Turbo Kraft

Arizona's Porsche Authority

How Racing Has Influenced Porsche Road Cars

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Porsche racing photo

A Brief History of Porsche Racing

Porsche specializes in street legal cars that are steeped in racetrack history.  Porsche began manufacturing in 1948 and made its name as a racing juggernaut in 1951 with a win at Le Mans.  The manufacturer continued its legacy by winning Le Mans 18 times, including a nail bitter in 2016. Porsche has a history of excellence when it comes to crafting incredible racecars.  Perhaps no one can describe Porsche’s strength and racing roots better than Porsche:

  • “It has taken that success 18th overall winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (more than any other manufacturer)
  • More than 50 class wins at Le Mans
  • An estimated 28,000 total championships won globally as of 2007
  • 275 dedicated race cars produced in 2007 alone (more than any other manufacturer).

With such a spectacular and impressive impact on the sport of racing, it’s no wonder that Porsche continues to use racing innovations to improve and perfect their road cars.

Racing and the Connection to Road Car

While Ferdinand Porsche initially started out manufacturing farm equipment and consulting for other companies he eventually branched out into his own manufacturing and ultimately created a company that has dominated both the racing and road car markets.  It is easy to trace the racing influence in the road cars of today.

CFRP, or Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer, is commonly referred to a carbon fiber and is a light fiber reinforced plastic that is extremely strong. Porsche used CFRP in their vehicles to achieve a lighter overall weight and maximum speed.  CFRP first appeared on the Porsche 911 GT1 in 1996 and most recently turned up on the GT3 RS .  CFRP is such an effective tool that Porsche has used it for over twenty years.

Another Porsche feature that has its roots featured in racing is carbon ceramic brakes.   Cars that are built to go over 150 miles per hour also need to stop; sometimes quickly.  Brakes are built to stop a vehicle by using friction.  The heat and friction required to stop a car going almost 200 miles per hour can be damaging to the steel of traditional braking systems.  Carbon ceramic brakes are designed to withstand the heat and maintain their structural integrity.  Because of this, carbon ceramic brakes can have an incredibly long life span especially if you aren’t driving on a racetrack every day.  In addition to the longevity and heat resistance some people appreciate the aesthetics of carbon ceramic brakes.  To some, they simply add to the appearance of the vehicle.  More practically speaking, they also subtract from the weight of the car.  These brakes are much lighter than their steel counterparts helping again, to improve the optimum speed of the car.  Porsche has always taken its quest for faster and better seriously and its improvement in braking systems is no different.  Original Porsche’s featured four disc brakes and two calipers and went through several iterations before progressing to carbon ceramic brakes in the 996 GT2 in 2001.  These brakes are still available as an upgrade on many Porsche models.

Another aspect of Porsche’s racing success that carries over to their road cars is the sheer speed and power that helped make Porsche famous.   Porsche’s 1st win in 1951 at Le Mans was with a racing 356 SL that could reach up to 160 km/h and 46 horsepower.  Porsche has taken that engine and simply improved upon it over the years.  The 2017 Panamera Turbo exemplifies Porsche’s racing roots with a 4 liter V8 engine that achieves 550 horsepower and can reach 60 mph in 3.6 seconds.  The Panamera is Porsche’s 2017 sports sedan.  This means that even in a vehicle designed for the on the go businessperson and his or her family, you can see the power and roots of Porsche’s past.

The infamous turbo is another textbook Porsche characteristic that can be seen in both race and road cars over the years.  The first Turbo debuted in 1975.  The first 911 Turbo model that was available for purchase was a hulking figure and only produced as a limited edition.  The Turbo boasted a larger engine capacity and wider wheel arches.  As the Turbo continued to be utilized the engine kept getting bigger with the 1993 Turbo boasting a 3.6 liter.  Thanks to Porsche’s racing roots and continued technological advances, today’s 911 Turbo road vehicles can brag about 540 horsepower and zero to sixty in 2.9 seconds.

Your Source for Porsche Road Racing Parts

If you are looking to add or customize your road car to reflect more of Porsche’s racing roots, give us a call.  TurboKraft’s skilled craftsmen can maintain your vehicle or customize any way you wish.  Contact TurboKraft and get access to genuine and custom Porsche parts.  Let us make your car come to life.

 

Porsche History and Trivia

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Porsche history photo

Porsche enthusiasts soak in every iota of knowledge about this iconic brand possible.  While you may know some of the history and trivia below, you might also find some rarer nuggets of knowledge and trivia that may intrigue and surprise you.

