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115-702: In 1994, Porsche approved the beginning of a project to develop a prototype for the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) series, running under the World Sports Car (WSC) regulations. The car was not a factory-backed effort, yet was approved by Porsche and use some of their expertise and most of all their powerplant. Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) used the XJR-14 chassis number 691, modified by Porsche . For an engine, Porsche used one of their longest running motors,

230-562: A 1-2 victory at the Nürburgring , ahead of five McLarens. McLaren was able to claw back a victory at Spa before the Mercedes again took over, taking 1-2 victories in the next three rounds. McLaren would take one final victory at Mugello before the Mercedes would take the final two victories of the year. BMW Motorsport , who had scored McLaren's only victories that year, managed second in the teams championships, while Team Davidoff took

345-576: A 1-2-3 victory over six trailing 911 GT1s. However, for the next round, Mercedes-Benz would be able to put up a fight against the McLarens, with a new CLK-GTR losing to BMW Motorsports F1 GTR by less than a second. At Helsinki, with a smaller field on the temporary street course and more mechanical woes for Mercedes, the BMW Motorsport McLaren again took victory. Unfortunately, Mercedes soon overcame their mechanical problems and took

460-853: 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

575-603: 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

690-592: A 1997-spec car, for competition in GT500. The competition from Toyota , Honda , and Nissan had improved since the McLaren last raced, and therefore Team Take One struggled to be competitive, achieving only a best 9th place at Mine Circuit. For 2000, Hitotsuyama Racing decided to follow Team Take One's lead and enter their own 1997-spec chassis, #25R, which the team had previously used in the 1999 Le Mans Fuji 1000km . Although both teams suffered mechanical woes throughout

805-589: A close relationship with, initially, the Volkswagen (VW) marque , and later, 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

920-692: A distant third. Although McLaren had successfully outdone Porsche, they were simply unable to compete with the power of the new Mercedes-Benz . BMW officially left the project at the end of 1997 in order to build their own Le Mans Prototype project, the BMW V12 LM . McLaren, realizing that the F1 could no longer compete against an even more evolved Mercedes CLK-LM, decided to pull out factory backing for 1998. Team Davidoff and Parabolica Motorsports, aligned with BBA Competition, attempted to continue with their aged cars in 1998, but could finish no better than fifth in

1035-400: A division, then a subsidiary, of Volkswagen), and pursued his career through the entire company, ultimately becoming 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

1150-530: A final appearance, an LMP1-98 appeared at the debut Petit Le Mans in the United States. Alongside a lone 911 GT1, both cars showed great pace, but the LMP1-98 had to settle for second place, defeated by a customer Ferrari 333 SP by only a few seconds following ten hours of racing. The LMP1-98s were retired after 1998, with Porsche planning to develop their own Le Mans Prototype for 2000 . That project

1265-456: A former GTC Competition F1 GTR of 1995-spec. Although quick enough to take six pole positions over the season, the team struggled during races, managing only a single victory against a large variety of sportscars. Although drivers Ian Flux and Jake Ulrich managed to easily take the GT1 class drivers championship, the pair failed to beat out GT2 and GT3 class teams for the overall championship. Following

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1380-461: A fourth place. The following year, the GT1 class was abandoned and the McLarens no longer eligible. However, in an ACO sanctioned event in Japan in 1999 , a McLaren F1 GTR was entered by Hitotsuyama Racing in the new LMGTP class for closed-cockpit prototypes. Had the McLaren won its class, it would have earned an automatic entry to Le Mans as a prototype in 2000, however the car failed to finish and

1495-651: 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

1610-712: 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 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,

1725-577: A single race. Team Davidoff were the only ones to score points that season, finishing 6th in the teams championship. After 1998 the GT1 class was abolished due to the dominance by Mercedes-Benz, and McLaren F1s never raced in FIA GT again. In 1996, Team Goh of Japan purchased two F1 GTRs of 1996-spec, chassis #13R and #14R, for participation in the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship 's (JGTC) GT500 class under

1840-421: 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 , 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,

1955-427: 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

2070-578: A very efficient and profitable company. Ferdinand Porsche's nephew, Ferdinand Piëch, 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

