What is Porsche?
A: Porsche is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in
high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans.
Where is it headquartered?
A: In Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
The company is owned by whom?
A: Volkswagen AG, a controlling stake of which is owned by Porsche Automobil
Holding SE.
Porsche's current lineup includes what?
A: The 718 Boxster/Cayman, 911, Panamera, Macan, Cayenne and Taycan.
Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951) founded the company
called "Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH" with whom?
A: Adolf Rosenberger and Anton Piëch in
1931.
Initially, the company offered what?
A: Motor vehicle development work and consulting 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 what?
A: A car for the people; that is, a Volkswagen.
This resulted in what?
A: The Volkswagen Beetle, one of the most successful car designs of all
time.
The Porsche 64 was developed in
1939 using many
components from what?
A: The Beetle.
During World War II, Volkswagen production turned to
what?
A: The military version of the Volkswagen Beetle.
Porsche produced several designs for heavy tanks during
the war, losing out to whom?
A: 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 what?
A: The base for the Elefant tank destroyer.
Porsche also developed the Maus super-heavy tank in the
closing stages of the war, producing how many prototypes.?
A: Two.
At the end of World War II in 1945, the Volkswagen
factory at KdF-Stadt fell to whom?
A: The British.
Ferdinand lost his position as chairman of the board of
management of Volkswagen, and who was put in charge of the factory?
A: Ivan Hirst, a British Army major.
On 15 December of that year, Ferdinand was arrested for
what?
A: War crimes, but not tried.
During his 20-month imprisonment, Ferdinand Porsche's
son, Ferry Porsche, decided to do what?
A: To build his own car, because he could not find an existing one that he
wanted to buy.
Where were the first models of what was to become the
356 built?
A: In a small sawmill in Gmünd, Austria.
Why do many people regard the 356 as the first Porsche?
A: Because it was the first model sold by the fledgling company.
In post-war Germany, parts were generally in short
supply, so the 356 automobile used components from the Volkswagen Beetle,
including what?
A: The engine case from its internal combustion engine, transmission, and
several parts used in the suspension.
Beginning in 1954 the 356s engines started utilizing
what?
A: engine cases designed specifically for the 356.
In 1964, after a fair amount of success in motor-racing
with various models, the company launched what?
A: The Porsche 911: another air-cooled, rear-engine sports car, this time
with a six-cylinder "boxer" engine.
The team to lay out the body shell design was led by
whom?
A: Ferry Porsche's eldest son, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche.