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121-492: The race has borne the names of several sponsors over the years. Since 1992, the Rolex Watch Company has been the title sponsor of the race, replacing Sunbank , which replaced Pepsi in 1984. Winning drivers of all classes receive a Rolex Daytona watch. The race is known as a leg of the informal Triple Crown of endurance racing along with the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 12 Hours of Sebring . Shortly after

242-432: A Zuffenhausen -based company, Reutter Karosserie, which had previously collaborated with the firm on Volkswagen Beetle prototypes, to produce the 356's steel body. In 1952, Porsche constructed an assembly plant (Werk 2) across the street from Reutter Karosserie; the main road in front of Werk 1, the oldest Porsche building, is now known as Porschestrasse. The 356 was road-certified in 1948. Porsche's company logo stems from

363-483: A helium release valve to release helium gas build-up during decompression, which, according to Urs Alois Eschle, a former director of Doxa, was patented by Rolex in cooperation with Doxa. The Explorer (1953) and Explorer II (1971) were developed specifically for explorers who would navigate rough terrain, such as the world-famous Mount Everest expeditions . Indeed, the Rolex Explorer was launched to celebrate

484-853: A 10% minority shareholding stake of the Croatian electric sportscar manufacturer Rimac Automobili to form a development partnership. In February 2022, Volkswagen AG had announced that it would examine the feasibility of a possible IPO of Porsche AG. The share capital of Porsche AG has been divided into 50% non-voting preference shares and 50% ordinary shares. Volkswagen AG will retain 75% of ordinary shares, while Porsche SE will acquire 25% of ordinary shares. Volkswagen AG will also retain 75% of preference shares, while 25% of preference shares (12.5% of share capital) will be sold during IPO, while Qatar Investment Authority has already committed to buy 4.99% of preference shares, leaving another 20.01% (10% of share capital), to other investors. As part of

605-603: A 100% subsidiary of VW AG, is responsible for the actual production and manufacture of the Porsche automobile line. The company currently produces Porsche 911 , Boxster and Cayman sports cars, the Cayenne and Macan sport utility vehicles and the four-door Panamera . Porsche AG has a 29% share in German engineering and design consultancy Bertrandt AG and 81.8% of Mieschke Hofmann und Partner . In 2018, Porsche acquired

726-533: A 3-hour sports car race was introduced. Known as the Daytona Continental, it counted towards the FIA 's new International Championship for GT Manufacturers . The first Continental was won by Dan Gurney , driving a 2.7L Coventry Climax -powered Lotus 19 . Gurney was a factory Porsche driver at the time, but the 1600-cc Porsche 718 was considered too small and slow for what amounted to a sprint race on

847-556: A Ferrari 458 of the GTD category that has never won a race in North American Endurance . At the time of the impact, Malucelli was driving at less than 30 mph and keeping on the track while cars were passing him at 150 mph. Memo, who was side by side to another car couldn't have seen him and impacted front first. The race was subsequently red-flagged. Both drivers survived. The regular teams were expanded to three drivers in

968-640: A competitor of the American Le Mans Series , which, as its name implies, uses the same regulations as the Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Grand Am series, though, is instead closely linked to NASCAR and the original ideas of IMSA and focused on controlled costs and close competition. In order to make sports car racing less expensive than elsewhere, new rules were introduced in 2002. The dedicated Daytona Prototypes (DP) use less expensive materials and technologies and

1089-585: A custom engine and bodywork from a major manufacturer. For 2023, the race adopted the LMDh prototype specification, although Le Mans Hypercars were also permitted. The series has also returned to the Grand Touring Prototype name from the 1980's. The Gran Turismo class cars at Daytona are closer to the road versions, similar to the GT3 class elsewhere. For example, the more standard Cup version of

1210-539: A full front page Rolex advertisement in the Daily Mail . Among the company's notable improvements and innovations are: By the start of World War II , Royal Air Force pilots were buying Rolex watches to replace their inferior standard-issue watches; however, when captured and sent to prisoner of war (POW) camps, their watches were confiscated. When Hans Wilsdorf heard of this, he offered to replace all watches that had been confiscated and not require payment until

1331-479: A grant of about $ 41,000 was launched in 2002. Rolex has been the official timekeeper to the Le Mans 24 Hours motor race since 2001. They also have been Formula 1's official timekeeper between 2013-2024. Former Formula 1 driver Jackie Stewart has advertised Rolex since 1968. Others who have done so for some years include Gary Player , Arnold Palmer , Roger Penske , Jean-Claude Killy , and Kiri Te Kanawa . It

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1452-846: A holding company for the families' stake in Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH (50.1%) (which in turn held 100% of the old Porsche AG) and Volkswagen AG (50.7%). At the same time, the new Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG ( Porsche AG ) was created for the car manufacturing business. In August 2009, Porsche SE and Volkswagen AG reached an agreement that the car manufacturing operations of the two companies would merge in 2011, to form an "Integrated Automotive Group". The management of Volkswagen AG agreed to 50.76% of Volkswagen AG being owned by Porsche SE in return for Volkswagen AG management taking Porsche SE management positions (in order for Volkswagen management to remain in control), and for Volkswagen AG acquiring ownership of Porsche AG. As of

1573-665: A hybrid system. Also a plug-in hybrid model called the Panamera S E-Hybrid was released in October 2013 in the United States and during the fourth quarter of 2013 in several European countries. Porsche developed a prototype electric Porsche Boxster called the Boxster E in 2011 and a hybrid version of the 911 called the GT3 R Hybrid, developed with Williams Grand Prix Engineering in 2010. In July 2014, Porsche announced

1694-471: A longtime Porsche employee, was appointed as interim CEO. Branitzki served in that position until Wendelin Wiedeking became CEO in 1993. Wiedeking took over the chairmanship of the board at a time when Porsche appeared vulnerable to a takeover by a larger company. During his long tenure, Wiedeking transformed Porsche into a very efficient and profitable company. Ferdinand Porsche's nephew, Ferdinand Piëch,

1815-589: A more attractive lustre. In general, Rolex has three watch lines: Oyster Perpetual , Professional and Cellini (the Cellini line is Rolex's line of "dress" watches). The primary bracelets for the Oyster line are named Jubilee , Oyster , President , and Pearlmaster . The watch straps on the models are usually either stainless steel, yellow gold, white gold, rose gold, or platinum. In the United Kingdom,

1936-407: A non-motorsport related occupation. These type of drivers are typically eligible for IMSA's Jim Trueman and Bob Akin awards, awarded to the top driver who is not a professional at the end of season. These amateur drivers or overage professional drivers (FIA Silver or Bronze are typically for amateur drivers but professional drivers over 55 are automatically classified at this level) are required in

2057-510: A product for authorized Rolex dealers to sell that offered the reliability and dependability of a Rolex, but at a lower price. The number of Rolex watches was limited by the rate that they could produce in-house Rolex movements , thus Tudor watches were originally equipped with third-party standard movements supplied by ETA SA while using Rolex-quality cases and bracelets. Since 2015, Tudor has begun to manufacture watches with in-house movements. The first model introduced with an in-house movement

2178-399: A reserve of two days of operation when inactive, police were able to reasonably infer the time of death. In Singapore on 20 April 1998, a 23-year-old Malaysian named Jonaris Badlishah bludgeoned a 42-year-old beautician Sally Poh Bee Eng to death in order to steal her Rolex and later give it to his girlfriend as a birthday present. The case became known as the " Rolex watch murder ". Jonaris

2299-566: A self-winding mechanism called a Perpetual rotor, a semi-circular plate that relies on gravity to move freely. In turn, the Oyster watch became known as the Oyster Perpetual. The invention of the Perpetual rotor by Rolex in 1931 revolutionized the self-winding watch , as watches were previously not allowed to be wound using a semi-circular plate that moved freely with gravity. Upon the death of his wife in 1944, Wilsdorf established

2420-454: A shoemaker at the camp. The watch (Rolex watch no. 185983) was delivered to Stalag Luft III on 10 July that year along with a note from Wilsdorf apologising for any delay in processing the order and explaining that an English gentleman such as Corporal Nutting "should not even think" about paying for the watch before the end of the war. Wilsdorf is reported to have been impressed with Nutting because, although not an officer, he had ordered

2541-518: A six-cylinder "boxer" engine . The team to lay out the body shell design was led by Ferry Porsche's eldest son, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (F. A.). The design phase for the 911 caused internal problems with Erwin Komenda, who led the body design department until then. F. A. Porsche complained Komenda made unauthorized changes to the design. Company leader Ferry Porsche took his son's drawings to neighbouring chassis manufacturer Reuter. Reuter's workshop

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2662-571: A specially designed and manufactured Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller Deep Sea Challenge watch was being "worn" by his submarine's robotic arm. Mercedes Gleitze was the first British woman to swim the English Channel on 7 October 1927. However, as John E. Brozek (author of The Rolex Report: An Unauthorized Reference Book for the Rolex Enthusiast ) points out in his article "The Vindication Swim, Mercedes Gleitze and Rolex take

2783-427: A total of 218,983 cars, 28,953 (13.22%) as domestic German sales, and 190,030 (86.78%) internationally. The company has been highly successful in recent times, and indeed claims to have the highest profit per unit sold of any car company in the world. Table of profits (in millions of euros) and number of cars produced. Figures from 2008/9 onwards were not reported as part of Porsche SE. On 11 May 2017, Porsche built

2904-640: A vehicle for the masses, which later became the Volkswagen Beetle . After World War II , when Ferdinand, a member of both the Nazi Party and the SS , would be arrested for war crimes , his son Ferry Porsche , an SS volunteer, began building his own car, which would result in the Porsche 356 . In 2009, Porsche entered an agreement with Volkswagen to create an 'integrated working group' by merging

3025-664: A vehicle. The Porsche Passport service was available initially in Atlanta , and has become available in many major cities across the US. During the COVID-19 pandemic , in March 2020, Porsche suspended its manufacturing in Europe for two weeks, "By taking this step, the sports car manufacturer is responding to the significant acceleration in the rate of infection caused by the coronavirus and

3146-442: A very fast course. In the past, a car had to cross the finish line after 24 hours to be classified, which led to dramatic scenes where damaged cars waited in the pits or on the edge of the track close to the finish line for hours, then restarted their engines and crawled across the finish line one last time in order to finish after the 24 hours and be listed with a finishing distance, rather than dismissed with DNF (did not finish). This

3267-468: A waterproof and dustproof wristwatch for Rolex, giving it the name "Oyster". The original patent attributed to Paul Perregaux and Georges Peret, that allowed the watch to be adjusted while maintaining protection from water ingress was purchased by Rolex and heavily marketed. The watch featured a hermetically sealed case which provided optimal protection for the movement. As a demonstration, Rolex submerged Oyster models in aquariums , which it displayed in

3388-456: Is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars , SUVs and sedans , headquartered in Stuttgart , Baden-Württemberg , Germany. The company is owned by Volkswagen AG , a controlling stake of which is owned by Porsche Automobil Holding SE . Porsche's current lineup includes the 718 , 911 , Panamera , Macan , Cayenne and Taycan . The origins of

3509-506: Is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva , Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as Wilsdorf and Davis by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered Rolex as the brand name of its watches in 1908 and became Rolex Watch Co. Ltd. in 1915. After World War I , the company moved its base of operations to Geneva because of

3630-511: Is also the sponsor of the Rolex International Jumping Riders Club Top 10 Final competition. Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh had a specially designed experimental Rolex Oyster Perpetual Deep-Sea Special strapped to the outside of their bathyscaphe during the 1960 Challenger Deep dive to a world-record depth of 10,916 metres (35,814 ft). When James Cameron conducted a similar dive in 2012,