2185-410: Is not from a Japanese manufacturer; a Porsche 911 GT2 won the GT500 team's championship in 1995, although the driver championship was won by a Nissan driver that year. Team Lark would not return to defend their title in 1997 due to disputes with GT Association over car handicaps, and no McLarens raced in the series. McLarens would return though in 1999 with Team Take One purchasing McLaren F1 GTR #19R,

2300-504: 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 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

2415-451: Is renowned for exclusive sunglasses, watches, furniture, and many other luxury articles. Louise's son and Ferry's nephew Ferdinand Piëch , who 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

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2530-604: Is the racing variant of the McLaren F1 sports car first produced in 1995 for grand touring style racing, such as the BPR Global GT Series , FIA GT Championship , JGTC , and British GT Championship . It was powered by the naturally aspirated BMW S70/2 V12 engine. It is most famous for its overall victory at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans where it won against faster purpose-built prototypes in very wet conditions. The F1 GTR raced internationally until 2005 when

2645-548: 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

2760-575: The Joest Racing squad, the LMP1-98s showed that their quick pace was now lacking against new competitors, managing to take a best of only ninth in qualifying. During the race itself, although the LMP1-98s showed pace, they were not able to survive the entire race. One car suffered electronics difficulties after only 107 laps, while the second car broke some bodywork mountings in a spin and was not able to continue after it had completed 218 laps. For

2875-526: The Le Mans Prototype (LMP1) regulations. Porsche agreed to help in the development of the car only if Joest agreed to pay for the services. Following the success of the WSC-95s in winning both the 1996 and 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans , Porsche decided to take over the project themselves. Both WSC-95 chassis underwent major revisions to their bodywork. The nose was raised in the middle, while to

2990-487: 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 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

3105-541: The Nürburgring , McLaren would successfully take the first five positions for GTC, West Competition, and new F1 GTR owners Giroix Racing Team and Mach One Racing. Following another victory at Donington , the F1 had a slight dry spell when it first lost to a Porsche in Montléry , then to a Ferrari at Anderstorp . However the F1 GTR would return to form by winning the final four races of the season. West Competition would take

3220-414: The Porsche 356 . In 2009, Porsche entered an agreement with Volkswagen to create an 'integrated working group' by merging 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

3335-512: The Porsche 911 GT1 had already proven their worth in the final races of 1996, while newcomer Mercedes-Benz was showing the potential of their new CLK-GTR in testing. McLaren was therefore forced to give the F1 extensive modifications in order to be able to compete against cars that had been meant as race cars first and not road cars like the F1. First and foremost, the F1 required extensive modification to its bodywork in order to gain as much aerodynamic downforce as possible. Although it retained

3450-617: The Porsche 912 E (US only) and the Porsche 924 , which used many Audi components, and 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

3565-536: The "Long Tail" version due to their stretched bodywork, most noticeably at the rear. At Le Mans 1997, the car reached 317 kilometres per hour (196.97 mph) on the Mulsanne straight. This was still slightly slower than some of the field, including the Porsche 911 GT1 Evo 's - 326 kilometres per hour (202.57 mph), Nissan R390 GT1 's - 319 kilometres per hour (198.22 mph) and TWR Porsche Joest LMP 's - 320 kilometres per hour (198.84 mph). Debuting at

Porsche WSC-95 - Misplaced Pages Continue

3680-545: The 1995 season, leading to Porsche canceling the project. However, in February 1996 Reinhold Joest of the Joest Racing team convinced Porsche to give the unused prototype to his team, and for them to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans . With approval from Porsche, Joest put forth the money to allow for the construction of a second car from scratch, as well as the slight modifications to the existing car in order to meet

3795-406: The 1995 season. An unused F1 chassis which was meant to become #019 was taken by McLaren and modified by the company as a developmental prototype. Because of the similarity to a race car, extensive modification was not needed to actually turn the F1 into a racing car. Bodywork modification saw the addition of various cooling ducts, most noticeably a large one in the center of the nose and two placed in

3910-485: The 1995, BPR season opener at Jerez , three F1 GTRs took to the track (two for GTC Competition, one for David Price Racing 's West Competition). The McLarens showed their speed from the very start, taking the first three qualifying spots. In the race, facing stiff competition from a Porsche 911 GT2 Evo, the McLaren F1 GTR of Ray Bellm and Maurizio Sandro Sala was able to take victory by a mere 16 seconds. For

4025-591: The 1996-spec. The F1 GTR 1996 was the fastest variant in terms of straight line speed - the car hit 330 km/h on the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans in 1996, which is 13 km/h faster than the 1997 long-tail F1 GTR and even 6 km/h faster than the 1996 Porsche GT1. With the BPR Global GT Series reformed into the FIA GT Championship in 1997, rules regarding the cars used in the premier GT1 class were altered. Homologation specials like

4140-501: The 1997 season. Major teams included the BMW Motorsport -backed Schnitzer Motorsport , Team Davidoff, and Parabolica Motorsports. Privateers continued to campaign older 1995-spec and 1996-spec cars. At the opening round, the new Mercedes showed its pace by taking the pole in qualifying, but the car suffered mechanically during the race. The newer F1 GTRs showed that they had overcome the performance advantage of Porsche by taking

4255-449: 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

4370-517: 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 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

4485-529: The 356 needing a major re-design, the company launched the Porsche 911 : another air-cooled , rear-engined sports car, this time with 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

4600-582: The 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, and 11th places. With the upgraded 1997-spec cars, McLaren returned with six entries the following year. Now facing not only Porsche, but also Lister , Panoz, and Nissan, the McLarens again performed well. Only two entries managed to finish, taking 2nd and 3rd overall (1st and 2nd in the GT class) behind the repeat winner, the Porsche LMP. In 1998, only two McLaren F1 GTRs were entered, both by privateer teams, with only one car managing

4715-542: 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 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

Porsche WSC-95 - Misplaced Pages Continue

4830-483: The 60 millimetres (2.36 in) front and 80 millimetres (3.15 in) rear clearance of the 1996-spec car. The engine also saw extensive modification, with a stroke reduction bringing the BMW S70 V12 down to 5,990 cubic centimetres (366 cu in) in an attempt to prolong the life of the engines, while still maintaining the air restrictor-controlled 600 metric horsepower (441 kW). The standard gearbox

4945-473: The 911 GT1s suffered various difficulties, both in the hands of the factory team but also for the privateers. The finish therefore came down to a close race between a McLaren F1 GTR and the WSC-95, with Joest Racing once again coming out the victor by a single lap. Ferrari Formula One teammates of 1985 and 1986 , Michele Alboreto and Stefan Johansson , drove with Le Mans rookie Tom Kristensen to take

5060-666: 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 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 ,

5175-659: 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 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

5290-636: 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 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

5405-498: The GT90s Revival Series which mainly involved former BPR Global GT Series competitors. A handful of GTRs were not only bought by private owners, but also extensively modified by McLaren to make them street-legal. In order to meet regulations, the cars were required to have their ride heights increased, as well as a change from a racing fuel tank and inlet to a more traditional tank and fuel cap. The air restrictor on

5520-604: The GTR Euroseries season, a four-hour race at Spa . Unfortunately the car was forced to retire with a blown head gasket. Following the end of competition for most F1 GTRs in 1998, the various chassis were put to different uses. Some cars, such as the Le Mans-winning chassis #01R, were put on public exhibition at motor shows or in museums. Others were bought by private collectors, either for storage or for use by their owners in historic track day competition, such as

5635-472: The Le Mans Prototypes was stiffer as Porsche had a factory team in the class. GT1 class itself was also more competitive, again with Porsche having a factory team with their new 911 GT1s. McLaren had seven entries again, but were unable to repeat on their success, although they were only beaten by the two new 911 GT1s and the overall winning Porsche LMP. Six of the seven McLarens finished, taking

5750-471: The McLaren F1 GTRs were no longer eligible. Although officially not part of any one racing series, the 24 Hours of Le Mans was still considered important enough for McLaren to enter. Competing at Le Mans meant racing against many of their normal GT1 competitors from various series, as well as some unique cars which ran Le Mans only. McLaren first ran Le Mans in 1995, with all seven chassis built at

