Porsche Club of America
Panamera Four-Door Gran Turismo Porsche Presents First Photos
Los Angeles Region
60 Years of Porsche Sports Cars
December 2008
Inside: Porsche Sixty Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
From PCNA
Panamera First Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
From PCNA Stuttgart. Roughly nine months before the actual market launch, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, has released the first official photos of the Panamera in its final look. In its design, profile and silhouette, Porsche’s unique four-seater stands out clearly as a new member of the Porsche family. Conceived and designed as a four-door grand touring sports car, the Panamera combines numerous talents in typical Porsche style: sporting driving dynamics, a generous and variable interior, and the supreme driving comfort of a Gran Turismo. Joining the 911, Boxster and Cayman sports cars as well as the sporty SUV Cayenne, the Panamera is Porsche’s fourth model series.
Ed. Note — This article is Porsche’s own release about their sixty years. It is quite complete and will need to be presented on our pages over several issues. We’ll call this Part I.
New Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
2008 is the 60th anniversary of Porsche and the story is a remarkable one of a very small company becoming the most profitable automobile manufacturer in the world.
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New Book
60 years ago the cornerstone was laid for the family-operated industrial company, whose rise from modest beginnings to become one of the most important sports car manufacturers in the world no one back then would have ever foreseen.
By Bruce Pollock
However, in the past six decades, Porsche has not only experienced peaks, but also troughs. Yet thanks to efficient production methods, clear branding and innovative models, such as the 356 and the 911, Boxster and the Cayenne, the once small sports car specialist quickly transformed into one of the most successful and profitable automobile manufacturers in the world.
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Made in Germany: The Porsche Success Story
On June 8, 1948 a new chapter in automobile history began. For on this day, the first Porsche prototype with the vehicle identification number 356-001 received its official approval and homologation for road service. "It all started when I began looking around and just could not find my dream car. So I decided to build it myself," said Ferry Porsche – and to this day, this genius and pioneering spirit has shaped the philosophy of the company.
Porsche has developed superior and up-to-date power units for the Panamera again reflecting all the qualities typical of the brand – the V-engines within the engine compartment come with six and eight cylinders and range in power from 300 to 500 bhp. Some of the engines use turbocharger technology, Direct Fuel Injection making them
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"Today, Porsche is stronger than ever. We have the broadest and most appealing automobile model range in the history of our company. We have our costs and our processes under control and thus ensured our independence for the long term. We have always seen ourselves as David who must stand up to the Goliaths in this industry. This selfimage has shaped us throughout the years – but it has also made us successful," explains Porsche CEO Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking.
Porsche Sixty Years By Randy Leffingwell This book was a thoroughly delightful read. One of only a few “complete story” types of books about the Porsche story that I have tackled. A good deal of what I had formerly considered to be knowledge about Porsche history or information was really more on the order of folklore, having come from various sources and mainly verbal in nature. Intrinsic to all of that type of information are potential contradictions and inconsistencies, sometimes difficult to make sense of due to varying interpretations and/or perceptions of the different sources. In this book I found a welldocumented history, which made clear several bits of “lore” that had previously been sketchy at best. One good example of that is within the chapter entitled “The End of Air-Cooling on Road and Track,” wherein is described the influence of two former Toyota executives whose inspiration and guidance helped enable the survival of Porsche as an independent entity during an otherwise potentially perilous period in their history.
When Wiedeking took over management in 1992, Porsche had reached the peak of its most serious economic crisis ever. The company was in danger of losing its most valuable asset — its independence. Porsche was suddenly ripe for takeover.