3751-420: Is short for Ferdinand Porsche's full title in German, Doktor Ingenieur honoris causa lit.   ' Doctor of Engineering, Honorary Degree ' Ferdinand Porsche. The main offices was at Kronenstraße 24 in the centre of Stuttgart . Initially, the company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting, but did not build any cars under its own name. One of the first assignments the new company received

24 Hours of Daytona - Misplaced Pages Continue

3872-727: The Axis powers would win the war. American servicemen heard about this when stationed in Europe during WWII and this helped open up the American market to Rolex after the war. On 10 March 1943, while still a prisoner of war, Corporal Clive James Nutting, one of the organizers of the Great Escape , ordered a stainless steel Rolex Oyster 3525 Chronograph (valued at a current equivalent of £1,200) by mail directly from Hans Wilsdorf in Geneva, intending to pay for it with money he saved working as

3993-494: The Boxster roadster to their most famous product, the 911 . The Cayman is a coupé otherwise similar to the Boxster. The Cayenne is Porsche's mid-size luxury sport utility vehicle (SUV). A high performance luxury saloon/sedan , the Panamera , was launched in 2009. In 2010, Porsche launched the Cayenne S Hybrid and announced the Panamera S Hybrid , and launched the Porsche 918 sports car in 2014, which also features

4114-512: The Hans Wilsdorf Foundation , a private trust, in which he left all of his Rolex shares, ensuring that some of the company's income would go to charity. Wilsdorf died in 1960, and since then the trust has owned and run Rolex SA. The Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, which privately owns Rolex SA, is a registered Swiss charitable foundation and pays a lower tax rate. In 2011, a spokesman for Rolex declined to provide evidence regarding

4235-622: The Omega Electroquartz watches. Within about five years of research, design and development, Rolex created the "clean-slate" 5035/5055 movement that would eventually power the Rolex Oysterquartz . Material-wise, Rolex first used its "Cerachrom" ceramic bezel on the GMT-Master II in 2005, and has since then implemented ceramic bezel inserts across the range of professional sports watches. They are available on

4356-707: The Porsche 996 is used, instead of the usual RS/RSR racing versions. Recent Daytona entries also include BMW M3s and M6s , Porsche 911s , Chevy Camaros and Corvettes , Mazda RX-8s , Pontiac GTO.Rs , and Ferrari F430 Challenges . The Audi R8 and the Ferrari 458 Italia debuted in the 50th anniversary of the race in 2012. From the era of the IMSA GTO and GTU until the 2015 rule changes, spaceframe cars clad in lookalike body panels to compete in GT (the new BMW M6, Chevrolet Camaro, and Mazda RX-8). These rules are similar to

4477-539: The Volkswagen Group (which also owns Audi AG ), because the first Volkswagen Beetle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche . The two companies collaborated in 1969 to make the VW-Porsche 914 and 914-6 , whereby the 914-6 had a Porsche engine, and the 914 had a Volkswagen engine. Further collaboration in 1976 resulted in the Porsche 912 E (US only) and the Porsche 924 , which used many Audi components, and

4598-592: The coat of arms of the Free People's State of Württemberg of Weimar Germany of 1918–1933, which had Stuttgart as its capital. (The Bundesland of Württemberg-Hohenzollern used the same arms from 1945 to 1952, while Stuttgart during these years operated as the capital of adjacent Württemberg-Baden .) The arms of Stuttgart appear in the middle of the logo as an inescutcheon , for the company had its headquarters in Stuttgart. The heraldic symbols, combined with

4719-513: The successful ascent of Everest in 1953 by the expeditionary team led by Sir John Hunt . (That expedition was supplied with watches from both Rolex and Smiths ; it was a Smiths watch, rather than a Rolex, which Edmund Hillary wore to the summit.) The 39 mm Rolex Explorer was designed as a "tool watch" for rugged use, hence its movement has Paraflex shock absorbers which give them higher shock resistance than other Rolex watches. The 42mm Rolex Explorer II has some significant differences from

4840-464: The suspension . The 356, however, had several evolutionary stages, A, B, and C, while in production, and most Volkswagen-sourced parts were replaced by Porsche-made parts. Beginning in 1954 the 356s engines started utilizing engine cases designed specifically for the 356. The sleek bodywork was designed by Erwin Komenda , who also had designed the body of the Beetle. Porsche's signature designs have, from

4961-518: The 1963 film The Great Escape . In an infamous murder case, the Rolex on Ronald Platt's wrist eventually led to the arrest of his murderer, Albert Johnson Walker , a financial planner who had fled from Canada when he was charged with 18 counts of fraud, theft and money laundering. When a body was found in the English Channel in 1996 by a fisherman named John Coprik, a Rolex wristwatch was

24 Hours of Daytona - Misplaced Pages Continue

5082-532: The 1969 24 Hours of Daytona. The winning car was the Penske Lola T70 -Chevrolet of Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons . Few spectators witnessed the achievement as Motor Sport reported: "The Daytona 24-Hour race draws a very small crowd, as can be seen from the empty stands in the background." 1970 saw the race with drivers strapped into their cars, and at the start, drove away. Since 1971, races begin with rolling starts. In 1972, because of an FIA rule,

5203-464: The 1970s. Nowadays, four drivers compete typically because of the longer night driving. In the professional-based DPi Prototype and ACO GTE classes, all four drivers are usually professionals. In the ACO LMP2 and SRO Group GT3-based classes, many of these additional drivers are known as "amateur drivers," under current FIA specifications. Amateur drivers are sportsman drivers that have built a career in

5324-449: The 272,162 cars produced in 2020, 34,328 were 911 models, 21,784 were 718 Boxster and Cayman cars, 92,860 were Cayennes, 20,015 Taycan vehicles. Of the 321,321 vehicles produced in 2022, 41,947 were 911 models,18,080 were 718 Boxster/Cayman models, 91,117 were Macans, 98,113 were Cayennes, 35,241 were Panameras and 36,823 were Taycan models. The base price as of March 2024 are: The current Porsche model range includes sports cars from