5865-583: The Mil Milhas. Team Davidoff raced in a number of events outside of the mainstream in 1997, appearing at the 6 Hours of Vallelunga with drivers Thomas Bscher and John Nielsen (racing driver) taking a 21 lap victory over the nearest competitor. Later, the car appeared at the Le Mans Autumn Cup, finishing second in combined heat races. BBA Competition would fly to China for the FIA GT exhibition event at Zhuhai , taking second. In 1998, for

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5980-616: The Porsche showing its dominance late in the season, McLaren's GTC Competition was still successful in taking the team's championship with West Competition taking third. For 1997, the BPR Global Endurance GT Championship would become the FIA GT Championship. Showing control of the BPR series early in 1996, McLaren now saw that their car was lacking against the likes of the new Porsche 911 GT1 in

6095-660: 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

6210-547: The Type-935 turbocharged Flat-6. Originally used in the Porsche 956 in the 1980s, the engine was still powerful enough to power modern prototypes. While Porsche's new 911 GT1s used a 3.2 Litre engine, the WSC-95 used a smaller 3.0 Litre engine. Although smaller, this gave the WSC-95 a better fuel economy than the 911 GT1, which was useful over long race distances. Unfortunately, the IMSA WSC regulations were changed prior to

6325-491: The Volkswagen Beetle, including the engine case from its internal combustion engine , transmission , and several parts used in 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

6440-711: The Volkswagen Beetle, the Kübelwagen , 52,000 produced, and Schwimmwagen , 15,584 produced. Porsche produced several designs for heavy tanks during 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

6555-459: The all new FIA GT Championship . At the same time, McLaren was aware of the arrival of the new Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR , Lotus Elise GT1 , and Panoz Esperante GTR-1 , all purpose-built racing cars that bore little relation to road legal cars like the McLaren F1. The new F1 GTR "Long Tail" cars were therefore developed, and with increased assistance from BMW Motorsport , McLaren continued into

6670-481: 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 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

6785-472: The car and develop upgrades to supply to the teams. A total of nine chassis would be built for the 1995 season, with #01R being retained by the factory as a test mule, except for a one-off use by Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans . British team GTC Racing received two F1 GTRs, with a third being used to replace a destroyed car. David Price Racing , BBA Competition, Mach One Racing, and Giroix Racing Team would all receive one chassis each, while

6900-557: The car back for two brief appearances in 2005, failing to finish in the first race at Fuji then taking an 18th on the series' return to Fuji before being retired for good by Hitotsuyama. This would be the final McLaren F1 GTR in competition in the world. Starting in 1996, with the expansion of the BRDC GT Championship (later known as British GT), the Lanzante Motorsports team saw an opportunity to purchase

7015-412: 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

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7130-594: The cars became officially known as the Porsche LMP1-98s. The two WSC-95s were completed just in time for Joest Racing to go to the Le Mans test session in May. There, the two cars showed their pace early by setting the fifth and tenth fastest times, easily beating the factory Porsche 911 GT1s . A few weeks later at Le Mans, the WSC-95s showed their improvements and the #8 entry was at the pole position , while #7

7245-491: The company called "Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH " with Adolf Rosenberger and Anton Piëch in 1931. The name 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

7360-416: 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 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

7475-406: The company" policy at Honda . This led to the establishment of an executive board with members from outside 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

7590-443: The design. Company leader Ferry Porsche took his son's drawings to neighbouring chassis manufacturer Reuter. Reuter's workshop 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

7705-474: 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

7820-455: The eventual class winner, a Toyota GT-One , declined the automatic invitation as Toyota decided to end the GT-One program in favour of Formula One. At the close of the 1996 seasons, Bigazzi Team SRL, Giroix Racing Team, and David Price Racing took their F1 GTRs to Brazil to compete in races at Curitiba and Brasília . Bigazzi took both victories just ahead of the other two McLarens. Bigazzi would return to Brazil again in 1997 to take victory at

7935-412: The final chassis, #09R, was sold to Hassanal Bolkiah , the Sultan of Brunei , for his car collection. At Le Mans 1995, the Kokusai Kaihatsu McLaren obtained victory and the highest practice top speed of the year, reaching 281 km/h (174.605 mph) on the Mulsanne Straight . Following the success of the 1995 season, McLaren set forth to upgrade the car to remain competitive, especially against

