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| 1931
to 1947 - The beginnings of the Porsche Company |
| The foundation of the Porsche Company
by Ferdinand Porsche in 1931 and early projects including the
Auto Union racing car and the 'Peoples Car' or Volkswagen. World
War 2 and and Ferry Porsche's increasing involvement in the company
... more |
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| 1948
to 1953 - Ferry Porsche and the development of the 356 |
| Ferry's plans for a lightweight
compact sportscar were put on hold because of the war but Porsche
No 1 appeared in 1948 followed by a production prototype 356/2.
Around 50 hand made cars were produced in Gmund and as orders
flowed in, production moved to Reutters in Stuttgart ... more |
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| 1954 - The
356 Speedster is born |
| The high quality and performance
of the 356 range of made it successful both in Europe in the
USA although it was thought very expensive. The US importer convinced
the factory that a stripped down car with a low curved windscreen
and a lightweight hood selling for under $3,000 would be a great
success ... more |
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| 1955 - The 356A (T1) Speedster introduced in September |
| The Pre-A Speedster was a sales
success in the USA and in September 1955, the 356A (T1) Speedster
was introduced with chassis improvements, a new 1600cc engine
and a new Type 644 gearbox. There were also changes to the wheels,
steering box and suspension ... more |
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| 1957 - 356A (T2) Speedster introduced from September |
| The 356A (T2) Speedster was introduced in September 1957 and continued until the Speedster was replaced by the Convertible D in 1958/59. The exhaust exited through the rear bumper guards for better ground clearance and a new transmission was used ... more |
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| The 356 Carrera Speedsters |
| The racing success of the Speedsters
is solidly based on the development of the Carerra engines by
Dr Ernst Fuhrmann. There are five categories of Carrera Speedsters
- one Pre-A and four 356A - and two 4-overhead-cam engines -
Type 547 and Type 692 ... more |
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| 1958 - End
of 356 Speedster production - replaced by Convertible D |
| The Convertible D replaced the Speedster
in August 1958 although a few Carrera Speedsters were produced
in 1959. The D was a heavier, more comfortable Cabriolet with
larger seats, roll-up windows, a taller windscreen and more substantial
hood ... more |
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| 1989 - 911
Carrera 3.2 Speedster introduced |
| The first official 911 Speedster
was introduced by Porsche at the Frankfurt Motor show in October
1987 but had been preceded by several prototypes and projects
principally under the control of designer and Technical Director,
Helmuth Bott ... more |
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| 1992
- 911 Carrera 2 Speedster (964) introduced |
| Launched in October 1992 as a 1993
model, the 964 Carrera 2 based Porsche Speedster was available
either in standard or lightweight trim called "clubsport".
Most were standard bodies but later some 20 Turbo look "widebody"
examples were produced ... more |
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| 1995/1998
- 993 Speedster |
| Porsche never officially released a 993 Speedster, but one was built for Butzi Porsche's 60th birthday and later another wide-body, silver Speedster was rebuilt by the factory from a cabriolet for Jerry Seinfeld. More 993 Speedsters have been 'created' since then ... more |
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| 2010 - new
911 Speedster (997) introduced |
| First seen at the Paris Motor show
last year the new Speedster went on sale in January at £144,000
in the UK. Only 356 of these wide bodied 408bhp classics will
be made featuring rear wheel drive, the PDK gearbox and a low
raked windscreen ... more |
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