Porsche 

Owners: Volkswagen Group

Founder: Ferdinand Porsche

Founded: April 25, 1931, Stuttgart, Germany

Headquarters: Stuttgart, Germany

CEO: Oliver Blume

Subsidiaries: Porsche Design Group, Porsche India, Porsche (China) Motors Ltd, Porsche South Africa

       Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche AG, is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans. Porsche AG is headquartered in Stuttgart, and is owned by Volkswagen AG, which is itself majority-owned by Porsche Automobil Holding SE. Porsche's current lineup includes the 911, Boxster, Cayman, Panamera, Cayenne, Macan, and the 918.

Type	Aktiengesellschaft
Industry	Automotive
Founded	Stuttgart, Germany (1931)
Founder	Ferdinand Porsche
Headquarters	Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Wolfgang Porsche, Chairman Oliver Blume, CEO[1]
Services	Automotive financial services, engineering services, investment management
Revenue	€14.326 billion (2013 annual report)
Operating income	€2.579 billion (2013 annual report)
Profit	€1.939 billion (2013 annual report)
Total assets	€24.560 billion (2013 annual report)
Total equity	€9.039 billion (2013 annual report)
Owner	Volkswagen Group
Number of employees	19,456 (2013 annual report)[2]
Subsidiaries	Mieschke Hofmann und Partner (81.8%) Porsche Consulting group                  History Origin Austrian engineer Ferdinand Porsche founded the company called "Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH" in Austria in 1931,[4] then moved to its main offices at Kronenstraße 24 in the centre of Stuttgart. Initially, the company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting,[4] but did not build any cars under its own name. One of the first assignments the new company received was from the German government to design a car for the people, that is a "Volkswagen".[4] This resulted in the Volkswagen Beetle, one of the most successful car designs of all time.[5] The Porsche 64 was developed in 1939 using many components from the Beetle.[4] Porsche's tank prototype, the "Porsche Tiger", that lost to Henschel & Son's Tiger I. Panzerjäger Elefant, after the loss of the contract to the Tiger I Porsche recycled his design into a tank destroyer. During World War II,[6] Volkswagen production turned to the military version of the Volkswagen Beetle, the Kübelwagen,[6] 52,000 produced, and Schwimmwagen,[6] 15,584 produced.[7] Porsche produced several designs for heavy tanks during the war, losing out to Henschel & Son in both contracts that ultimately led to the Tiger I and the Tiger II. However, not all this work was wasted, as the chassis Porsche designed for the Tiger I was used as the base for the Elefant tank destroyer. Porsche also developed the Maus super-heavy tank in the closing stages of the war, producing two prototypes.[8] At the end of World War II in 1945, the Volkswagen factory at KdF-Stadt fell to the British. Ferdinand lost his position as Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen, and Ivan Hirst, a British Army Major, was put in charge of the factory (in Wolfsburg, the Volkswagen company magazine dubbed him "The British Major who saved Volkswagen").[9] On 15 December of that year, Ferdinand was arrested for war crimes, but not tried. During his 20-month imprisonment, Ferdinand Porsche's son, Ferry Porsche, decided to build his own car, because he could not find an existing one that he wanted to buy. He also had to steer the company through some of its most difficult days until his father's release in August 1947.[10] The first models of what was to become the 356 were built in a small sawmill in Gmünd, Austria.[10] The prototype car was shown to German auto dealers, and when pre-orders reached a set threshold, production (with Aluminium body) was begun by Porsche Konstruktionen GesmbH founded by Ferry and Louise. Many regard the 356 as the first Porsche simply because it was the first model sold by the fledgling company along with Porsche 360. After the production of 356 was taken over by the father's Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH in Stuttgart in 1950, Porsche commissioned a Zuffenhausen-based company, Reutter Karosserie, which had previously collaborated with the firm on Volkswagen Beetle prototypes, to produce the 356's steel body. In 1952, Porsche constructed an assembly plant (Werk 2) across the street from Reutter Karosserie; the main road in front of Werk 1, the oldest Porsche building, is now known as Porschestrasse.