Everything You Never Knew About the Porsche Brand

  1. Porsche’s beginnings weren’t exactly what you would imagine. Ferdinand Porsche initially worked as a chief engineer for Mercedes Benz and for ten years after he created his company, Porsche didn’t build cars.  Instead, the company consulted on the design of other vehicles including the VW beetle and WWII tanks.
  2. Porsche owners can get their vehicle custom painted any color they choose, for a fee of course. Despite the many custom options red, black and white are far and away the most popular choices.
  3. Porsche designed tractors. In the 1930’s prior to designing cars, Ferdinand Porsche designed prototypes for tractors.

The History of Porsche

Once Porsche began manufacturing cars, the company found its roots and soul in racing.  In the late 40’s Porsche introduced a new Grand Prix racing car and shortly thereafter built the 356.   During this same era, Porsche developed and introduced its logo, a hybrid of the Stuttgart coat of arms and the coat of arms of Württemberg.  The origin of the logo comes from the state of Württemberg which was once called Stuttgart.  This region is where Porsches were built.  The logo also includes a horse which comes from the Stuttgart’s Coat of Arms and represents a stud farm the city was built on.

In the 1950’s, the 10,000th Porsche was built.  1953 saw the introduction of the Porsche 550 Spyder and in 1954 the Speedster was introduced as the stripped down version of the 356.

At the time of Ferdinand Porsche’s death, his son Ferry took over the family business, and Ferry’s son Alexander continued to carry on the family name.  In the 1960’s Porsche debuted the now iconic 911 and the coupe model.  Both were incredibly successful.  Porsche also debuted the Targo, fuel injection and larger engines.  Several years after the 911, Porsche debuted the 914 at the Frankfurt Motor Show and won.

The above models helped Porsche establish its name and reputation.  The 1970’s brought about a new wave of iconic designs in the form of the 917 and the Porsche 911 Turbo.  The 917 is a beautiful racing car that gave Porsche their first win at Le Mans and had a top speed of up to 240 mph.  The 917 was so successful there are at least 17 different variations of them that were produced.  Meanwhile, the 911 Turbo was Porsche’s combination of speed and luxury.

Porsche engines were air cooled until 1997.  The 996 was the first water cooled Porsche and purists were horrified.  While many people will argue that air cooled cars have more soul, the benefits of water cooling are plentiful.  Water can be more effectively cooled enabling you to run the temperature cooler which in turn can get more power out of an engine.  Air cooling tends to be lighter and less expansive in terms of space, however, the water cooling systems have been improved upon and are now the standard.

Porsche entered the SUV market in 2002.  Porsche made its mark in this vehicle category with the Cayenne and has captured a fair share of sales majority of Porsche’s profits from the sale of SUV’s.  Porsche’s successful experiment into the SUV arena has shifted the luxury market and added to the already robust Porsche brand.

Interesting Porsche Trivia Tidbits

  • Peugeot sued Porsche… and won. The Porsche 911 was originally named 901, a name that Peugeot argued infringed upon their already existing naming system.  Peugeot won and the Porsche 901 was rebranded as the 911.  Porsche produced 82 901’s before the forced name change took effect.
  • They have won Le Mans more times than any other manufacturer.
  • Porsche designed watches, among other things besides cars. In 1972, Porsche’s first watch design, a chronograph debuted.  It features a black matt background with a contrasting white dial and is considered a classic by collectors.
  • The Dutch police drove Porsche 356’s for a short period of time. They ordered 10 special edition Porsche’s in 1966.
  • The original 356 speedster did not offer padded seats, visors or heaters as standard options.
  • Porsche had a driving school which was first held in Long Island, NY in 1971.
  • In the early `1990’s Porsche was able to decrease the cost of their cars by decreasing the time it took to produce them; taking the total time to build a Porsche 911 from 125 hours down to 80 hours.
  • Porsche’s movie moments both in actual films and also through the notoriety of famous owners. Jerry Seinfeld, Steve McQueen, Jay Leno and Patrick Dempsey have all enjoyed the benefits of Porsche ownership.  In the movie Risky Business, the Porsche shown was actually several different models and versions.

While trivia and tidbits are fun ways to celebrate Porsche and its incredible history, the best way to truly enjoy and get to know these incredible machines is to own one.  If Porsche ownership is in your present or future, Call Turbokraft and allow us to show you how we can customize your vehicle to perfectly suit you.