8050-399: The final race chassis was retired. Gordon Murray , creator of the McLaren F1, originally saw his creation as the ultimate road car, with no intention to take the car racing. Although the car used many racing technologies and designs, it was felt that the car should be a road car first, without any intent built into the creation of the car to modify it into a racing car. However, soon after

8165-407: The first assignments the new company received 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

8280-457: The front of the car. The bodywork was also modified to allow it to be removed more quickly for easier repair. The car's standard gearbox was modified to include a lighter magnesium housing and more robust mechanicals. These modifications allowed for the weight of the GTR to be lowered by 38 kg. Due to demand, nine more new GTRs were built, while two older GTRs (#03R and #06R) were also modified to

8395-417: The inaugural International Sports Racing Series event at Donington Park , where the car took a dominant victory. Upon returning to Le Mans they still showed their pace by once again taking pole position. Although still facing competition from the factory Porsche 911 GT1s as well as the new McLaren F1 GTRs , Nissan had now entered and were keen to take an overall victory. However, unlike the previous year,

8510-551: 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

8625-469: 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

8740-495: The launch of the McLaren F1, the BPR Global GT Series was created. Starting in the 1994 season, the series featured racing modifications of sports cars such as the Venturi 600 LM , Ferrari F40 , and Porsche 911 Turbo . Viewed as a possible replacement for the defunct World Sportscar Championship , major manufacturers were taking interest in the series. At the same time, teams were also looking for faster and more capable cars for

8855-457: The location of the storage lockers on the side of the car. A large adjustable fixed wing was added to the rear of the car. Even the 1995 versions of F1 GTR generated enough downforce to run along the ceiling at 100 mph. The interior was stripped of all luxuries and given a full racing cage. Carbon brakes replaced the stock units. Because of the rules at the time, the BMW S70 V12 engine

8970-588: The name Team Lark. Debuting at the opening round at Suzuka Circuit , the Lark team took a 1-2 finish, with winners Naoki Hattori and Ralf Schumacher . At the following round at Fuji , David Brabham and John Nielsen would take victory for the Lark McLaren. However, in the next two rounds, the Japanese rivals would overcome the McLarens, only to have Team Lark return to take victory in the final two rounds of

9085-600: 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

9200-508: The older 1995-spec cars. BMW Motorsport , with the assistance of Bigazzi Team, purchased three F1 GTRs as well. McLaren started the 1996 season in the same fashion as they had in 1995, with GTC Competition taking the first win in the hands of Ray Bellm and James Weaver . GTC, West Competition, and Mach One would trade off wins for the next three rounds until McLaren finally suffered a loss to Ferrari at Anderstorp yet again. GTC Competition would take victory again at Suzuka Circuit , but when

9315-480: 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

9430-445: 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, 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

9545-455: The overall drivers championship. For 1999, although the FIA GT Championship had abandoned the GT1 class, British GT continued to allow the cars to run. EMKA Racing continued with AM Racing joining with another 1997-spec car before they were forced to drop out halfway through the season. EMKA managed a mere single victory, consistently being beaten by Porsche 911 GT1s and Lister Storms . For 2000, British GT finally abandoned their GT1 class, and

9660-454: The overall victory, a mere lap ahead of the following Porsche 911 GT1 . The car experienced lighter tyre wear than competitors in the GT1 class and was able to make up time by only changing tyres at every third pit stop made for petrol. Although Joest had originally intended to run the car just at Le Mans in 1996, the team decided to attempt once again in 1997 with a single car. A few weeks prior to Le Mans, Joest decided to showcase their car at

9775-466: The overall win in one of the shortest distances covered since the 1950s. Other McLarens finished 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 13th overall, with only two F1 GTRs failing to finish. In honor of McLaren's achievement, the company developed five special F1 LMs for customers to mark the five finishers. The winning car, which was driven by Yannick Dalmas , Masanori Sekiya , and JJ Lehto , was retained by McLaren and never raced again. Returning in 1996, competition from