5445-601: The 39mm Explorer; the Explorer II adds a date function, and an orange 24-hour hand which is paired with the fixed bezel's black 24-hour markers for situations underground or around the poles where day cannot be distinguished from night. Another iconic model is the Rolex GMT Master (1955), originally developed at the request of Pan Am Airways to provide its crews with a dual-time watch that could be used to display local time and GMT ( Greenwich Mean Time ), which

5566-653: The 456 kilowatts (620  PS ; 612  bhp ) Carrera GT commenced in Leipzig, and at EUR 450,000 ($ 440,000 in the United States) it was the most expensive production model Porsche ever built. In mid-2006, after years of the Boxster (and later the Cayenne) as the best selling Porsche in North America, the 911 regained its position as Porsche's best-seller in the region. The Cayenne and 911 have cycled as

5687-517: The 911 during the 1970s and replace it with the V8 - front engined grand sportswagon 928 . As we know today, the 911 outlived the 928 by far. Fuhrmann was replaced in the early 1980s by Peter W. Schutz , an American manager and self-proclaimed 911 aficionado. He was then replaced in 1988 by the former manager of German computer company Nixdorf Computer AG, Arno Bohn , who made some costly miscalculations that led to his dismissal soon after, along with that of

5808-654: The Air-King was dropped, making the Oyster Perpetual 26/31/34/36/39 the entry-level Rolex line. In 2016 Rolex reintroduced the Air-King, available as a single model (number 116900), largely similar to its predecessors but with a larger 40mm case, and a magnetic shield found on the Rolex Milgauss; indeed the new 40mm Air-King is slightly cheaper than the 39mm Explorer (the Explorer lacks the magnetic shield but its movement has Paraflex shock absorbers that are not found in

5929-430: The Air-King's movement). The name of the watch line in catalogs is often "Rolex Oyster ______" or "Rolex Oyster Perpetual ______"; Rolex Oyster and Oyster Perpetual are generic names and not specific product lines, except for the Oyster Perpetual 26/31/34/36/39/41 and Oyster Perpetual Date 34. The Rolex Oyster Perpetual watch is a direct descendant of the original watertight Rolex Oyster watch created in 1926. Within

6050-517: The Air-Prince line to honor RAF pilots of the Battle of Britain, releasing the first model in 1958. By 2007, the 1142XX iteration of the Air-King featured a COSC-certified movement in a 34mm case, considered by some a miniaturized variant of the 39mm Rolex Explorer as both watches featured very similar styling cues; the 34mm Air-King lineup was the least expensive series of Oyster Perpetual. In 2014

6171-540: The Date's 34 mm case and 19 mm bracelet. Modern versions of the Oyster Perpetual Date and Datejust models share Rolex's 3135 movement, with the most recent change to the 3135 movement being introduction of Rolex's "parachrom bleu" hairspring, which provides increased accuracy. As the Date and Datejust share a movement, both have the ability to adjust the date forward one day at a time without adjusting

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6292-752: The Datejust 41, which has the same 41mm diameter case as the Datejust II, however the Datejust 41 has smaller indexes and a thinner bezel compared to the Datejust II Rolex produced specific models suitable for the extremes of deep-sea diving , caving , mountain climbing , polar exploration , and aviation. Early professional models included the Rolex Submariner (1953) and the Rolex Sea Dweller (1967) . The latter watch has

6413-487: The Fords, the Ferrari P series prototypes staged a 1–2–3 side-by-side parade finish at the banked finish line in 1967. The Ferrari 365 GTB/4 road car was given the unofficial name Ferrari Daytona in celebration of this victory. Porsche repeated this show in their 1–2–3 win in the 1968 24 Hours. After the car of Gerhard Mitter had a big crash caused by tire failure in the banking, his teammate Rolf Stommelen supported

6534-705: The GTLM class, using LM GTE cars, similar to the WEC. In 2022 the GTLM class was replaced by GTD Pro, using the same cars as GTD. A single GTLM car, the Corvette C8.R, was also permitted to compete in the class with its performance adjusted to the GTD cars. The 2013 race was the first and only year for the GX class. Six cars started in the event. The class consisted of purpose built production Porsche Cayman S and Mazda 6 racecars. Mazda debuted their first diesel racecar there which

6655-566: The Oyster Perpetual lineup, there are three different movements; the 39 features the Calibre 3132 movement with the Parachrom hairspring and Paraflex shock absorbers (the Oyster Perpetual 39 is a variant of the Rolex Explorer 39mm, sharing the same case, bracelet and clasp, bezel, and movement, with a different dial and different hands), while the 34 and 36 models have the Caliber 3130 featuring

6776-419: The Parachrom hairspring, and the smallest 28 and 31 models have Calibre 2231. The Oyster Perpetual Date 34 (or simply Date 34) adds a date display and date movement, plus the options of a white gold fluted bezel and diamonds on the dial. Certain models from the Date and Datejust ranges are almost identical, however the Datejust have 36 mm and 41 mm cases paired with a 20 mm bracelet, compared with

6897-441: The Porsche family, and a supervisory board consisting largely of family members. With this change, most family members in the operation of the company, including F. A. Porsche and Ferdinand Piëch, departed from the company. F. A. Porsche founded his own design company, Porsche Design , which is renowned for exclusive sunglasses, watches, furniture, and many other luxury articles. Louise's son and Ferry's nephew Ferdinand Piëch , who

7018-525: The Rolex and Tudor brands. In 2023, Rolex agreed to acquire its longtime retail partner Bucherer , and in 2024, Rolex began construction of a new headquarters on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan , New York City , near Billionaires' Row . Alfred Davis and his brother-in-law Hans Wilsdorf founded Wilsdorf and Davis , the company that would eventually become Rolex SA , in London in 1905. Wilsdorf and Davis's main commercial activity at

7139-786: The SUV are also assembled in the Volkswagen Touareg factory in Bratislava , Slovakia. Boxster and Cayman production was outsourced to Valmet Automotive in Finland from 1997 to 2011, and in 2012 production moved to Germany. Since 2011, the area of the Zuffenhausen plant has more than doubled, from 284,000 m (28.4 ha) to 614,000 m (61.4 ha), as a result of purchasing the former Layher, Deltona and Daimler sites, among others. In 2015, Porsche reported selling

7260-479: The Submariner, Sea Dweller, Deepsea, GMT Master II and Daytona models. In contrast to the aluminum bezel which it replaced, the ceramic bezel color does not wear out from exposure to UV-light and is scratch resistant. Rolex uses 904L grade stainless steel; in contrast, most Swiss watches are made with 316L grade steel. Rolex uses the higher grade, as it is more resistant to corrosion and when polished, leaves

7381-539: The UK in 2014. Each Rolex comes with a unique serial number, which can help indicate its approximate production period. Serial numbers were first introduced in 1926 and were issued sequentially, until 1954, when Rolex restarted from #999,999 to #0. In 1987, there was an addition of one letter to a 6-digit serial number and in 2010, to the present date Rolex introduced random serial numbers. While Rolex mostly produces mechanical watches , it also participated in development of

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7502-485: The amount of charitable donations made by the Wilsdorf Foundation, which brought up several scandals due to the lack of transparency. In Geneva where the company is based, it is said to have gifted, among many things, two housing buildings to social institutions in Geneva. Rolex SA offers products under the Rolex and Tudor brands. Montres Tudor SA has designed, manufactured and marketed Tudor watches since 6 March 1946. Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf conceived Tudor to create

7623-421: The arms of Württemberg lives on in the Porsche logo. On 30 January 1951, not long before the formation of Baden-Württemberg, Ferdinand Porsche died from complications following a stroke. In post-war Germany, parts were generally in short supply, so the 356 automobile used components from the Volkswagen Beetle, including the engine case from its internal combustion engine , transmission , and several parts used in

7744-518: The basic organization was good, but the various officials in many cases were out of touch, childish and lacked the professional touch which one now finds at Watkins Glen ." 1966 also saw Suzy Dietrich enter the 24 Hours event, driving a Sunbeam Alpine with Janet Guthrie and Donna Mae Mims . The trio finished 32nd and, along with another women's team in the race, became the first women's teams to finish an international-standard 24-hour race. After having lost in 1966 at Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans to

7865-425: The beginning, featured air-cooled rear-engine configurations (like the Beetle), rare for other car manufacturers, but producing automobiles that are very well balanced. In 1964, after a fair amount of success in motor-racing with various models including the 550 Spyder , and with the 356 needing a major re-design, the company launched the Porsche 911 : another air-cooled , rear-engined sports car, this time with

7986-422: The boat, the same journalist made a discovery and reported it as follows: "Hanging round her neck by a ribbon on this swim, Miss Gleitze carried a small gold watch, which was found this evening to have kept good time throughout." When examined closely, the watch was found to be dry inside and in perfect condition. One month later, on 24 November 1927, Wilsdorf launched the Rolex Oyster watch in the United Kingdom with

8107-501: The brand name to be easily pronounceable in any language, and short enough to fit on the face of a watch. He also thought that the name "Rolex" was onomatopoeic , sounding like a watch being wound. During World War I , Rolex manufactured trench watches . In November 1915, the company changed its name to Rolex Watch Co. Ltd. In 1919, Hans Wilsdorf moved the company from England to Geneva, Switzerland, because of heavy post-war taxes levied on luxury imports and high export duties on

8228-407: The car across the line, to not only salvage a finishing position, but actually win the race. This led to the international rule requiring a car to cross the line under its own power in order to be classified. In 1964, the event was expanded to 2,000 km (1,240 mi), doubling the classic 1000 km distance of races at Nürburgring , Spa and Monza . The distance amounted to roughly half of

8349-410: The car for a specific number of hours. Most often, the fourth driver in all classes is a Daytona-only professional driver of renown that most often has won a major professional championship, such as Scott Dixon , Jeff Gordon , Fernando Alonso , Shane van Gisbergen and Kyle Busch . Unlike the Le Mans event, the Daytona race is conducted entirely over a closed course within the speedway arena without

8470-427: The car of Vic Elford and Jochen Neerpasch . When the car of the longtime leaders Jo Siffert and Hans Herrmann dropped to second due to a technical problem, these two also joined the new leaders while continuing with their car. So Porsche managed to put 5 of 8 drivers on the center of the podium, plus Jo Schlesser and Joe Buzzetta finishing in third place, with only Mitter being left out. Lola finished 1–2 in

8591-444: The car's simple aerodynamics reduce the development and testing costs. The DPs began racing in 2003 with six cars in the race. Specialist chassis makers like Riley , Dallara , and Lola provide the DP cars for the teams and the engines are branded under the names of major car companies like Cadillac , Lexus , Ford , BMW , and Porsche . 2017 saw the introduction of the DPi prototypes. These cars were based on LMP2 chassis with

8712-510: The chairman of Volkswagen Group . The first chief executive officer (CEO) of Porsche AG was Ernst Fuhrmann , who had been working in the company's engine development division. Fuhrmann was responsible for the so-called Fuhrmann-engine, used in the 356 Carrera models as well as the 550 Spyder, having four overhead camshafts instead of a central camshaft with pushrods, as in the Volkswagen-derived serial engines. He planned to cease

8833-461: The company date to the 1930s when Czech-German automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche founded Porsche with Adolf Rosenberger , a keystone figure in the creation of German automotive manufacturer and Audi precursor Auto Union , and Austrian businessman Anton Piëch , who was, at the time, also Ferdinand Porsche's son in law. In its early days, it was contracted by the German government to create

8954-419: The company's legal form was changed from Kommanditgesellschaft (KG), or limited partnership, to Aktiengesellschaft (AG), or public limited company, because Ferry Porsche came to believe the scale of the company outgrew a "family operation", after learning about Soichiro Honda 's "no family members in the company" policy at Honda . This led to the establishment of an executive board with members from outside