[11] The 356 was road certified in 1948. Company logo Porsche logo Weimar-era Württemberg coat of arms Coat of arms of Stuttgart Porsche's company logo was based on the coat of arms of the Free People's State of Württemberg of former Weimar Germany, which had Stuttgart as its capital (the same arms were used by Württemberg-Hohenzollern from 1945-1952, while Stuttgart during these years was the capital of adjacent Württemberg-Baden). The arms of Stuttgart was placed in the middle as an inescutcheon, since the cars were made in Stuttgart. The heraldic symbols were combined with the texts "Porsche" and "Stuttgart", which shows that it is not a coat of arms since heraldic achievements never spell out the name of the armiger nor the armigers home town in the shield. Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern became part of the present land of Baden-Württemberg in 1952 after the political consolidation of West Germany in 1949, and the old design of the arms of Württemberg now only lives on in the Porsche logo. On 30 January 1951, not long before the creation of Baden-Württemberg, Ferdinand Porsche died from complications following a stroke. Developments 1952 Porsche 356 K/9-1 Prototype In post-war Germany, parts were generally in short supply, so the 356 automobile used components from the Volkswagen Beetle, including the engine case from its internal combustion engine, transmission, and several parts used in the suspension. The 356, however, had several evolutionary stages, A, B, and C, while in production, and most Volkswagen sourced parts were replaced by Porsche-made parts. Beginning in 1954 the 356s engines started utilizing engine cases designed specifically for the 356. The sleek bodywork was designed by Erwin Komenda who also had designed the body of the Beetle. Porsche's signature designs have, from the beginning, featured air-cooled rear-engine configurations (like the Beetle), rare for other car manufacturers, but producing automobiles that are very well balanced. In 1964, after a fair amount of success in motor-racing with various models including the 550 Spyder, and with the 356 needing a major re-design, the company launched the Porsche 911: another air-cooled, rear-engined sports car, this time with a six-cylinder "boxer" engine. The team to lay out the body shell design was led by Ferry Porsche's eldest son, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (F. A.). The design phase for the 911 caused internal problems with Erwin Komenda, who led the body design department until then. F. A. Porsche complained Komenda made unauthorized changes to the design. Company leader Ferry Porsche took his son's drawings to neighboring chassis manufacturer Reuter. Reuter's workshop was later acquired by Porsche (so-called Werk 2). Afterward Reuter became a seat manufacturer, today known as Keiper-Recaro. The Porsche 912, from the 1960s The design office gave sequential numbers to every project (See Porsche type numbers), but the designated 901 nomenclature contravened Peugeot's trademarks on all 'x0x' names, so it was adjusted to 911. Racing models adhered to the "correct" numbering sequence: 904, 906, 908. The 911 has become Porsche's most well-known and iconic model – successful on the race-track, in rallies, and in terms of road car sales. Far more than any other model, the Porsche brand is defined by the 911. It remains in production; however, after several generations of revision, current-model 911s share only the basic mechanical configuration of a rear-engined, six-cylinder coupé, and basic styling cues with the original car. A cost-reduced model with the same body, but with 356-derived four-cylinder engine, was sold as the 912. In 1972, the company's legal form was changed from Kommanditgesellschaft (KG), or limited partnership, to Aktiengesellschaft (AG), or public limited company, because Ferry Porsche came to believe the scale of the company outgrew a "family operation", after learning about Soichiro Honda's "no family members in the company" policy at Honda. This led to the establishment of an Executive Board with members from outside the Porsche family, and