wheel-drive 953 win outright in 1984, with René Metge driving?

The 953 was essentially a 911 Carrera with the four-wheel-drive system that led to the 959; Jacky Ickx finished sixth.

The 959 was originally conceived to compete in which motorsport category?

Homologation required at least 200 road cars; the road version was unveiled in 1985.

Which 2002 model was Porsche's first four-door production car?

It shares its platform with the Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7 and brought back the V8 for the first time since the 928.

The 2002 launch of Porsche's first SUV coincided with the opening of a new factory in which German city?

The plant once accounted for nearly half of Porsche's output and later built the Panamera.

What did the Taycan's name refer to, drawing on Turkish words for a lively young horse?

Porsche's first series-production electric car was revealed in 2019, four years after the Mission E concept.

What does the 'Turbo' badge on the electric Taycan actually signify?

The Taycan rides on the J1 platform shared with the Audi e-tron GT.

Which 2004 Porsche, priced at EUR 450,000, was then the most expensive production model?

The 612 bhp car was assembled at the newer of Porsche's German plants; the 918 Spyder later cost more.

Where were the Boxster and Cayman built under contract from 1997 to 2011?

Valmet Automotive did the work before production returned to Germany in 2012.

Which CEO, appointed in 1993 amid takeover fears, made Porsche a highly efficient and profitable company?

His tenure ended with the failed attempt to swallow Volkswagen, which instead ended up owning Porsche AG.

Under the 2009 'Integrated Automotive Group' deal, what stake in VW AG did Porsche SE hold?

In return Volkswagen management took the Porsche SE management posts and Volkswagen AG acquired ownership of Porsche AG.

Which family member, who developed the 911, 908 and 917, later became chairman of the Volkswagen Group?

After leaving Porsche in 1972 he designed a five-cylinder diesel for Mercedes before joining Audi.

Why did Ferry Porsche change the company from a limited partnership to an AG in 1972?

An executive board of outsiders was created, with a supervisory board mostly of family; Butzi and his cousin both left.

Which Croatian electric-car maker did Porsche take a 10% stake in during 2018?

The partnership later saw Rimac take control of Bugatti.

What share of Porsche AG's ordinary shares did Volkswagen retain after the September 2022 IPO?

Porsche SE took the other 25% of ordinary shares; the stock rose to 84 euros in its first hours of trading.

Where did Porsche Australia announce in 2022 that it would build an e-fuel plant?

Synthetic fuels are Porsche's bet on keeping combustion 911s legal in a decarbonised world.

The 1969 VW-Porsche 914 came in two versions. What distinguished the 914-6?

The plain 914 used a Volkswagen engine; the two companies collaborated again on the 924.

What did Ferry Porsche drive at the age of 12, fresh from a class win at the 1922 Targa Florio?

His father was chief designer at Austro-Daimler at the time.

Which management and IT consultancy did Porsche AG fully acquire by January 2024?

Porsche also holds a 29% stake in the engineering consultancy Bertrandt.

Who was the first CEO of Porsche AG, remembered for the four-cam engine that bears his name?

He planned to kill off the 911 in the 1970s in favour of the front-engined V8 928, a plan that never came to pass.