9075-419: The development director, Dr. Ulrich Bez , who was formerly responsible for BMW's Z1 model, and was CEO of Aston Martin from 2000 to 2013. In 1990, Porsche drew up a memorandum of understanding with Toyota to learn and benefit from Japanese lean manufacturing methods. In 2004 it was reported that Toyota was assisting Porsche with hybrid technology . Following the dismissal of Bohn, Heinz Branitzki ,

9196-514: The distance the 24 Hours of Le Mans winners covered at the time, and was similar in length to the 12 Hours of Sebring , which was also held in Florida in March. Starting in 1966, the Daytona race was extended to the same 24-hour length as Le Mans. The first 24 Hour event in 1966 was won by Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby driving a Ford Mk. II . Motor Sport reported: "For their first 24-hour race

9317-526: The end of 2015, the 52.2% control interest in VW AG is the predominant investment by Porsche SE, and Volkswagen AG in turn controls brands and companies such as Volkswagen , Audi , SEAT , Škoda , Bentley , Bugatti , Lamborghini , Porsche AG, Ducati , VW Commercial Vehicles, Scania , MAN , as well as Volkswagen Financial Services. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG (which stands for Doktor Ingenieur honoris causa Ferdinand Porsche Aktiengesellschaft ), as

9438-497: The end of the war, if the officers would write to Rolex and explain the circumstances of their loss and where they were being held. Wilsdorf was in personal charge of the scheme. As a result of this, an estimated 3,000 Rolex watches were ordered by British officers in the officer camp Oflag VII-B in Bavaria alone. This had the effect of raising the morale among the allied POWs because it indicated that Wilsdorf did not believe that

9559-489: The expensive Rolex 3525 Oyster chronograph while most other prisoners ordered the much cheaper Rolex Speed King model which was popular because of its small size. The watch is believed to have been ordered specifically to be used in the Great Escape when, as a chronograph, it could have been used to time patrols of prison guards or time the 76 ill-fated escapees through tunnel 'Harry' on 24 March 1944. Eventually, after

9680-402: The headquarters will include a new office building and test track. The facility will be known by its new address, One Porsche Drive. In October 2017, Porsche Cars North America announced the launch of Porsche Passport, a new sports car and SUV subscription program . This new offering allows consumers to access Porsche vehicles through subscribing to the service, rather than owning or leasing

9801-549: The island state of Tasmania . The plant will be the first of its type in the country. The facility is to be named the HIF (Highly Innovative Fuels) Tasmania Carbon Neutral eFuel Plant . It is slated to open in 2026. The headquarters and main factory are located in Zuffenhausen, a district in Stuttgart , where Porsche produces flat-6 and V8 piston engines. Cayenne and Panamera models are manufactured in Leipzig , Germany, and parts for

9922-524: The launch by the end of 2014 of the Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid a plug-in hybrid , which will displace the Cayenne S Hybrid from the lineup. The S E-Hybrid will be the first plug-in hybrid in the premium SUV segment and will allow Porsche to become the first automaker with three production plug-in hybrid models. In July 2017, Porsche installed its first 350 kW, 800V charging station, which

10043-600: The official distributor of the Stuttgart-based company in Malaysia since 2010. Of the 246,375 cars produced in the 2017 financial year, 32,197 were 911 models, 25,114 were Boxster and Cayman cars, 63,913 were Cayennes, 27,942 were Panameras and 97,202 were Macans. Of the 268,691 cars produced in 2018, 36,236 were 911 models, 23,658 were 718 Boxster and Cayman cars, 79,111 were Cayennes, 35,493 were Panameras, 93,953 were Macans and 240 Taycan pre-series vehicles. Of

10164-491: The old GTO specification, but with more restrictions. The intent of spaceframe cars is to allow teams to save money, especially after crashes, where teams can rebuild the cars for the next race at a much lower cost, or even redevelop cars, instead of having to write off an entire car after a crash or at the end of a year. Starting in 2014 the GT Daytona class was restricted exclusively to Group GT3 cars. Alongside this came

10285-480: The one-millionth 911. An Irish green Carrera S was built for the celebration, and it will be taken on a global tour before becoming a permanent exhibit at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart. In August 2021, Porsche has confirmed that it will be setting up a production plant in Malaysia, the first country outside of Europe. Local assembly will be handled by Porsche Malaysia's partner, Sime Darby, which has been

10406-424: The only identifiable object on the body. Since the Rolex movement had a serial number and was engraved with special markings every time it was serviced, British police traced the service records from Rolex and identified the owner of the watch as Ronald Platt. In addition, police were able to determine the date of death by examining the date on the watch calendar. Since the Rolex movement was fully waterproof and had

10527-481: The original quartz watch movements. Although Rolex has made very few quartz models for its Oyster line, the company's engineers were instrumental in design and implementation of the technology during the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1968, Rolex collaborated with a consortium of 16 Swiss watch manufacturers to develop the Beta 21 quartz movement used in their Rolex Quartz Date 5100 alongside other manufactures including

10648-443: The plunge", some doubts were cast on her achievement when a hoaxer claimed to have made a faster swim only four days later. Hence Gleitze attempted a repeat swim with extensive publicity on 21 October, dubbed the "Vindication Swim". For promotional purposes, Wilsdorf offered her one of the earliest Rolex Oysters if she would wear it during the attempt. After more than 10 hours, in water that was much colder than during her first swim, she

10769-455: The preliminary offering, 113,875 thousand shares were sold at the upper limit of the price range - 82.5 euros. Thus, the value of the company was estimated at 75 billion euros. In the first hours of trading on the Frankfurt stock exchange on 29 September, the share price rose to 84 euros. In April 2022, Porsche Australia announced they are planning to open an efuel manufacturing facility in

10890-620: The race was shortened to six hours, while the energy crisis led to the cancellation altogether in 1974. The Sports Car Club of America sanctioning was replaced by the International Motor Sports Association in 1975. In 1982 the race continued on as part of the IMSA GT Championship instead of WSC . In 2014 , the race saw a dramatic crash involving Memo Gidley who was driving the pole-sitter DP and Matteo Malucelli, an amateur driver in

