Porsche’s 70th Anniversary: A Nod to the Past and a Glimpse of the Future to Come

The 70th anniversary of anything is usually a bit of a melancholy celebration, right? Alright, yes, it’s usually tied to a happy affair with cake, music, and maybe some silly party hats. But underneath all that merrymaking, there is a grim and solemn foreboding because hiding behind those smiling faces, you know people are bleakly asking themselves,“Gosh, how many of these does the sweet old guy really have left?”

I dramatized all that to emphasize this: there’s absolutely none of that associated with Porsche’s 70th anniversary, a milestone honoring some of the finest vehicles the world has ever known. No worries, no fake smiles, no grim subtext.

Porsche isn’t going anywhere.

In fact, Porsche will easily outlast everybody at the party, celebrating just as hard with a whole new set of friends and devotees in another 70 years. The company has made it through a world war, numerous corporate restructurings, and three quarters of a century of competition—both on the race track and in the board room. This special year feels as though they’re just getting started. Below we give a respectful nod to Porsche’s past and a glimpse of the future to come.

Family Beginnings

Porsche’s 70th anniversary commemorates the sale of their first production sports car in 1948—the 356—but the company’s roots really trace back to 1931. Ferdinand Porsche, former Mercedes-Benz chief engineer and designer of the iconic Volkswagen Beetle, incorporated the company in Stuttgart, Germany, under his own name.

The first Porsche vehicles were manufactured using Beetle machinery, while the Porsche 64 was developed and produced by hand in 1939. World War II saw the Volkswagen factory fall to the British, and Porsche served a 20-month imprisonment for crimes of war, a sentence now regarded by historians as an unfair guilt-by-association.

It was during this time that Ferry Porsche, Ferdinand’s son, decided he would try his hand at car building. “In the beginning, I looked around but couldn’t find the car I’d dreamt of, so I decided to build it myself,” he said. His prototype would become the 356, the car responsible for Porsche’s 70th anniversary celebration. Once pre-order quotas from German auto dealers were met, these early models began production in a small Austrian sawmill, and had an aluminum body and a rear-mounted 40 horsepower engine (a souped-up part swiped from the Beetle). After Ferdinand was released, his company ran with the 356 and upgraded it to a steel body shortly before his death in 1951.

Second-Generation Successes

With Ferry Porsche in control, the Porsche name earned a reputation for top-rate handling and comfort. The 1950’s brought about more powerful iterations of the 356, as well as the start of the Porsche brand producing their own engines. But it wasn’t until the following decade, in the early 1960’s, that the Porsche name would become truly immortalized. Released in 1964, the Porsche 911 would become the company’s flagship vehicle for the next half-century. This rear-engine speedster’s reputation for speed on the track and showroom luxury has kept in the conversation for decades, while lesser models have come and gone. It’s engineering was so beloved, that elements of the 1964 version of the 911 can be seen throughout the years all the way until a full redesign 1998. And even then, the engine remains a horizontally-opposed six cylinder.

Fun fact: The Porsche 911 originally went by the name 901. But automaker Peugot threatened legal action, claiming they had all rights to cars with 3-digit call signs with a zero in the middle. Porsche simply changed the 0 to a 1, and went about their business. Any suggestion that the name is tied to the number for emergency services is pure hooey.

The connection between Porsche (especially the 911) and racing world simply cannot be overstated. Porsche cars have been competing in races almost since their inception. Worldwide, one of the brand’s crowning achievements on Porsche’s 70th anniversary is the over 24,000 races they have won worldwide. This includes a staggering 50-plus class wins at legendary Le Mans.

Speeding Into the Present

Building off of the successes of the 911 in the 1960s, Porsche’s fleet began an expansion. The 1970s find Porsche trying their hand at front-mounted engines, like the four-cylinder Porsche 924, in 1976. The year 1978 brought the 928, and with it the company’s first V-8 engine. The Boxster, a two-seat mid-engine coupe was enjoyed with wild popularity. It was, for a time, the highest-selling Porsche model in North America. That is, until it was unseated by the Cayenne, Porsche’s entrance into the SUV arena. In recent years, the Cayenne and the timeless 911 have consistently traded places as the highest-selling Porsche in the region.

Porsche’s 70th anniversary comes with the company offering a full fleet of production models for sale. There’s the 718 Boxster/Cayman sportsters, as well as the 911 family in all their timeless glory. The Panamera is a four-seat sports sedan for the driver with a need for speed as well as a family. The Macan is an SUV crossover, a style the world market can’t get enough of, with a price tag that is more than reasonable by Porsche standards. Finally the Cayenne, a midsize SUV that has existed at or near the top of the Porsche food chain for over a decade and a half.

This year, the third-generation 2019 Cayenne enters the market on a new platform, and the automaker paused to hit the refresh button on the 2019 Macan—helping it better compete with the likes of the Audi SQ5, BMW X3/X4, and Mercedes-AMG GLC43 and GLC63. Meanwhile, the next-generation Porsche 911 is preparing to be unveiled at the LA Auto Show later this month. 

Regardless of your preferred model, “One ride and you’ll understand why most rocket scientists are German,” said Gabriella Massari.

An Anniversary Worth Celebrating

Porsche’s 70th is indeed a big deal, but let’s face it: they could have let the moment come and go if they so chose. Seventy isn’t as magical a number as 50, or 100. And Porsche could have simply held tight for another 5 years, and waited to ring in three quarters of a century with an even bigger celebration. But the Porsche community is among the most rabid of fan bases, and this summer the company gave the people what they wanted.

Porsche said, “For 70 years, everything at Porsche has revolved around Fascination Sports Car. We want to share this feeling with you and the whole world. #SportscarTogether”

Utilizing modern social media platforms, Porsche AG held “Sportscar Together Day” this spring. From June 8-10, events were held worldwide, gathering enthusiasts “to celebrate what unites us, the fascination of driving a sports car.” Events included a large portion of the 650 Porsche clubs in over 85 countries around the world.

There was a Sotheby’s auction in Atlanta Georgia—exclusively for Porsches—to celebrate Porsche’s 70th anniversary. The top sale of the 63 privately-owned models sold fetched a shade under six million American dollars, nearly doubling expectations.

Porsche’s commitment to excellence has made them one of the most valuable brands in any industry on the planet. At 70 years in, there appears to be no end in sight. Fans from every corner of the globe are toasting alongside them this year. And if you think this is a party, just wait until they ring in 100 in style.

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