Loosely translated from the original German

A few months before his death in January 1951, the old Professor Porsche had the first discussions with Charles Faroux about Porsche's participation in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. At that time, private 356 drivers had already taken part in numerous reliability drives and circuit races, and Porsche class victories were the norm. So Ferry Porsche decided to send a team with three cars to Le Mans despite the limited resources available. Its 1.1-liter engine now produced 48 hp. The coupés had light-alloy bodies and light-alloy panels over the wheels to improve aerodynamics. Sending three cars was indeed a wise plan. The first two were eliminated during the training days due to accidents. The third, with starting number 46 and the French drivers Veuillet and Mouche, won its class with an average speed of 122 km/h. Dr. Ferry Porsche: "I spent the entire 24 hours in the pits and must admit that I was worried about the car. So it was all the more of a relief when we survived the race well. The excellent drivers and the additional improvements with which we were able to equip car number 46 had proved their worth." Despite the modest displacement of 1100 cc, its top speed was still 180 km/h.

In 1955, the first Porsche with a completely newly developed high-performance engine went into series production, the 356 Carrera with a 1500 cc engine, which had already proven itself in numerous racing events in the years before. The later chairman of the board, Dr. Ernst Fuhrmann, had developed this engine, also called the 'Fuhrmann engine' after him, whose displacement was later increased to two liters.

The 356 was now ten years old when Porsche decided to develop a successor model. After long discussions, it was clear that this would also have to be a 2+2-seater coupé. Ferry Porsche laid down the basic guidelines: "Interior larger than 356, large enough to accommodate golf equipment; six-cylinder engine with overhead camshaft and air cooling; four- or five-speed gearbox; McPherson front axle; disc brakes on all four wheels; acceleration values and top speed equal to the Carrera 2l; driving noise and comfort better than the 356."

And in 1964 the Porsche 911 went into series production, which has since become the most successful rear-engine sports car of all time. More than 190,000 "911s" have already been produced and its fans around the world ensure that production of the 911 is secured for years to come.

The year 1972 was of particular importance for the Porsche company in two respects. Increasing development orders from outside, increasing requirements for the company's own development, particularly with regard to environmental protection, safety and energy saving, had already required the relocation of the spatially limited development department to new premises at an early stage. These were difficult to find in Stuttgart, but in Weissach the company already had a considerable site. Construction of a test track for vehicle testing had already begun there in 1961. In 1972, after the test site, the first section of the development and design offices was moved into. The expansion of these offices has continued and continues to be gradual. Today, around 1,200 engineers and designers, mechanics and fitters work on development projects in Weissach. Only around 60 percent of them are now working on Porsche's own projects: around 40% are regularly involved in new and further development for other vehicle companies around the world, for individual components as well as for complete vehicles. This means that Porsche is still following its traditional goals after 50 years of technological progress.

On the other hand, in 1972, the then Porsche KG was converted into a stock corporation. The Porsche and Piëch families made the decision to do this unanimously. The company had grown to such an extent that the legal form of a stock corporation seemed sensible.

Content

• The beginning
• The Volkswagen is created
• The 356 makes progress
• At Le Mans for 30 years
• The new Porsche generation