a Supervisory Board consisting largely of family members. With this change, most family members in the operation of the company including F. A. Porsche and Ferdinand Piëch departed from the company. Production and sales The headquarters and main factory are located in Zuffenhausen, a district in Stuttgart, but the Cayenne and Panamera models are manufactured in Leipzig, Germany, and parts for the SUV are also assembled in the Volkswagen Touareg factory in Bratislava, Slovakia. Boxster and Cayman production was outsourced to Valmet Automotive in Finland from 1997 to 2011, and in 2012 production moved to Germany. In 2008, Porsche reported selling a total of 98,652 cars, 13,524 (13.7%) as domestic German sales, and 85,128 (86.3%) internationally. The company has been highly successful in recent times, and indeed claims to have the highest profit per unit sold of any car company in the world.  Table of profits (in millions of euros) and number of cars produced. Figures from 2008/9 onwards were not reported as part of Porsche SE. Year ending Revenue Pre-tax profit Production Sales 31 July 2002 €4,857m €829m 55,050 54,234 31 July 2003 €5,583m €933m 73,284 66,803 31 July 2004 €6,148m €1,137m 81,531 76,827 31 July 2005 €6,574m €1,238m 90,954 88,379 31 July 2006 €7,273m €2,110m 102,602 96,794 31 July 2007 €7,368m €5,857m 101,844 97,515 31 July 2008 €7,466m €8,569m 105,162 98,652 31 July 2009 €?m €-2,559m 76,739 75,238 31 July 2010 €7.79b N/A 89,123 81,850 31 December 2010 €9.23b €1.67b N/A 97,273 31 December 2011    €10.9b €2.05b 127,793 116,978 31 December 2012 €13.9b €2.44b 151,999 143,096 31 December 2013 €14.3b €2.78b 165,808 162,145 Production composition Of the 165,808 cars produced in the 2013 financial year, 29,751 (17.9%) were 911 models, 28,996 (17.5%) were Boxster and Cayman cars, 81,916 (49.4%) were Cayennes, 24,798 (15.0%) were Panameras. There were 312 Macan and 35 918 Spyder models also reported.[33] The production figures of sports cars were quite similar to the 2001/2 totals when 33,061 Porsche 911 and 21,989 Boxsters were produced. North American sales Annual sales 2003–2005 model 2003[34] 2004[35] 2005[36] units % of total units % of total units % of total 911 (996) 9,935 ( 18%) 33% 10,227 ( 3%) 31% 10,653 ( 4%) 31% Boxster 6,432 ( 38%) 21% 3,728 ( 42%) 11% 8,327 ( 123%) 25% Cayenne 13,661 45% 19,134 ( 40%) 57% 14,524 ( 24%) 43% total 30,028 ( 33%) 33,289 ( 11%) 33,859 ( 2%) Annual sales 2006–2008 model 2006[37] 2007[38] 2008[39] units % of total units % of total units % of total 911 (997) 12,702 ( 19%) 35% 13,153 ( 4%) 36% 8,324 ( 37%) 30% Boxster 4,850 ( 42%) 14% 3,904 ( 24%) 11% 2,982 ( 24%) 11% Cayman 7,313 20% 6,249 ( 17%) 17% 3,513 ( 44%) 13% Cayenne 11,141 ( 23%) 31% 13,370 ( 20%) 36% 12,898 ( 4%) 46% total 36,095 ( 7%) 36,680 ( 2%) 27,717 ( 24%) Annual sales 2009–2011 model 2009[40] 2010[41] 2011[42] units % of total units % of total units % of total 911 (997) 6,839 ( 17.8%) 35.00% 5,735 ( 16.1%) 22.65% 6,016 ( 5.0%) 20.72% Boxster&Cayman 3,875 ( 39.4%) 19.00% 3,499 ( 9.3%) 13.84% 3,150 ( 9.02%) 10.86% Panamera 1,247 6.33% 7,741 ( 520.8%) 30.57% 6,879 ( 11.13%) 23.70% Cayenne 7,735 ( 31.0%) 39.27% 8,343 ( 7.9%) 32.94% 12,978 ( 55.55%) 44.72% total 19,696 ( 24.3%) 25,320 ( 28.6%) 29,023 ( 15%) Annual sales 2012–2014 model 2012[43] 2013[44] 2014 units % of total units % of total units % of total 911 8,528 24.34% 10,442 24.67% Boxster & Cayman 3,356 9.58% 7,953 18.79% Panamera 7,614 21.73% 5,421 12.81% Cayenne 15,545 44.36% 18,507 43.73% total 35,043 ( 21%) 42,323 ( 17%) Models See also: Category:Porsche vehicles and Porsche type numbers The current Porsche model range includes sports cars from the Boxster roadster to their most famous product, the 911. The Cayman is a coupé otherwise similar to the Boxster. The Cayenne is Porsche's mid-size luxury sport utility vehicle (SUV). A high performance luxury saloon/sedan, the Panamera, was launched in 2009. Note: models in bold are current models Consumer models Porsche Cayman GTS Porsche Boxster Porsche Panamera in Germany Porsche Cayenne in Germany 2015 Porsche Macan Porsche 918 Spyder 356 911 4-seat coupe, targa and cabriolet 911 GT1 Straßenversion 912 914 918 Spyder 924 928 4-seat grand tourer 930 944 959 968 964 993 996 997 991 Boxster (986,987,981) 2-seat roadster (Base, S, GTS, Spyder) Carrera