Porsche Model Highlights

By: Mitchel Vedia


Porsche 911

The 2005 Porsche 911 redesigned rear-wheel-drive models. The models are available as coupes and convertible Cabriolets. They all have a rear-mounted, horizontally opposed 6-cyl engine. The redesigned Porsche 911 has subtly altered styling and dimensions and changed the interior. There are two types of 911: The Carrera, with a 325-hp 3.6 liter engine and The Carrera S, with 355-hp 3.8 liter.

The 6-speed manual transmission is standard to all 911s. Optional, we can choose the 5-speed automatic with manual shift gate and steering-wheel controls. Standard, the 911s have antilock 4-wheel disc brakes, antiskid/traction control and front side airbags. The redesigned Careras include side airbags in the windowsills for head protection. In the convertibles models, we find a power top and heated glass rear window. A suspension with lowered ride height and shock absorbers are standard on the Carrera S and optional on the Carrera. This system helps adjusting firmness within driver selectable Normal and Sport models. All other Porsche models have 18 inch wheels, but the Carrera S has 19s. An option for the Carrera is a Sport Chrono Package. It includes a dashboard-mounted stopwatch and it allows altering various engine and chassis controls in order to improve driving performance. All 911s offer a navigation system.

Porsche Boxter

In 1998, Porsche realized that if they wanted to sell more Boxsters, they needed to produce more cars. To do so, they contracted with a plant in Finland called Valmet because the plant in Zuffenhausen couldnt handle the increased production.

The initial plan was for Boxster to be produced in Finland for only two years. Everybody thought that by that time the demand in Zuffenhausen would decrease so that plant could handle all production. But the Boxster demand remains high, and so does the one for 996, so against all expectations the plant will remain busy for the foreseeable future. Zuffenhausen can assemble 30,000 cars per year, so the only way the Boxster would be moved entirely to Finland is if Porsche could sell the better part of that many 996s. In the short term, that isnt likely to happen though. Most of the cars destined for North America are built in Valmet.

Now it became impossible to specify where a car was built. Even ordering Tourist Delivery doesn't force a Stuttgart build. Apparently some cars are shipped from Finland to Stuttgart for Tourist Delivery.

Porsche 550 Spyder

In 1953, Porsche needed a race car more powerful than the 356. So they created the 550. This was the first true competition car from Porsche. It was lightweight, it had two seats, aluminum body, tubular frame and an open top. They were racing only with Volkswagen. The initial pair of 550 dominated their class at Le Mans finishing one-two in the 1500cc division. Then, one of the two cars won its category in the famed Pan Americana Mexican road race.

Subsequent 550`s carried on what the initial 550`s had started. They were fitted with the four-cam Carrera flat four cylinders. They soon became dominant cars world wide. During races, it was fast and easily maneuvered so no other car stand a chance. But people loved it purchasing every one of these quick little cars they could find.

In 1956, Porsche started to produce the 550A, a slightly modified Spyder. It was a hit, shocking the entire world by winning in its first Appearance in Targa Florio, a brutal road race. It also humbled well-known and more powerful rivals such as Ferrari, Maseratti and Jaguar. In the next five years it won almost all the races in which it competed. It became a car that attracted more attention for its occasional losses than for the nearly non-stop victories.

Porsche 914

Introduced in September 1969, the Porsche 914 was a sporty, mid-engined two-seater with a targa top and a 4 cylinder boxer engine. The idea for this new model came up as Volkswagen and Porsche collaborated to create a new car. VW would take 914 bodies and finish them as 914/4s, and Porsche would take their portion of the body shells, and build 914/6s. When sold in North America, however, all 914s would be considered Porsches.

Porsche 914 is not like other Porsches. It has pop-up headlamps, a vertical rear windshield, and a flat deck lid covering the rear trunk and engine. It has no backseats so when you sit down, you are practically on the floor, which is on the road.

The interior of the 914 is quite simple, not luxurious but with all necessities. Theres not too much space other than the passenger seat. The transmission is like the 928's with 1st down and to the left. The 914 has a targa top, and like 911's, it stores in the trunk. But if you take off the top and roll down the windows, the Porsche 914 is a pretty nice little roadster.

Porsche 64

Many consider the Porsche 64 (also known as the VW Aerocoupe, Type 64 and Type 64K10) as being the first automobile by Porsche. It was built mainly from parts from the Model 64 VW Beetle and there comes the model number. Its flat-four engine produced 50 bhp and gave a top speed of 160 km/h.

Porsche Burro designed the body after wind tunnel tests made for the Type 114, a V10 sports car that was never produced. Dr. Porsche wanted to enter the car in the 1939 Berlin-Rome race. The bodywork company Reutter built three cars in shaped aluminium. Out of the three, one was crashed in the early World War II by a Kraft durch Freude (Volkswagen) bureaucrat. The two remaining were used by the Porsche family. Later on, they put one of them in the storage and used only one. In May 1945 American troops discovered the one put in storage, cut the roof off and used it for joyriding for a few weeks until the engine gave up and it was scrapped. Pinin Farina restored the remaining Porsche 64 in 1947, as it was owned and driven by Ferry Porsche. In 1949, the Austrian racer Otto Matte bought it and won the Alpine Rally in 1950 in it.


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