The photographs in this book are excellent. Many are from Porsche’s own archives. These mainly serve a documentary purpose as a visual historical record. All other photos are by Randy Leffingwell, the author, and serve to demonstrate or support subjects being addressed. Both categories of photos are well placed so as to make the story more understandable. The photos are
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PCA-LA REGION PRESIDENT ......................................................David Altemus 310-478-7727, fax 310-479-5181 1537 Pontius Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90025 VICE PRESIDENT ..................................................Bob Gordon 818-888-7224, fax 818-615-0624 SECRETARY .........................................................Roger Ignon rignon@edgesystem.net TREASURER ........................................................Jan Altemus 310-478-7727, fax 310-479-5181 MEMBERSHIP ...............................................Joe Shubitowski joseph.shubitowski@gmail.com ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR ..........................................Bob Gordon 818-888-7224, fax 818-615-0624 ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE Dick Shipman.....................................310-474-8194 Roger Ignon .........................rignon@edgesystem.net Martin Holford.........................holford@sbcglobal.net Arthur Yuter ................................a.yuter@verizon.net WEB MASTER............................................................Eric Mai ericmai@msn.com NEWSLETTER EDITOR & ADVERTISING MGR......Bruce Pollock imset@pacbell.net
PCA-ZONE 8 ZONE 8 REPRESENTATIVE....................................Michael Dolphin carrera3@msn.com ZONE 8 WEBMASTER ...........................................Tom Brown webmaster@zone8.org CONCOURS CHAIR .................................................Joe Nedza jcnedza@aol.com RALLY CHAIR .........................................................Tom Gould tcg3@aol.com CHIEF DRIVING INSTRUCTOR.................................Paul Young pdyoung@cox.net TIME TRIAL CHAIR/DE CHAIR.................................Paul Young pdyoung@cox.net AUTOCROSS CHAIR ........................................Neil Heimburge porschebadboy@cox.net CLUB RACE COORDINATOR ...........................................Vince Knauf vvvince@aol.com RULES COORDINATOR................................................Tom Brown webmaster@zone8.org TREASURER ..............................................Linda Cobarrubias MS993@aol.com REGION COORDINATOR ....................................Gary Peterson Gary.Peterson@HRH.com CHANGE OF ADDRESS .....................................Notify at once: Joe Shubitowski - joseph.shubitowski@gmail.com AND Ruth Harte / PCA National P.O. Box 30100, Alexandria, VA 22310-8100 SUBSCRIPTIONS PCA members of other regions may become “Dual” members of PCA-LA and receive the Porscherama for 12 months by sending $24.00 to Joe Shubitowski, Membership Chairman, joseph.shubitowski@gmail.com Non-member subscription $36.00/ year. EDITORIAL POLICY Porscherama is the official publication of the Porsche Club of America, Los Angeles Region. (PCA/LA), a California Non Profit Corporation. It is published in accordance with the club by-laws and conditions of the charter granted by the Porsche Club of America. Statements contained herein are those of the author(s) and do not constitute an opinion of the PCA/LA, its board of directors or staff. All contributions become property of Porscherama. Porscherama reserves the right to edit all contributions. ADVERTISING POLICY Classified Advertising: Porscherama accepts classified ads for Porsche cars, parts, and Porsche related items. Ads can run for three consecutive months. No charge to PCA/LA members. Non-member cost is $10.00 per month payable in advance, after which time they must be resubmitted. Porscherama is not responsible for the accuracy of information contained in any ad and does not warrant or guarantee the condition of items offered for sale, nor the accuracy of any claims or representation made by the advertiser. Type or print clearly, include your PCA number and email ad copy to: imset@pacbell.net with “Porsche Classified” in the subject line
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New Book (cont.) mostly not “art” shots, but rather have been chosen or shot to be illustrative of the subject matter. Many ARE artful and in many cases included simply because they’re cool and they just need to be included in a book of this sort. Among the many that I would list as favorites of mine would be one taken of the back lot at Johnny Von Neumann’s Competition Motors in Hollywood in what must have been the late fifties. The lot was full of customer 550s and a couple of Ferrari being prepared for an upcoming club race meeting. It struck a chord for me, seeing something I missed seeing at the time, even though it occurred as I was growing up in Los Angeles.
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But this is far more than a “picture book.” Each comprehensive book of this type is written with a point of view, which differs from author to author. Indeed, that’s why there’s more than one history of the Civil War. Each author chooses to present the story according to their own idea of what factors have most importantly contributed to the subject, or those aspects which most interest the author. In this case, there is a strong focus on the decisions and actions of people at Porsche who made things happen based upon edicts of management regarding the direction in which the company should be moving. Chief engineers during various historic periods are prominent in the pages of this 348 page book. Porsche Sixty Years traces how various people, their personal preferences, and internal and external conditions or situations have influenced and guided final designs and configurations of both production and racing cars. Professor Dr. Ferdinand Porsche was employed, early-on, by many German and European Continued on Page 5.
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December 2008
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PORSCHERAMA
Panamera (cont.)
Porsche History (cont.)
both fuel-efficient and powerful all in one. The flow of power to the wheels goes either through a manual six-speed gearbox or the new sevenspeed Double-Clutch Gearbox, the so called Porsche-Doppelkupplung (PDK).
The situation had to be handled immediately. And the shareholder families Porsche and Piëch told the Board that they would lend their support.
In addition to sporting rear-wheel drive, the top version of the Panamera comes with even more sophisticated all-wheel drive, which is also avail-
Wiedeking and his Board colleagues not only had the Boxster produced, but also brought about the company's turn-around through other economic measures. Under the generic terms "lean management" and "lean production," new organizational and production workflows were introduced and the company's hierarchy and process structures were reorganized from top to bottom. It did not take long for the internal efforts to improve productivity and the newly developed model line to have a positive impact. As early as 1995, Porsche was back in the black and began to assume a leading position by breaking new revenue, sales and earnings records annually.