9890-455: 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

10005-420: The present Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg after the political consolidation of West Germany in 1949, but the old design of 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

10120-570: The race, various WSC cars succumbed to technical difficulties and dropped well down in the standings, while the GT1 class cars continued on without difficulty. In the closing hours of the race, five McLaren F1 GTRs were still racing while only three WSC cars remained. A close battle in the final hours saw the Kokusai Kaihatsu McLaren competing against the Courage Compétition prototype, with the McLaren finally taking

10235-446: The same carbon-fibre monocoque as the road car, the entire exterior of the car was purpose-built. A much longer nose and tail, as well as a wider rear wing, were designed in order to maximize the amount of aerodynamic downforce, while the wheel arches were widened in order to allow for the maximum amount of grip from the tyres allowed by the rules. Ground clearance was also changed to 70 millimetres (2.76 in) front and rear, rather than

10350-535: The season, Lanzante abandoned the McLaren, and only a one-off race by Parabolica Motorsports saw the only competition by a McLaren in 1997. In 1998, British GT changed it rules to more closely compare to those used by the FIA GT Championship . These rule changes saw the return of a McLaren to British GT, with Steve O'Rourke 's EMKA Racing running a 1997-spec chassis, and later joined by Team Carl at Silverstone . EMKA would manage to take two race victories, and drivers Tim Sugden and Steve O'Rourke would take second in

10465-558: The season, Team Take One was able to take a fourth-place finish at TI Aida . Both teams continued into 2001, with the Take One McLaren outperforming the Hitotsuyama entry in most rounds. However a shock occurrence happened at the end of the season when the Take One McLaren was able to secure overall victory at Mine Circuit, a mere nine seconds ahead of a factory Nissan Skyline GT-R , and helping boost Team Take One to 8th in

10580-533: The season. At the Sugo round, Lark badly damaged their one chassis, requiring them to borrow chassis #04R from GTC Competition as a replacement for the final JGTC round. With four victories on the season, Team Lark captured the GT500 teams championship ahead of factory squads from Toyota and Nissan . Team Lark's championship victory was the second season in JGTC/Super GT history where the GT500 class-winning car

10695-410: The second race, French squad BBA Competition added their new F1 GTR to the series while Bellm and Sala would again take victory. This would be followed by a victory for West Competition at Monza , then GTC winning again at the fourth round at Jarama . However at Jarama, GTC's second chassis, #04R would be badly damaged in a practice accident. This was replaced by #08R for the next race. At next race at

10810-479: The series arrived in Brands Hatch , the F1 GTR faced new competition. Porsche debuted their new 911 GT1 , and took a strong victory in their first race. Although legally not allowed to score points at first, the 911 GT1 would still take victory again at Spa . Porsche skipped Nogaro , leaving McLaren to take the victory, but Porsche returned for the final round at Zhuhai , again taking the victory. Even with

10925-415: The series top class, GT1. Many teams, such as those run by Ray Bellm and Thomas Bscher , seeing the potential in the McLaren F1 road cars, Le Mans winner John Nielsen turned to Gordon Murray in an attempt to convince him to offer factory backing on racing versions for the BPR series. Finally, Murray relented and agreed to modify the F1 into a racing car, agreeing to build several chassis for competition in

11040-409: The short lived GTR Euroseries for privateers, Davidoff raced their F1 GTR in the opening round at Jarama , taking a dominating victory. The following week, the car was brought to the opening round of the 1998 Italian GT season, the 1000km of Monza . Davidoff's McLaren was able to defeat open cockpit prototypes to take overall victory by eleven laps. The car appeared one last time at the final race of

11155-399: The sides sculpting allowed for the moving of the air intakes for the engine, necessitating the removal of the large scoop underneath the rollbar. The sides of the car were also redesigned, with the large opening for the radiator vents covered up while exhaust vents were also rearranged. The Type-935 Flat-6 was also upgraded, expanded out to 3.2 Litres. Having become a proper factory undertaking,

11270-532: The sports car manufacturer is responding to the significant acceleration in the rate of infection caused by the coronavirus and 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

11385-529: 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 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

11500-434: The teams championship with a total of two victories, while GTC would take third with five victories, and Mach One Racing fourth with three victories. Going into 1996, McLaren debuted their upgraded cars in an attempt to continue their dominance of the series. Existing teams such as GTC Competition and Giroix Racing Team bought newer 1996-spec cars, while new teams such as BBA Competition, West Competition, and Mach One retained

11615-399: The teams championship. For 2002, both teams would continue to campaign their F1 GTRs, with Hitotsuyama taking a best finish of 3rd at Motegi while Team Take One would suffer and eventually abandon their efforts at the end of the season. Hitotsuyama would continue on through 2003, only managing a best finish of 9th. The car would be retired at the end of 2003, yet Hitotsuyama decided to bring

11730-477: The threat of newer sports cars appearing such as the Ferrari F50 GT (which was withdrawn quickly) and the Porsche 911 GT1 . They were assisted by BMW Motorsport , who at the time decided to use their connection to McLaren to enter sports car racing by running their own race team with F1 GTRs. Among the modifications were an extension of the front and rear bodywork, including a larger splitter attached to

11845-562: The time being entered. Although only six cars were being used in the BPR Global GT Series , chassis #01R which had been used as a McLaren testbed was also entered for the Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing team. Prior to the race, it was assumed that one of the competitors in the WSC class of Le Mans Prototype would easily take the win, since they were custom built racing cars with no relation to street cars like GT1 cars. However, during

11960-631: The time, also Ferdinand Porsche's son in law. In its early days, it was contracted by the German government to create 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

12075-400: The upcoming Porsche Mission E will use. As of 2017, the Porsche charging station is the fastest electric vehicle charging station in the world, being able to charge a Porsche Mission E up to 80% within 15 minutes. Porsche is also currently working with other manufacturers to make Porsche charging stations compatible with other electric vehicles. McLaren F1 GTR The McLaren F1 GTR

12190-426: The win. It was the first of a record nine wins at Le Mans for Kristensen. Now realizing the potential of the abandoned WSC-95 against their 911 GT1, Porsche developed both chassis into the newer and even more capable LMP1-98. Unfortunately at the same time, not only were Porsche attempting to improve both the 911 GT1 and LMP1-98, but as were Nissan and the newcomers Toyota , Mercedes-Benz , and BMW . Still run by

12305-431: 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 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

12420-569: Was created in June 2007 by renaming the old Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, and became 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

12535-510: Was designed by Erwin Komenda , who also had designed the body of the Beetle. Porsche's signature designs have, from 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

12650-572: Was later cancelled, and Porsche did not return to factory prototype racing until the 2005 debut of the Porsche RS Spyder . WSC-95 #001 WSC-95 #002 Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG , usually shortened to Porsche ( German pronunciation: [ˈpɔʁʃə] ; see below ), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars , SUVs and sedans , headquartered in Stuttgart , Baden-Württemberg , Germany. The company

12765-517: Was replaced with a new X-trac 6-speed sequential transmission . A total of ten more GTRs were built, with none of the previous cars being upgraded to the 1997-spec. In order to be allowed to construct cars that were so radically different from the F1 road car, McLaren was forced to build production road cars using the GTR '97's bodywork. These cars came to be known as the F1 GT , of which only three were built. The 1997-spec cars are commonly referred to as

12880-511: Was reported that Toyota was assisting Porsche with hybrid technology . Following the dismissal of Bohn, Heinz Branitzki , 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

12995-412: Was required to use an air restrictor to limit power output to around 600 PS (592 hp; 441 kW), making the racing car less powerful than the road car, yet faster and more nimble due to a lowered overall weight. Features such as the central seating position, Butterfly doors , and even the standard gearbox were retained. McLaren co-ordinated a 24-hour test at Magny-Cours to find weaknesses in

13110-464: Was seventh. However the 911 GT1s had also improved, taking the fourth and fifth fastest qualifying positions. During the race, the #7 WSC-95 led for nearly the entire race, although closely followed by the factory 911 GT1s. The #8 entry remained towards the front as well, although it succumbed to mechanical failures caused by a collision on the track during the closing hours. In the end, the #7 entry of Davy Jones , Alexander Wurz , and Manuel Reuter took

13225-494: 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 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

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