Porsche Essay, Research Paper
I have narrowed down my project to just Porsche vehicles. I am not going to talk about the man behind the car to much. I have found several web sites that have criteria about Porsche and their different models and their performance. I will discuss these subjects along with others. The history of Porsche will be discussed. I will also talk about some different models such as the 911 GT3. I will also discuss the GT1 and GT3 race seriesI will also discuss Porches latest press releases.
History
The early years (the 40’s & 50’s)
1948: The very first Porsche.
The very first Porsche 356/1 developed by Ferry Porsche and his proven team is completed in the Austrian town of Gm?nd and receives technical homologation on June 8,1949: Presentation of the Cisitalia racing car.The Cisitalia racing car is presented at the Torino Motor Show, featuring a 12-cylinder dual-compressor boxer engine in mid ship arrangement, 1493 cc, 385 bhp at 10600 rpm, top speed 300 km/h (186 mph), four-wheel drive with individual drive activation of the front wheels.
1950: Porsche returns to Zuffenhausen
Porsche returns to Zuffenhausen, near Stuttgart. Thus begins a new chapter in Porsche’s history. In rooms rented from the Reutter car body factory, production facilities are set up. Porsche becomes an independent automobile factory.
1951: Porsche’s first international success in Le Mans
Professor Ferdinand Porsche Sr. dies, aged 75.
The Porsche 356 scores its first international success in motor racing, winning the 1100-cc category in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
1953: Porsche 550 Spyder
Presentation of the Fuhrmann engine for the Porsche 550 Spyder: 1.5 liter four-cylinder, four camshafts, 110 bhp
1956: the 10,000th Porsche 356
Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Company, the 10,000th Porsche 356 leaves the production hall. Porsche has already scored 400 victories in motor racing. The 1.5 liter 550 Spyder, driven here by Richard von Frankenberg, becomes the “shark in the pool of perch” in major races, where it competed against cars with more horsepower.
1958: Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Company, the 10,000th Porsche 356 leaves the production hall. Porsche has already scored 400 victories in motor racing.
The 60’s and 70’s
1961: Work starts on a new six cylinder engine
Behind closed doors, work starts on a new Porsche with a six cylinder engine. The body is designed by Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, Ferry Porsche’s son.
1963: Porsche 911.At the Frankfurt International Automobile Show, Porsche presents the 911. The underlying concept of an air-cooled flat engine in the rear is retained.1964: Production start of the Porsche 911.1969: Porsche 914-4 and 914-6. Presentation of the 914-4 and 914-6 mid-engine sports cars at the Frankfurt Motor Show.Porsche for the second time wins the World Championships for works cars. For the second consecutive year, the 911 wins the Monte Carlo Rallye.
1970:The Porsche 917 (4.5-litre 12-cylinder boxer engine) shown to the public for the first time in Geneva wins virtually all races the world over, including the World Championship of Makes and the Endurance World Championship. Work starts at the Weissach Research and Development Centre.
1972: Porsche goes public. Under the guidance of Ferry Porsche as Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Porsche goes public.
1974: The first 911 Turbo
With the 911 Turbo a new era begins: exhaust: exhaust turbo charged autos.
1975: The first Transaxle sports car. Porsche introduces the 924, the first Transaxle sports car with the engine at the front, the transmission and drive wheels at the rear. Production of the “big Porsche”, the 928, starts in Stuttgart: V8 light-alloy engine, Transaxle configuration, Weissach axle. To this day the only sports car in the world ever to win the title of Sports Car of the Year.
The 80’s & 90’s
1982: The Porsche 956, the most successful racing/sports car of all times, begins its victorious career.
1985: Launch of the Porsche 959, a spearhead in new technology. A limited number are built. In 1986, it is the first sports car to win the Paris-Dakar Rally.
1988: Launch of the new 911 Carrera 4.1989: Introduction of Tiptronic four-speed automatic transmission operated either manually (as a function of load) or serving as a fully automatic transmission. Featured for the first time in the new 911 Carrera 2.
