Porsche - Porsche models, Caen, 911 Turbo, 911, 356, Carrera GT, Cabriolet, Targa

The foundation of Porsche became possible due to Professor Ferdinand and his son Ferry. They both worked for other car companies where they gained enough experience. That was Ferdinand who designed the famous VW Beetle (but the original model designed by Ferdinand differs from the model we have today).

It was 1900 when the Lohner-Porsche Electric Car was exhibited at the Paris Expo. Since that time Ferdinand Porsche has been famous worldwide. This early car was equipped with a wheel hub motor worked out by Ferdinand Porsche.

The name of Ferdinand Porsche gained even more popularity when in 1928 he developed Mercedes SS together with SSK supercharged sports car. At this time Ferdinand Porsche was Daimler Technical Director and Board member.

But the most famous cars that bear the Porsche name are 356 and 911.

356 was first produced in 1948. It got such a name as 356 was the number of the project they worked out. Each Porsche admirer remembers 356's aluminum body, mid-engine, 4 cylinder power plant and a boxer engine. The first cars had 40 horse power. But after the World War II Germany had a lot of problems and the production of the 356s were initially organized in Austria and only afterwards it came back to Stuttgart (that was in the 1950s).

The 356 is a famous racing car. It first competed at the Le Mans race and it won. All legendary drivers of the 1950s drove 356s at least once in the career.

Another famous Porsche car is 901 (911). Originally the number of the project dedicated to this model was 901. But the combination of three digits with 0 (zero) in the middle was registered as a Peugeot patent. Therefore Porsche had to change the number to 911. The car's debut was at the Frankfurt auto show in 1963. The model was modified several times afterwards but the overall shape was never changed.

It was the 911 Turbo premiered in 1974 that raised the bar and established a new level of ultra high sports car.

The 911 goes in Carrera, Cabriolet and Targa models and all of them are extremely reliable. The main rivals of the brand copied their design or features to some extent.

Other famous models are the 959 Super car, the aerodynamic 911 GT1 Le Mans racer or the 2000 911 Turbo.

Porsche's fame was gained partially due to race cars produced. Up to 1950s the main competitor cars were the 911, 944 and 928. But in the 1960s the 906, 907 and 908 challenged famous competitions.