Porsche's Unknown History of Contract Development

When most people think of Porsche, they think of sports cars such as the 911, Boxster, and Cayman.

However, when Ferdinand Porsche founded the company in 1931, he did not intend to create his own brand of cars. Rather,The company's business was centered on development projects commissioned by other companies.The first is the "I" in "I".

Even after launching its first own-brand car, the 356, in 1948, Porsche apparently continued to actively accept development requests from outside customers. This business model is said to have helped the company overcome periods of financial difficulty, such as the oil shocks of the 1970s and the 72% decline in sales volume between 1986 and 1993.

Through collaborations with manufacturers ranging from Mercedes to Lada, Porsche has ended up creating some of the most popular cars in the world. So let's take a look at three unexpected cars that Porsche has worked on.

1. the Volkswagen Beetle - the birth of the "national car

In 1934, the development of a "national car" (Volkswagen) was commissioned to Porsche in Germany under the Nazi regime. This would later become the Beetle. After World War II, Volkswagen, which was controlled by the Allies, initially regarded the Beetle as a noisy and impractical car.

Once imported to the U.S., however, the Beetle was a huge success, recognized for its superior design, sturdiness, economy, and compactness, becoming the world's best-selling car in 1968 and transforming its image from Hitler's "national car" to a symbol of German reconstruction and world peace.

Although the Beetle is not a Porsche-branded car, it became the basis for Porsche's first own-brand car, the 356,The car that became the forerunner of the later 911I would say that this is the case.

2. Mercedes-Benz 500E - A unique collaboration with a rival

In the late 1980s, when Porsche was once again facing financial difficulties, an opportunity came from an unexpected source. It was a request from longtime rival Mercedes-Benz.

At the time, Mercedes was losing competitiveness in the luxury car segment with the introduction of the Lexus LS400. So Mercedes was busy developing the new S-Class,Commissioned a project to Porsche to install an M119 V8 engine in a W124 chassisThe first time I did this, I was in the middle of a project.

Porsche decided that the chassis needed to be widened, and eventually production was split between the Mercedes and Porsche factories. The resulting 500E is regarded as one of the best luxury sedans of all time, and at the same time, it saved Porsche from financial difficulties.

In addition, the AMG version of thisPast test drive reviews on E60The company is working on a new project.

3. the Audi RS2 Avant - the beginning of the RS series

Audi's RS models are known as cars that embody the brand's pinnacle of performance. However, the RS series surprisingly began as a sports wagon.

Like the Mercedes 500E, the Audi RS2 was born out of Porsche's sidelines during a time of financial difficulties. Audi needed to create a successor to its legendary quattro and compete with the BMW M3. So they enlisted Porsche's help.

Porsche modified Audi's five-cylinder turbocharged engine to squeeze out 315 hp and 410 Nm of torque. It also took charge of chassis tuning, offering a unique suspension setup: brakes, side mirrors, and wheels for the RS2,Diversion of parts directly from 911The car became a symbol of the collaboration between the two companies, including

Others are in the development of minivans.

In fact, they are also collaborating with Opel, and to my surprise, they are involved in the development of a minivan.

Opel Zafira is aPorsche Invents Innovative Seat Designand could be converted to a seven-passenger vehicle by pulling two additional seats out of the floor. The resulting Zafira was well received by the European automotive media.

Photo by MechDesign.xyz

These examples show that Porsche is not just a sports car manufacturer, but a company with a wide range of automotive development capabilities.
What started as a contracted development project to overcome financial difficulties turned out to be an opportunity to show the world Porsche's technological capabilities and flexibility. Although we do not hear much about contract development these days, we will keep an eye on what kind of projects Porsche will be involved in in the future.