{"id":36604,"date":"2024-09-20T06:00:04","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T21:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=36604"},"modified":"2024-09-19T22:33:41","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T13:33:41","slug":"porsche-develop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche-develop\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Surprising Cars Developed by Porsche: A Little-Known History of Contract Engineering"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">\u30b3\u30f3\u30c6\u30f3\u30c4<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche-develop\/#Porsches_Little-Known_History_of_Contract_Engineering\" >Porsche\u2019s Little-Known History of Contract Engineering<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche-develop\/#1_Volkswagen_Beetle_The_Birth_of_the_%E2%80%9CPeoples_Car%E2%80%9D\" >1. Volkswagen Beetle: The Birth of the \u201cPeople\u2019s Car\u201d<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche-develop\/#2_Mercedes-Benz_500E_An_Unlikely_Collaboration_Between_Rivals\" >2. Mercedes-Benz 500E: An Unlikely Collaboration Between Rivals<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche-develop\/#3_Audi_RS2_Avant_The_Beginning_of_the_RS_Line\" >3. Audi RS2 Avant: The Beginning of the RS Line<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/porsche-develop\/#Porsche_Also_Helped_Develop_a_Minivan\" >Porsche Also Helped Develop a Minivan<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<h3 class=\"style3a\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Porsches_Little-Known_History_of_Contract_Engineering\"><\/span>Porsche\u2019s Little-Known History of Contract Engineering<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>When people think of Porsche, many picture sports cars like the 911, Boxster, and Cayman.<\/p>\n<p>But when Ferdinand Porsche founded the company in 1931, he reportedly had no plans to build cars under its own brand. Instead, <strong>the business focused on development projects commissioned by other manufacturers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Even after Porsche unveiled its first own-brand car, the 356, in 1948, it continued to take on development work for outside clients. This business model is credited with helping the company weather difficult financial periods, including the oil crises of the 1970s and a 72% drop in sales between 1986 and 1993.<\/p>\n<p>Through collaborations with manufacturers ranging from Mercedes to Lada, Porsche helped create some of the world\u2019s most popular cars. Here are three unexpected cars developed with Porsche\u2019s involvement.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"style3a\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Volkswagen_Beetle_The_Birth_of_the_%E2%80%9CPeoples_Car%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>1. Volkswagen Beetle: The Birth of the \u201cPeople\u2019s Car\u201d<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In 1934, under Germany\u2019s Nazi regime, Porsche was commissioned to develop a \u201cpeople\u2019s car\u201d\u2014Volkswagen. That car would become the Beetle. After World War II, Volkswagen came under Allied control, and the Beetle was reportedly dismissed at first as noisy and impractical.<\/p>\n<p>But once imported to the United States, the Beetle became a huge success. Buyers appreciated its clever design, durability, economy, and compact size. By 1968, it had become the world\u2019s best-selling car, transforming its image from Hitler\u2019s \u201cpeople\u2019s car\u201d into a symbol of Germany\u2019s postwar recovery and peace.<\/p>\n<p>The Beetle wasn\u2019t a Porsche-branded car, but it laid the foundation for Porsche\u2019s first production model, the 356, and could be seen as a forerunner of the <strong>911<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-33693\" src=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/VW_Kaefer_front_20071001-1280x903.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"903\" \/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"style3a\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Mercedes-Benz_500E_An_Unlikely_Collaboration_Between_Rivals\"><\/span>2. Mercedes-Benz 500E: An Unlikely Collaboration Between Rivals<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In the late 1980s, as Porsche once again faced financial difficulties, an opportunity came from an unexpected source: its longtime rival, Mercedes-Benz.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, Mercedes was losing ground in the luxury-car segment following the arrival of the Lexus LS 400. Busy developing a new S-Class, Mercedes commissioned Porsche to <strong>fit an M119 V8 engine into the W124 chassis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-33694\" src=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1992_Mercedes-Benz_500E_W124.036_front_right-1280x760.jpg\" alt=\"500E\" width=\"1280\" height=\"760\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Porsche concluded that the chassis needed to be widened, and production ultimately involved shuttling the cars between Mercedes and Porsche factories. The resulting 500E earned a reputation as one of the greatest luxury sedans ever built\u2014and helped Porsche through its financial troubles.<\/p>\n<p>For a look at the AMG version, the E60, see our earlier <a href=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/entry\/amg-e60\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">test-drive review<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"style3a\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Audi_RS2_Avant_The_Beginning_of_the_RS_Line\"><\/span>3. Audi RS2 Avant: The Beginning of the RS Line<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Audi RS models are known as the brand\u2019s ultimate performance cars. Surprisingly, though, the RS story began with a high-performance wagon.<\/p>\n<p>Like the Mercedes 500E, the Audi RS2 grew out of contract work Porsche took on during a financially challenging period. Audi needed a successor to its legendary Quattro and wanted to compete with the BMW M3, so it turned to Porsche for help.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-33689\" src=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1994_Audi_RS2_Avant_in_Silver_front_left-1-1280x839.jpg\" alt=\"Audi RS2\" width=\"1280\" height=\"839\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Porsche refined Audi\u2019s five-cylinder turbo engine, bringing output to 315 hp and 410 Nm of torque. It also handled chassis tuning, developing a distinctive suspension setup. The RS2 became a striking symbol of the two companies\u2019 collaboration, using parts taken directly from the <strong>911<\/strong>, including its brakes, side mirrors, and wheels.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"style3a\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Porsche_Also_Helped_Develop_a_Minivan\"><\/span>Porsche Also Helped Develop a Minivan<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Porsche also collaborated with Opel\u2014and even contributed to the development of a minivan.<\/p>\n<p>For the Opel Zafira, <strong>Porsche devised an innovative seating system<\/strong> that allowed two additional seats to be folded up from the floor, turning the car into a seven-seater. The resulting Zafira was well received by European automotive media.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_33685-2\" style=\"width: 1290px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33685-2\" class=\"size-large wp-image-33685\" src=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/E1XAzVuWQAIVz7B-1280x850.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"850\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-33685-2\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by MechDesign.xyz<\/p><\/div>\n<p>These examples show that Porsche is more than a sports-car maker: it has a broad range of automotive engineering capabilities. Contract development began as a way to overcome financial difficulties, but it ultimately gave Porsche a chance to demonstrate its technical expertise and adaptability to the world.<\/p>\n<p>We hear less about Porsche taking on contract development projects these days, but it\u2019ll be interesting to see what kinds of projects the company gets involved in next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u304c\u624b\u304c\u3051\u305f\u610f\u5916\u306a5\u53f0\u306e\u30af\u30eb\u30de\u3092\u7d39\u4ecb\u3002\u30d5\u30a9\u30eb\u30af\u30b9\u30ef\u30fc\u30b2\u30f3\u30fb\u30d3\u30fc\u30c8\u30eb\u304b\u3089\u30aa\u30da\u30eb\u30fb\u30b6\u30d5\u30a3\u30fc\u30e9\u307e\u3067\u3001\u77e5\u3089\u308c\u3056\u308b\u53d7\u8a17\u958b\u767a\u306e\u6b74\u53f2\u3092\u89e3\u8aac\u3002\u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u306e\u591a\u5f69\u306a\u6280\u8853\u529b\u304c\u57a3\u9593\u898b\u3048\u308b\u8208\u5473\u6df1\u3044\u5185\u5bb9\u3002","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":33686,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=33487","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[235],"class_list":["post-36604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-porshenews","tag-porsche-news","en-US"],"yoast_head":"<title>3 Surprising Cars Developed by Porsche: A Little-Known History of Contract Engineering - 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