GT Cayman (987,981) 2-seat coupe (Base, S, R, GTS, GT4) Cayenne SUV Macan SUV Crossover Panamera 4-seat sports sedan Racing models 64 360 Cisitalia 550 Spyder 718 787 804 904 906 907 908 909 Bergspyder 910 917 918 RSR 919 hybrid 934 935 936 956 961 962 Porsche-March 89P WSC-95 / LMP1-98 LMP2000 (never raced) RS Spyder (9R6) Prototypes and concept cars Porsche Boxster concept Porsche 114 Porsche 356/1 Porsche 695 (911 prototype) Porsche 901 (911 prototype) Porsche 916 (flat-6 914) Porsche 942 Porsche 959 Prototype Porsche 969 Porsche 989 Porsche Boxster concept Porsche C88 Porsche Panamericana Porsche Mission E, all-electric 4-door[45][46][47][48] Tractors Porsche Diesel Super Porsche Type 110 Porsche AP Series Porsche Junior (14 hp) Porsche Standard (25 hp) Porsche Super (38 hp) Porsche Master (50 hp) Porsche 312 Porsche 108F Porsche R22 Hybrid and electric vehicles For details on a Porsche 911-based all-electric car, see ERuf Model A. In 2010 Porsche launched the Cayenne S Hybrid and announced the Panamera S Hybrid, and launched the Porsche 918 hypercar in 2014, which also features a hybrid system. Also a plug-in hybrid model called the Panamera S E-Hybrid was released in October 2013 in the United States,[49][50] and during the fourth quarter of 2013 in several European countries. Porsche developed a prototype electric Porsche Boxster called the Boxster E in 2011  and a hybrid version of the 911 called the GT3 R Hybrid, developed with Williams Grand Prix Engineering in 2010. In July 2014 Porsche announced the launch by the end of 2014 of the Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid a plug-in hybrid, which will displaced the Cayenne S Hybrid from the line up. The S E-Hybrid will be the first plug-in hybrid in the premium SUV segment and will allow Porsche to become the first automaker with three production plug-in hybrid models. Aircraft engines See Porsche PFM 3200. Motorsport Main article: Porsche in motorsport The Martini Racing blue and green "psychedelic" livery on a 1970 917K. This car raced at Watkins Glen in 1970. Porsche is the most successful brand in motorsport, scoring a total of more than 28,000 victories, including a record 16 constructor wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Porsche is currently the world's largest race car manufacturer. In 2006, Porsche built 195 race cars for various international motor sports events. In 2007, Porsche is expected to construct no fewer than 275 dedicated race cars (7 RS Spyder LMP2 prototypes, 37 GT2 spec 911 GT3-RSRs, and 231 911 GT3 Cup vehicles). Pronunciation of "Porsche" In keeping with the family name of founder Ferdinand Porsche, the company's name is pronounced [ˈpɔʁʃə] in German, which corresponds to /ˈpɔrʃə/ PORSH-ə in English,  homophonous with the feminine name Portia. However, in English it is often pronounced as a single syllable /ˈpɔrʃ/ PORSH—without a final /ə/. In German orthography, word-final ⟨e⟩ is not silent but is instead an unstressed schwa. Reputation In a survey conducted by the Luxury Institute in New York, Porsche was awarded the title of "the most prestigious automobile brand". 500 households with a gross annual income of at least $200,000 and a net worth of at least $720,000 participated. Porsche won the J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study (IQS) in 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2014.[57] Reliability A Canadian study in 2011 revealed that 97.4 percent of Porsches from the last 25 years are still on the road. In 2014, the Cayman and Boxster made the Consumer Reports list for most reliable vehicles on the road. Porsche's 911 has been officially named by the Technischer Überwachungsverein (Technical Inspection Association) as Germany's most reliable car. SUV reception According to CNBC, even an at-the-time questionable foray into the SUV market with the Cayenne in 2003, could not damage Porsche credibility.  In 2009, The Times journalist Andrew Frankel says on one level, it is the world's best 4x4, on another, it is the cynical exploitation of a glorious brand that risks long-term damage to that brand's very identity in the pursuit of easy money  with his verdict being "Great car, if only it wasn't a Porsche". In 2015, US News ranked the Macan as the best luxury compact SUV in its class.