1993: Presentation of the first Boxster concept car at the Detroit Auto Show. Launch of the new 911 Carrera at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
1995: The new 911 Turbo with its bi-turbo engine becomes the first production car in the world with onboard diagnosis II, friction-welded hollow-spoke wheels and the lowest emission rating of all production cars in the market.
1996: Production starts of the all-new Porsche Boxster mid-engine roadster after only 31/2 years of development (counting from the completion of the car’s specifications). Weissach celebrates its 25th anniversary 1997: Presentation of the new Porsche 911 with a water-cooled six-cylinder boxer engine.
Models
911 GT3
Unlike other cars in its class, the new 911 GT3 wasn’t created on a computer. It’s the work of a team of engineers with hands-on experience of the world’s greatest circuits. A worthy successor to the legendary 911 Carrera RS.
The new 911 GT3 is available in two variants: as a base version and as a Club sport version. It represents the perfect symbiosis of driver and car, offering unrivaled immediacy and precision of response. It’s more agile, and has performance to spare. It’s more direct, and built with one aim in mind: to get there faster. It’s also unmistakably Porsche. Stunning performance is not an issue. This car delivers sheer driving pleasure, without any compromises. And that doesn’t just apply to the racetrack.
The new 911 GT3 is a sports car designed very much with everyday road use in mind. But with the power reserves you’d expect from a Porsche. That’s because the new 911 GT3 is also a racing car built for speed. Anything else just wouldn’t be worthy of the Porsche name.
The GT3 engine is an evolution of the power plant used in the Porsche 911 GT1, the car that brought a 50th anniversary Porsche one-two at Le Mans in 1998. The body is based on that of the 911 Carrera, while transmission, steering and chassis are all designed for motor sport success and can be set up to match individual circuit characteristics.
Boxter
The Porsche Boxster is the direct translation of probably the most classic of all roadster concepts with unmistakable Porsche styling. It embodies a unique combination of rational and emotional aspects. Opens in 12 seconds and closes again in 12 seconds. 6 cylinders, central engine, 2.5 liter displacement, 150 kW. Monobloc brakes, 2 full-size airbags, 2 seats, and also 2 luggage compartments. And, as an optional extra, 2 side airbags (POSIP – Porsche Side Impact Protection System).
Pure driving enjoyment. The Boxster combines classic characteristics with modern features, power with elegance, dynamism with design. And, because it is a Porsche, it represents driving enjoyment and suitability for day-to-day use as well as the symbiosis of active and passive safety like no other roadster. Although its design is bound to tradition, its implementation is always oriented to the technologically feasible.
The flat-six boxer engine — a powerplant Car & Driver called “one of the ten best engine designs ever”. Its name stems from the punch and counter punch of horizontally opposed pistons, while its virtues stem from decades of race-bred refinement. The latest evolution, a liquid-cooled design featuring dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder, delivers its impressive power and mid-range punch without breaking a sweat.
The numbers tell the story: 201 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 181 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that over 80 percent of the engine’s torque is available at a low 1,750 rpm. An outstanding power-to-weight ratio of 1:6,5 also ensures that there’s always plenty of power to spare.
356
As the Porsche design team worked on a Cisitalia grand prix car, Ferdinand was thinking how he could make something like the Italian car with pieces from Volkswagen, who was the only kind of pieces and parts that he could get in Germany and Austria after the war. He did manage to build a sport car. The frame was made from a network of tubes. A Volkswagen engine was fitted in the rear, with its gearbox in front of the axle to give the car a better balance. It was a 1131 cc flat-four-air-cooled engine who was boosted from 25 bhp to 40 bhp. The torsion-bar rear suspension also had to be turned around which gave the car the characteristic over steering. The design project number 356 stated in June 1947 and the first Type 356 car ran in chassis form in March 1948. Erwin Kommenda designed the body. This basic layout held for 27 years. The first prototype was sold in July 1948 to von Senger, a Swiss dealer, for 7000 francs to help finance of more parts. It was brought back in 1958 and can be seen at the Porsche museum.