Not only the balance sheet, but also the reputation of the Porsche brand reflects the company's exceptional position. For the fifth time in a row, top German managers from all industries selected Porsche AG as the company with the best image in a survey from "manager magazine." The prestigious quality study "Initial Quality Study" of the American research institute J.D. Power ranked Porsche in first place for multiple times. And the J.D. Power "Appeal" Study confirmed that the Stuttgart-based sports able for the other versions as an option. As a fur- car manufacturer had, for the third time in a ther highlight, Porsche is preparing a particularly row, been ranked by American customers as the fuel-efficient version of the Panamera with most appealing brand. hybrid drive. Further details on the engines, transmissions, performance, prices and equipment Over these 60 years, Porsche has worked very hard to achieve this special image, mainly will be disclosed next spring. through its most varied innovations and also, The Panamera will be making its world debut in in particular, in the area of environmental spring 2009 and the first models will be at deal- protection. Porsche engineers are never satisfied ers worldwide in late summer of next year. with only meeting current environmental
December 2008
regulations passed by lawmakers. It has always been their goal to exceed them. Porsche vehicles should also set an example when it comes to environmental protection. So, as early as 1966, the first authorized emissions test in Europe was performed using a 911. Not long after, a separate department was established that also tested the emission values from vehicles produced by other manufacturers. Porsche develops new technologies not just to improve driving features, but also to continuously optimize the cars for environmental sustainability. In the last 15 years, Porsche has succeeded in reducing the fuel consumption in its new cars, and thereby also CO2 emissions, by an average of 1.7 percent annually. With regard to engine performance, Porsche currently already ranks among manufacturers with the lowest CO2 emissions. And by 2012, the fuel consumption in Porsche vehicles is going to be reduced by a further 20 percent – new innovative engine technologies and the hybrid drive for the Cayenne and Panamera will make this possible. Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder once said: "Porsche is a model for Germany." By this, he was not only referring the company's engineering ingenuity which the company stands for, he also meant the David principle with which Porsche, as a small automobile manufacturer, has been able to keep up with the Goliaths of its industry over the last 60 years. With the quality seal "made in Germany," its rejection of subsidies as well as its sense of social responsibility toward its employees and society, Porsche has unflinchingly pursued its own path. This includes Porsche's step toward a new future in September 2005: its majority holding in Volkswagen AG. With almost 31 percent of the Continued on Page 5.
December 2008
voting share capital, Porsche is now the largest shareholder in VW. During the course of this year, its share will be increased to over 50 percent.
PORSCHERAMA
New Book (cont.)
manufacturers before being able to realize his dream of automobiles of his design bearing his name. And even now, 60-plus years later, Porsche The goal of this path is clear: Under the umbrella is a sought-after source for consulting and other of Porsche Automobil Holding SE, not only will design and engineering assignments from other growth for Porsche and Volkswagen be ensured manufacturers. All manufacturers have always thanks to their proven development and producrelied upon outside vendors for specific compotion partnership over the decades, but also the nents and systems, and Porsche is basically independence of both companies. And the no different. What IS different is that as a Chairman of the Board, Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking company, they continue to do what Ferdinand promises that in the anniversary year of the Porsche was doing in his early years—helping Porsche sports car: "Porsche will remain Porsche others achieve their own goals through design in the future. Just as Volkswagen will remain and consulting as well as setting an example of Volkswagen. That is the recipe for success." what can be achieved. Of much interest in the Let’s learn more about these historic six decades. reverse of this in Porsche Sixty Years, is the tracing and documentation of a variety of From the "No. 1" to the Panamera vendors who contributed greatly to Porsche’s The first automobile to bear the name Porsche, production capability in periods when their model 356 "No.1" was developed 60 years ago. Due to World War II, the Porsche KG was moved own internal capacity fell short of their racing and production aspirations. from Stuttgart to Gmünd in Carinthia, Austria and there, in July 1947, Ferry Porsche began con- Inserted in proper chronological sequence are the stories of the racing exploits of Porsche. structing a 2-passenger Roadster in a former While separate, racing has always been closely sawmill. "My father fulfilled a dream with this intertwined with the production aspects of project," explains Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, now Porsche. Porsche’s “David” posture to the rest of Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche the Industry’s “Goliath” has served them well for Automobil Holding SE. The first Porsche sports these 60 years. It has provided them an arena of car was based on the Volkswagen developed by development that fully served to enhance and Dr. Ing. h.c. Ferdinand Porsche. support the production side of things. Customer Ed. Note — In our January issue, we’ll have cars have been and continue to be the foundathe next section titled: “The new sports car tion of Porsche’s racing as well as production idea—the 911”.
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enterprise. Racing cars are developed to compete in specific categories of competition that best fit what is currently available to them that can be assembled/constructed into competitive vehicles, which are sold to independent racers after initial factory development. Survival and prosperity into the future has always been one of the foremost dynamics within Porsche. These considerations drive decision-making every day within Porsche. Porsche Sixty Years documents how at Porsche, no past development is ever wasted or lost. It all contributes to the present state-of-the-art and can be utilized somewhere, somehow in the present or future. The 959 was an excellent example of the culmination of “all we now know” being incorporated into one vehicle. Rather than that being the end of the line of development, it was simply a presentation of what had been learned and developed to that point in time, resulting in another “customer car.” Present-day products clearly demonstrate that development certainly did not stop there. Porsche Sixty Years Author: Randy Leffingwell ISBN-13: 978-0-7603-3483-6 348 Pages - Hardbound 296 Color Photos, 66 diagrams Published by Motorbooks www.motorbooks.com $60.00 USD
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