The History of Porsche Cars
Porsche is renowned across the globe as an automobile manufacturer whose main focus lies in manufacturing sports cars. These sports cars are characterized by their quality, reliability and performance. The German automobile manufacturer also produces prestigious sports cars for day to day driving.
Porsche was founded by Ferdinard Porsche, a former chief engineer at Mercedez-Benz before he incorporated his personal engineering plant. He incorporated the company in 1931, under the name Porsche before the company released its first vehicle, the Porsche 64, in 1938.
In the 1940’s, in anticipation of the looming war, the company manufactured a number of designs for heavy tanks. However, the production was short-lived after the Volkswagen plant got destroyed. Nonetheless, the German automobile manufacturer was back in the production business in 1947, designing a new Grand Prix racing car, Gmund, in Austria. The following year, Ferry Porsche, the son of the company’s founder built the first sports car, the 356.
The 356 was the first roadster to feature the Porsche name, even though it was built from Volkswagen parts. The company designed its logo during this period before Ferdinard Porsche died of a heart stroke in 1951, leaving the company in the hands of his son, Ferry.
Surprisingly, the 356 won the 100 CC class that same year, its first international win. The Porsche 550 was the next car on the road in 1953, also an immediate success in the automobile industry. The company was celebrating its 25th anniversary three years later as the 10,000th Porsche vehicle hit the road.
Porsche was growing from strength to strength and in 1961, the company was busy making a new vehicle that would use a 6-cylinder engine. Alexander Porsche, Ferry’s son, was the one designing its body. By 1963, the popular Porsche 911 was introduced to the world at the Frankfurt International Automobile Show. Production of the 911 kicked off the following year with its coupe model.
The company had certainly captured the attention of the world with its popularity increasing even further across Germany. In 1969, Porsche introduced the 914-6 and 914-4 mid engine mount sports cars, both which followed in the footsteps of the 911 by making their bow at the Frankfurt Motor Show and went on to win the World Championships for the working class.
Porsche’s success reached new heights in the 1970’s when the company introduced the fashionable 917, featuring a 4.5-liter, 12 cylinder boxer engine. The new model became an instant hit, winning almost every competition it participated in. The company went public in 1972 and began working on the Weissach Research and Development Center. The 911 Turbo, introduced in 1974 set a new bar in what would be the new beginning of the company’s success. Porsche went on to introduce the first transaxle sports car in the late 70’s, the 924, which was soon followed by the 928.
The 956, produced in 1982 was the most successful sports car at that time. The company started integrating the latest technology in its vehicles as was exhibited in their next production, the 959, which hit the market in 1985. Although there was only a few of the 959’s produced, it went on to be the first sports car to win the Paris Dakar.
In the modern day, Porsche is owned by Volkswagen AG and focuses mainly on manufacturing supercars, SUVs, sedans and high-performance sports cars. The company also owns two subsidiaries, the Mieschke Hofmann und Partner and Porsche Consulting Group. Having seen most of its competitors absorbed by larger manufactures, Porsche has remained an independent profitable manufacturer of high-performance sports cars up to the present day.
Inside the Ducati Panigale 1199s
August 19, 2016 by • Motocross, MotoGP, Racing Events •
When it comes to racing bikes, Ducati has always managed to live up to your expectations. It is a dream come true for all the engineers and designers who see this bike as a step towards their victory. Nonetheless, with so many awards and win, the Ducati Panigale is a sure shot dream bike for every sports bike fanatic. Talking about Ducati Panigale 1199, it is the ultimate innovation of its kind which has been manufactured to take on the entire sports bike environment. It boasts of superb riding experience, top class rider aids and a fantastic look. If you are sports bike geek, riding this bike will be a dream come true.
The model highlights
The latest Ducati Panigale bike
comes in two flagship models, Panigale S and Panigale S Tricolor. Both these models have waved way for the success of Panigale Superbikes. Coming to the design, the latest model has gone way beyond the barrier of motorbike design as well as engineering to bring out a class apart model. The bike features the latest Ducati Course derived solution using the World Championship style technology.
Just with one click on the button, the bike is ready to take on the road. In fact, the Riding Mode theme delivers good performance with improved rider confidence through seven best technologies. Even the TFT has undergone massive changes in 1199 to meet the user’s needs. Apart from this, the Ducati Electronic Suspension, Engine Brake Control, Ducati Electronic Suspension, Ride-by-Wire, etc are all included in the model to make it user-friendly and offer a great riding experience.
The dry weight of the model is around 367lb and wet weight comes around 420lb.
Riding modes at a glance
There are several riding modes included in Ducati Panigale 1199 using some of the finest technologies. Talking about the race riding mode, it provides you with about 195hp. Interestingly, the race mode reduces the Ducati Traction Control along with direct Ride By Wire throttle. Coming to the sports riding mode, this is similar to the race riding mode but offers a smooth Ride By Wire throttle. Wet riding mode offers you 120hp with smooth Ride By Wire throttle once again along with suspension set up in the S model to help in low grip condition.
Top speed
When talking about speed, the latest Ducati model doesn’t disappoint you at all. If you are sports bike or super bike addict, this bike lives up to your expectations quite well. The top speed offered is around 186mph. Compared to the other similar models from Ducati, this one is really a catch. That’s not all, it is even capable of matching up to 250kph even with loads of power in reserve.
Pricing
As on 2015,the Panigale 1199 price is around $26,990. However, Panigale 1199 S is priced around $33,990 and Panigale 1199 R is around $42,990 approximately. The prices are subjected to vary depending on the features and other policies.
There is no doubt Ducati Panigale 1199 has little competition. With such superb features and a class apart look, this superbike is every bike lover’s dream come true.