At the same time, the designers were working on a similar model, the Type 356/2. Its engine and rear suspension were the right way, it had a platform chassis, but still they used the Volkswagen mechanical layout. Von Senger and an associate Bernhard Blank, ordered 50 cars. They also arranged supplies of components and metal. The mechanical specifications varied, but the engine was about 1100 cc and top speed about 141 km/h. The 356/2 became “the 356″.
Porsche moved to Stuttgart in 1950. They rented from Reutter coachworks in Zuffenhausen because the United States Forces used the firm’s old works. The first car was finished in May 1950, 500 was produced in March 1951 and 1000 in September 1951. They had 1100 cc and 1300 cc engines. Porsche sold cars in several countries : Sweden, USA, France etc. They made several changes in 1951-52 : 1500 cc engine, one piece windscreen, ventilated steel disc wheels, stronger bumpers and they modernized the instruments. They designed a roadster for the American marked with a body of aluminum. It sold well in America from April 1952. Fewer cars were ordered with 1100 or 1300 cc engines, so the 1500 engine was offered in two stages of tune : standard and 1500 Super. Because of this bigger engine, Porsche designed a new synchronized gearbox. Larger brakes were also fitted.
In September 1955 Porsche started produce the 356A. It had a new crankcase so the engine capacity increased to 1600 cc, the maximum class capacity in Touring and Grand Touring car races. The 356 could be specified with four different engines, plus the new 1500GS Carrera, named after the marque’s successes in the Carrera Panamericana road races. Many detail changes were made to the engine room, gearbox, suspension and the steering. It had a curved windscreen and lower floor. In 1956 the Porsche company could return to its old home. The same year were Porsche number 10000 made. As production increased, fewer changes were made. In 1957 the 1300 cc engine were dropped and a deluxe version of Carrera were offered.
In 1954 the Speedster was introduced to the American marked. Of different reasons the Speedster was replaced by Speedster D, a more luxurious and expensive car. The body was made by Drauz because of the constant pressure on Reutter. The Speedster D was renamed to the D-type Convertible because of protest of the Californian people. They wanted the old Speedster.
In 1959 was the 356B introduced. It had higher headlamps, stronger bumpers, higher front and gear, weighed more, enlarged interior and a new engine, Super 90. The D-type Convertible was renamed the Roadster in deference to the Californians. The 356B Carrera, also known as Carrera 2, had its engine capacity increased to 1966 cc. Large numbers were produced to qualify if for GT racing.
The final version if 356 came in 1963, the 356C. It had disc brakes and cast-iron cylinders. Some improvements were made to the suspension. The older engines : 1600, 1600S and Super 90 were replaced by the newer 1600C. 1600 SC were replaced by 2000 GS.
959
A prototype 959 first appeared in 1983 at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The 959 is basically a 6-speed, twin turbo, 4-wheel drive 911. In fact, some of the prototypes were obvious conversions. But the real thing has only a skeletal resemblance. The skin is a thin molding of Kevlar-reinforced plastic, which attaches to a modified 911 underbody. Of the exterior panels, only the doors and the front deck are metal, and they are aluminum.
Some of the differences marked a major change in the 911 tradition. No more MacPherson struts in front and trailing arms in back: a pair of control arms now take up station at each corner of the car. Coil-over shocks are used; to keep them short enough so they don’t poke through the hood in front, the work is divided among two units per wheel. The tires are Dunlop Denloc D4’s, designed to maintain a high degree of handling even when deflated. Their sizes are 235/40/front, 255/40/rear, both VR-rated seventeen-inchers.
The engine has electronic controls for fuel, timing, and boost, patterned after those which give excellent track fuel economy to the 956 racer. The hole in the leading edge of each fender admits air to the intercooler in each rear corner. The twin turbos are located at the rear of the engine, just inboard of the coolers.