11011-405: The race-track, in rallies , and in terms of road car sales. It remains in production; however, after several generations of revision, current-model 911s share only the basic mechanical configuration of a rear-engined, six-cylinder coupé , and basic styling cues with the original car. A cost-reduced model with the same body, but with a 356-derived four-cylinder engine, was sold as the 912. In 1972,

11132-542: The resultant measures implemented by the relevant authorities." In August 2022, Bloomberg News reported that Porsche has lined up interest in subscription of its initial public offering for a valuation between US$ 60–85   billion. It is expected to be listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange in September. The company has always had a close relationship with, initially, the Volkswagen (VW) marque , and later,

11253-477: The retail price for the stainless steel 'Pilots' range (such as the GMT Master II ) starts from £ 9,350. Diamond inlay watches are more expensive. The book Vintage Wristwatches by Antiques Roadshow ' s Reyne Haines listed a price estimate of vintage Rolex watches that ranged between US$ 650 and US$ 75,000, while listing vintage Tudors between US$ 250 and US$ 9,000. Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf created

11374-574: The road based 911, 935 and 996. Porsche also won a record 11 consecutive races from 1977 to 1987 and won 18 out of 23 races from 1968 to 1991. In addition to their 19 wins as both car and engine manufacturer, Porsche has four wins solely as an engine manufacturer, in 1984, 1995, and two in the Daytona Prototype era in 2009 and 2010. General Motors has 10 wins between its Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Chevrolet, and Cadillac brands. Notes: Rolex Rolex SA ( / ˈ r oʊ l ɛ k s / )

11495-420: The silver and gold used for the watch cases. In 1919 the company's name was officially changed to Montres Rolex SA and later in 1920 to Rolex SA. With administrative worries attended to, Wilsdorf turned the company's attention to a marketing challenge: the infiltration of dust and moisture under the dial and crown, which damaged the movement. To address this problem, in 1926 a third-party casemaker produced

11616-462: The stadium lights are turned on only to a level of 20%, similar to the stadium lighting setup at Le Mans, with brighter lights around the pit straight, and decent lighting similar to street lights around the circuit. After several ownership changes at IMSA which changed the direction the organization followed, it was decided by the 1990s that the Daytona event would align with the Grand-Am series,

11737-400: The texts "Porsche" and "Stuttgart", do not form a conventional coat of arms , since heraldic achievements never spell out the name of the armiger nor the armiger's home town in the shield. Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern both in 1952 became part of the present Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg after the political consolidation of West Germany in 1949, but the old design of

11858-591: The time involved importing Hermann Aegler's Swiss movements to England and placing them in watch cases made by Dennison and others. These early wristwatches were sold to many jewellers, who then put their own names on the dial. The earliest watches from Wilsdorf and Davis were usually hallmarked "W&D" inside the caseback. In 1908, Wilsdorf registered the trademark "Rolex", which became the brand name of watches from Wilsdorf and Davis. He opened an office in La Chaux-de-Fonds , Switzerland. Wilsdorf wanted

11979-515: The time; this feature is not confined to the Datejust. Compared with the Date, the Datejust has a much wider range of customization options, including other metals beyond stainless steel, various materials for the dial, and optional diamonds on the dial and bezel. The Datejust II, which was released in 2009, has a bigger case (41mm diameter) than the standard Datejust and features an updated movement, being only available in steel with white, yellow or rose gold on an Oyster bracelet. In 2016, Rolex released

12100-558: The top-selling model since. In Germany, the 911 outsells the Boxster/Cayman and Cayenne. In May 2011, Porsche Cars North America announced plans to spend $ 80–$ 100 million, but will receive about $ 15 million in economic incentives to move their North American headquarters from Sandy Springs , a suburb of Atlanta , to Aerotropolis, Atlanta , a new mixed-use development on the site of the old Ford Hapeville plant adjacent to Atlanta's airport . Designed by architectural firm HOK ,

12221-411: The track opened, on April 5, 1959, a six-hour/1000 kilometer USAC - FIA sports car race was held on the road course. Count Antonio Von Dory and Roberto Mieres won the race in a Porsche , shortened to 560.07 miles (901.35 km) due to darkness. The race used a 3.81-mile layout, running counter-clockwise. This event is not considered to be part of the lineage of the eventual 24-hour race. In 1962,

12342-404: The two companies' car manufacturing operations. By 2015, Porsche SE , the holding company spun off from the original Porsche firm, had a controlling interest in the Volkswagen Group , which included Audi and Lamborghini as subsidiaries. Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951) founded the company called "Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH " with Adolf Rosenberger and Anton Piëch in 1931. The name

12463-409: The unfavorable economy in the United Kingdom. In 1920, Hans Wilsdorf registered Montres Rolex SA in Geneva as the new company name ( montre is French for watch); it later became Rolex SA . Since 1960, the company has been owned by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation , a private family trust. Rolex SA and its subsidiary Montres Tudor SA design, make, distribute, and service wristwatches sold under

12584-417: The use of any public streets. Most parts of the steep banking are included, interrupted with a chicane on the back straight and a sweeping, fast infield section which includes two hairpins. Unlike Le Mans, the race is held in wintertime, when nights are at their longest. There are lights installed around the circuit for night racing, although the infield section is still not as well-lit as the main oval. However,

12705-506: The war, Nutting was sent an invoice of only £15 for the watch, because of currency export controls in England at the time. The watch and associated correspondence between Wilsdorf and Nutting were sold at an auction for £66,000 in May 2007, while at an earlier auction in September 2006 the same watch fetched A$ 54,000. Nutting served as a consultant for both the 1950 film The Wooden Horse and

12826-779: The war, losing out to Henschel & Son in both contracts that ultimately led to the Tiger I and the Tiger II . However, not all this work was wasted, as the chassis Porsche designed for the Tiger I was used as the base for the Elefant tank destroyer . Porsche also developed the Maus super-heavy tank in the closing stages of the war, producing two prototypes. Ferdinand Porsche's biographer, Fabian Müller, wrote that Porsche had thousands of people forcibly brought to work at their factories during

