Thursday, March 27, 2008

Porsche 911

Porsche 911 Performs Best Over Others

Consumer Reports has tested the vehicles that it has purchased. And they are checking the range of expensive machines. And what they found out was that the Porsche 911 took earned the right to be called one of the best vehicles there is in the market. In fact, it topped the list of vehicles of Consumer Reports’ list of high performance sports vehicles and cars.

David Champion is the senior director of the Auto Test Center of Consumer Reports. He even assesses the Porsche 911 by saying, “The 911 wowed us enough with its acceleration, handling, and braking for us to rate it our top sports car. The 911 is also easy to drive, but its much less expensive Boxster sibling performed almost as well.”

The automotive magazine tested the Porsche 911 in all its Porsche car parts glory against other high class and high performance vehicles like the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and the Dodge Viper. Aside from these two, the Porsche 911 competed eleven other performance vehicles that are currently available in the market. The vehicles went through a series of tests so as to see who performed best and who topped all others as a luxury sports car.

You certainly would not believe the kind of prices these vehicles hold. The cheapest in the lot is the Lotus Elise that can be purchased in the market for $45,545 while the most expensive machine tested by the auto magazine was a Mercedes Benz SL550 vehicle that could cost you $105,855.

All these vehicles had to go through tests that would give Consumer Reports data on who should be declared the best among the lot. The vehicles had to go through public roads. They also were driven through the Consumer Report test track facility which is located in Connecticut. The vehicles also had been tried using various tests like one for high speed maneuvering as well as braking and cornering while driving at high speeds.

The criteria included various angles of checking an automobile. Aside from those mentioned, Consumer Reports also included areas like safety, acceleration, trunk space, comfort, and convenience.

Credit to the author : Stacey Wilson

Porsche Cayenne Turbo



Beauty and Power - 4 x 4 , 4806cc, Tiptronic 6 Speed, 500bhp

Top Speed : 171mph
0-62 mph (Automatic) : 5.1 seconds

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

The History

1875:On September 3, Ferdinand Porsche is born in the Bohemian town of Maffersdorf. In 1889, after attending grammar school there and the Staatsgewerbeschule (State Vocational School) in Reichenberg, he entershis father’s business as an apprentice plumber.



1900:
The Lohner-Porsche electric car is presented at the World Fair in Paris. The wheel hub engines of the young engineer Ferdinand Porsche bring him international attention. In the same year, he develops an all-wheel-drive racecar, as well as a hybrid petrol/electric vehicle – a world first.

1906:
Ferdinand Porsche becomes Technical Director at Austro-Daimler in Wiener Neustadt. At the age of only 31, he is responsible for the model range of one of Europe’s largest automotive concerns.

1909:
Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche, later known as ‘Ferry’, is born on September 19 in Wiener Neustadt.

1910:
The Austro-Daimler touring car designed by Ferdinand Porsche scores a triple victory in the Prince Henry Trials. At the wheel of the winning car sits none other than Ferdinand Porsche himself.

1923:
As Technical Director and Board Member of the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in Stuttgart, Ferdinand Porsche designs the legendary Mercedes Compressor Sports Car. The following year, the 2-litre racecar developed under his aegis wins the Targa Florio. The Mercedes-Benz S-Type models dominate international motorsport from 1927.

1931:
Crowning his career, Ferdinand Porsche opens an office for ‘engineering and consultation on engine and vehicle design’ in Stuttgart on April 25. Created for such renowned manufacturers as Wanderer, Zündapp and NSU are not only entire vehicles, but such trend-setting detail solutions as the Porsche torsion bar suspension.

1933:
For Auto Union, Porsche develops a Grand Prix racecar with a 16-cylinder engine in mid-ship configuration. The rear-engine vehicle concept designed for the compact car (Type 32) developed for NSU is ultimately incorporated in the Volkswagen Beetle.

1934:
The company Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche KG receives an official order for the design and construction of a German Volkswagen. Only one year later, the VW prototype is test driven. The ‘Ur Beetle’ is assembled in the garage of the Porsche villa in Stuttgart.

1935:
Ferdinand Alexander Porsche is born on December 11 in Stuttgart as the eldest son of Ferry Porsche.

1936:Parallel to road trials of the Type 60, production facilities are erected under the direction of Ferdinand Porsche for the Volkswagen renamed the ‘KdF-Wagen’.

1939:Under the designation Type 64, three racing coupés are developed at Porsche in Zuffenhausen. Built for long-distance endurance competition, the ‘Berlin–Rom-Wagen’ are considered the forefathers of all later Porsche sports cars.

1944:
Owing to wartime conditions, the Porsche KG engineering office moves to Gmünd in the Austrian province of Carinthia.

1946:
Under the direction of Ferdinand Porsche’s son Ferry, design of an all-wheeldrive Grand Prix racecar – the ‘Cisitalia’ (Type 360) – is begun for Italian industrialist Piero Dusio.

1948:The 356 is the first sports car to bear the Porsche name. ‘No. 1’ is roadcertified in June. Only one month later, the lightweight mid-engine roadster wins its first class victory at the Innsbruck Stadtrennen.

Source taken from porsche.com,supercars.net