Still, it’s the 959’s drivetrain that really broke new ground. The transmission is a manual six-speed, done purely to gain one more ratio. With top speed pushed up into the 190-mph range, five speeds simply aren’t enough to cover the territory.
Like the 911, the 959 has its engine in the rear, with the differential in front and the transmission in front of that. For four-wheel drive, a prop shaft pokes forward out of the transmission to drive a front differential. the shaft is contained in a rigid torque tube that bolts directly to the front and rear housings, making the whole drivetrain a one-piece affair. So far, this is about what you’d expect of a four-wheel-drive Porsche.
In review…
356
The “ORIGINAL” Porsche, built from 1950-1965
911
The most popular Porsche ever…
912
A cheaper, more fuel efficient 911, built from 1965 to 1969 with a limited edition in 1976.
944
The “Evolution” of the 924.
959
The ULTIMATE Porsche…
968
The “Evolution” of the 944.
Boxster
The newest addition to the family. The first all new Porsche in 19 years
News & current events
The Porsche 911 GT3 hits the streets in May 1999
Super sporting vehicle with impressive performance data
Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche A.G. Stuttgart is extending the 911 model range in May 1999 with a particularly sporty version: the 911 GT3 has 360 HP and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds. These performance data will set new standards, and at the same time are documented proof of the hidden potential of the 911 Carrera design. The 911 GT3 is the legitimate successor of the ”RS” model.
The Porsche motor sport engineers have increased the cubic capacity of the water-cooled engine from 3.4 to 3.6 liters. Thanks to numerous modifications and the use of components from the GT1 power unit as well as the transmission of the 911 GT2, the 911 GT3 has 360 HP. The maximum torque is 370 Nm at 5,000 revolutions per minute.
This performance, an increase of 20 per cent on the 911 Carrera, leads to remarkable performance data that are clearly above those of the current 300 HP Carrera. The 911 GT3 sprints from 0 to 200 km/h in 15.8 seconds (911 RS ”993” 17.8 seconds) and requires only 6.7 seconds for an acceleration from 80 to 120 km/h.
Of course, Porsche has adapted the brake system and the entire running gear to match this high performance. As a result, the 911 GT3 has even better handling properties and high active safety.
Identifying features of the 911 GT3 include a new front end, tasteful side sills, a fixed rear wing, red brake calipers and new 18-inch Sport Design wheels. The GT3 is 30 mm lower than the 911 Carrera.
The new 911 GT3, which forms the basis for homologation for use in motor sport, will be presented to the public for the first time at the Geneva Automobile Salon in March 1999. The first road vehicles will be delivered in Europe from mid-May onwards.
The Carrera 4 (The real news about Porsche)
Perfect Four-Wheel Drive for a Sports Car.The Carrera 4 continues the successful tradition of four-wheel-drive Porsche 911 models. Its drive technology is a further development of Porsche’s proven and highly successful concept, the entire process of developing the new Carrara 4 once again confirming the experience that the best way to divide power between the two axles on a rear-engine sports car is with a viscous clutch. A viscous clutch is a fully encapsulated multiple-plate unit filled with highly viscous silicone fluid. Part of this multiple-plate clutch unit is connected directly to the rear-wheel drive, the other section is connected with the front axle. Whenever wheel slip results in a difference in speed between the axles there is also slip between the plates within the viscous clutch. In that case, depending on the degree of slip, drive power is transmitted to the front axle by the viscous silicon fluid. Short Propeller Shaft Within the Frame Tunnel. A number of fundamental modifications have been introduced between the gearbox and the front axle in the process of changing over to the new model: The first point is that the drive shaft no longer runs through a rigid tube as with the transaxle principle. Instead, the new Carrera 4 features a short propeller shaft running freely within the frame tunnel. The first advantage is that this solution is about 4 kilos lighter, the second point is that it provides space for the coolant pipes now running through the tunnel for the water-cooled flat-six power unit.