Loosely translated from the original German

Despite the continued success of the 911, Porsche had to take new approaches to expanding the range in view of the worldwide, but by no means uniform, growing requirements for environmental friendliness and safety: the majority of the cars correspond to the conventional concept with a water-cooled, front-mounted engine, the Porsche 911 with an air-cooled rear engine represents an automotive minority that no legislator would take into account when issuing new noise limits, for example.

Alternative Porsche models should therefore also have a front-mounted, water-cooled engine. "On the other hand," says Dr. Ferry Porsche, "our rear-engine vehicles usually have between 56 and 60 percent of the vehicle weight available for traction on the drive wheels. Front-wheel drive vehicles have a similar weight distribution to the drive wheels, but only when empty. So if there is a corresponding load, especially on the rear axle, through suitcases etc., this concept lacks the necessary weight for traction. So we looked for a concept that behaves as neutrally as possible when loaded and unloaded and results in a roughly equal front and rear weight distribution. This concept was the 'transaxle' that is now being used, in which a light metal engine is housed at the front and the drive axle is combined with the transmission at the rear of the vehicle old solution that my father had already used in the 1920s when designing a Grand Prix car at Daimler-Benz."

Porsche developed two new sports cars in this transaxle design: Firstly, the cheaper 924, which is an entry-level model with a four-cylinder engine and is priced below the six-cylinder Porsche 911. It was originally developed for the Volkswagen factory as a successor to the mid-engine VW Porsche 914. However, Wolfsburg's interest in this vehicle waned after the first "energy crisis", and Porsche was given the opportunity to buy back the 924 and incorporate it into its own range. With more than 100,000 units sold in just five years, it has since become the most successful Porsche ever. Its further development, the 924 Turbo, also enjoys the reputation of being the fastest fuel-saving artist in the world within the 924 model range: it uses even less fuel at the same speed.

It uses less petrol than the 924 with a naturally aspirated engine, but has a top speed of 230 km/h and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.6 seconds.

The Porsche 928 was intended for in-house production from the outset and was positioned above the 911 in the range. For this large Porsche, the specifications called for not only sporty performance and easy control, but also greater comfort. When designed as a touring sports car with a large-volume eight-cylinder engine, a total weight of almost two tons would have been difficult to undercut by conventional automobile construction standards. So Porsche took many new approaches in developing this car to bring the demand for optimal driving characteristics, high performance and above-average safety to a common denominator, while at the same time reducing consumption to the level of upper mid-range cars.

The 4.5 liter engine (4.7 liters in the 928 S) was the first series-produced all-aluminum engine. Its compression ratio, which was 8.5:1 when the car was introduced in 1977, was increased to 10:1 in 1980. The result of all these measures is reflected not only in the performance, but also in the fuel consumption of this car. Given its size and price class, it is not only its weight of 1450 kg that is exceptionally low. Its DIN fuel consumption values (for example for the 928 with automatic transmission) are 15.0 liters/100 km in city traffic, 12.3 liters at 120 km/h and 9.7 liters at 80 km/h. They are therefore in the same range as some family saloons with only half the displacement. "This latest Porsche was created under the influence of the safety and environmental protection regulations that are coming our way and has proven that a vehicle can be created even under difficult conditions, as we have imagined at Porsche and how our customers expect from us," says Dr. Porsche about the Porsche of the 1980s.

"As before," he emphasizes, "our sporting involvement in races and rallies helps the technology of our series product." Motorsport has always served more than just to build Porsche's image. Technical knowledge resulting from competitions is incorporated into the series without change. The technicians involved in sporting activities gain invaluable work experience that benefits them in their day-to-day operations. Last but not least, motor sport strengthens the motivation of Porsche engineers to a degree that cannot be achieved in any other way. After just a few months, but often after weeks or days, the race always provides the answer as to whether the technical measures taken were correct. The diversity of experience is also one of the reasons for the wide range of sporting activities that Porsche has always chosen. The endless list of winners of seven world championships for brands, six European rally championships and the many national and international hill climb championships is testament to this. Five victories in Le Mans, eleven in the legendary Targa Florio, three in the Monte Carlo Rally, the Formula 1 victory at the French Grand Prix and the successes in the high-horsepower CanAm series are all testament to the versatility of Porsche sport. The fascination of the Porsche name in the automotive world is undoubtedly due in large part to the sporting successes.

Today, with almost 5,000 employees, Porsche is the smallest German car manufacturer, but the largest sports car specialist in the world. Porsche owes this leading position above all to its intensive research and development work, which is evident from the fact that around a quarter of all Porsche employees work in the Weissach development center.

Their know-how is gradually being incorporated into Porsche series production. This has led to the fact that the sports cars from Zuffenhausen are today considered the most durable automobiles and the most economical in their performance class, despite their outstanding performance.

Porsche wants to continue to offer the possibility of satisfying the desire for perfection in technology, quality, performance and durability with its sports cars in the future. The company's roots will be maintained above all: engineering services from Weissach will certainly be available to other companies and institutions around the world to an even greater extent in the future.

"We want to offer exciting products and services that satisfy Porsche customers and that take the greatest possible consideration of protecting the environment as a whole," said Peter W. Schutz, Porsche's CEO since the beginning of 1981, the company's number one goal. He sees the prerequisite for this as "offering the entire Porsche workforce the secure opportunity to achieve everything that is possible for them professionally and personally in a positive working environment." It goes without saying that "an attractive return on sales" must also be achieved, says Schutz.

Content

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