12947-629: The war. The workers wore the letter "P" on their clothing at all times. It stood not for "Porsche", but for "Poland". At the end of World War II in 1945, the Volkswagen factory at KdF-Stadt fell to the British. Ferdinand lost his position as chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen, and Ivan Hirst , a British Army major, was put in charge of the factory. (In Wolfsburg, the Volkswagen company magazine dubbed him "The British Major who saved Volkswagen".) On 15 December of that year, Ferdinand

13068-408: The windows of its main points of sale. In 1927, British swimmer Mercedes Gleitze swam the English Channel with an Oyster on her necklace, becoming the first Rolex ambassador. To celebrate the feat, Rolex published a full-page advertisement on the front page of the Daily Mail for every issue for a whole month proclaiming the watch's success during the ten-hour-plus swim. In 1931, Rolex patented

13189-556: Was arrested for war crimes, but not tried. During his 20-month imprisonment, Ferdinand Porsche's son, Ferry Porsche , decided to build his own car, because he could not find an existing one that he wanted to buy. He also had to steer the company through some of its most difficult days until his father's release in August 1947. The first models of what was to become the 356 were built in a small sawmill in Gmünd , Austria. The prototype car

13310-620: Was arrested, sentenced to death and executed. O. J. Simpson wore a counterfeit Rolex during his 1994 murder trial . According to the 2017 Brand Z report, the brand value is estimated at $ 8.053 billion. Rolex watches continue to have a reputation as status symbols . The company produces more than 1,000,000 timepieces each year. 46°11′36″N 6°7′58″E  /  46.19333°N 6.13278°E  / 46.19333; 6.13278 Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG , usually shortened to Porsche ( German pronunciation: [ˈpɔʁʃə] ; see below ),

13431-538: Was built at Audi's Neckarsulm factory, which had been NSU 's. Porsche 944s were also built there, although they used far fewer Volkswagen components. The Cayenne, introduced in 2002, shares its chassis with the Volkswagen Touareg and the Audi Q7 , which is built at the Volkswagen Group factory in Bratislava , Slovakia . Porsche SE was created in June 2007 by renaming the old Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, and became

13552-669: Was chairman and CEO of the Volkswagen Group from 1993 to 2002 and is chairman of the Volkswagen AG Supervisory Board since then. With 12.8 percent of the Porsche SE voting shares, he also remains the second-largest individual shareholder of Porsche SE after his cousin, F. A. Porsche, which had 13.6 percent. Porsche's 2002 introduction of the Cayenne also marked the unveiling of a new production facility in Leipzig , Saxony , which once accounted for nearly half of Porsche's annual output. In 2004, production of

13673-642: Was from the German government to design a car for the people; that is, a Volk swagen . This resulted in the Volkswagen Beetle , one of the most successful car designs of all time. Later, the Porsche 64 would be developed in 1939 using many components from the Beetle. During World War II , Volkswagen production turned to the military version of the Volkswagen Beetle, the Kübelwagen , 52,000 produced, and Schwimmwagen , 15,584 produced. Porsche produced several designs for heavy tanks during

13794-477: Was later acquired by Porsche (so-called Werk 2). Afterward, Reuter became a seat manufacturer, today known as Keiper-Recaro . The design office gave sequential numbers to every project (See Porsche type numbers ), but the designated 901 nomenclature contravened Peugeot 's trademarks on all 'x0x' names, so it was adjusted to 911. Racing models adhered to the "correct" numbering sequence: 904, 906, 908. The 911 has become Porsche's most well-known model – successful on

13915-418: Was pulled from the sea semi-conscious seven miles short of her goal. Although she did not complete the second crossing, a journalist for The Times wrote, "Having regard to the general conditions, the endurance of Miss Gleitze surprised the doctors, journalists and experts who were present, for it seemed unlikely that she would be able to withstand the cold for so long. It was a good performance." As she sat in

14036-424: Was responsible for mechanical development of Porsche's production and racing cars (including the very successful 911 , 908 and 917 models), formed his own engineering bureau, and developed a five-cylinder-inline diesel engine for Mercedes-Benz . A short time later he moved to Audi (used to be a division, then a subsidiary, of Volkswagen), and pursued his career through the entire company, ultimately becoming

14157-431: Was shown to German auto dealers, and when pre-orders reached a set threshold, production (with aluminum body) was begun by Porsche Konstruktionen GesmbH , founded by Ferry and Louise . Many regard the 356 as the first Porsche simply because it was the first model sold by the fledgling company. After production of the 356 was taken over by the father's Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH in Stuttgart in 1950, Porsche commissioned

14278-530: Was the Tudor North Flag. Following this, updated versions of the Tudor Pelagos and Tudor Heritage Black Bay have also been fitted with an in-house caliber. Tudor watches are marketed and sold in most countries around the world. Montres Tudor SA discontinued sales of Tudor-branded watches in the United States in 2004, but Tudor returned to the United States market in the summer of 2013, and to

14399-410: Was the case in the initial 1962 Daytona Continental (then 3 hours), in which Dan Gurney 's Lotus 19 had established a lengthy lead when the engine failed with just minutes remaining. Gurney stopped the car at the top of the banking, just short of the finish line. When the three hours had elapsed, Gurney simply cranked the steering wheel to the left (toward the bottom of the banking) and let gravity pull

14520-464: Was the first time a diesel fuel racecar ever started at the Daytona 24. Throughout the race the Caymans were dominant, while all three Mazdas suffered premature engine failure and retired from the race. By a 9 lap lead, the #16 Napleton Porsche Cayman, driven by David Donohue , was the GX winner. Porsche has the most overall victories of any manufacturer with 23, scored by various models, including

14641-500: Was the international time standard for aviation at that time (and still is in its modern variant of Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) or Zulu Time ) and was needed for astronavigation (celestial navigation) during longer flights. Since 1976, the Rolex Awards for Enterprise of 100,000 Swiss francs has been awarded; a Young Laureates award of 50,000 was added in 2010. The biennial Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative with

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