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Deconstructing the Porsche Emblem

PB — Wed, 19 May 2010 19:56:09 +0000

The Porsche name is recognized for superb styling on top of innovative engineering, but until 1952 the Stuttgart-based automotive manufacturer portrayed itself to the world as only that: a name. For 31 years, the Porsche brand consisted of seven sleek letters but had no face attached to its name. No mark, emblem, nor ideogram to distinguish its cars from the masses and therefore no burning scar in the minds of consumers embodying the Porsche experience and history. By the start of the 1950s, however, importers and agents who sold these high-performance sports cars made it clear to Porsche that their customers wanted something more. They wanted an emblem to identify their vehicles. Ferdinand Porsche, his son Ferry, and their trusted circle went about designing a logo that would represent Porsche to the world.

The mark they came up with takes more than a few pen strokes to reproduce, but nonetheless creates a bond of trust and space for thought among drivers and admirers alike. More than anything else, the Porsche logo takes its design cues from the coat of arms of the Free People’s State of Württemberg, a former Weimar Republic province. Ferdinand Porsche moved to Württemberg from Austria-Hungary after the turmoil of World War I and the Porsche headquarters is still located in the province (now called Baden-Württemberg) today. The red and black stripes come from the former province’s flag and the 6 antlers represent the heavy deer population in the thickly-wooded forests of the region. The province is the most prosperous and innovative of modern Germany and many other German multinationals are located there such as Daimler, Bosch, Carl Zeiss, and SAP. Through his company’s emblem, Porsche shows a firm commitment to his adopted land.

The horse in the middle is from the coat of arms of Stuttgart, the capital of Württemberg. Stute in German means female horse and gart in the city name is short for garten, or garden. The now bustling German metropolis was originally a horse pasture in the 10^th century. The city’s coat of arms pays homage to these roots with a black prancing stallion on a yellow shield. Interestingly enough, the Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari uses the same heraldry in its logo. The image of the black stallion made its way to Italy during World War I via Francesco Baracca, Italy’s top fighter ace during the war. Legend has it that Baracca copied the horse design from a shot down German pilot who happened to have painted the Stuttgart coat of arms on his plane. The Italian used the symbol on his own plane, but he too was killed in combat. In 1923, the symbol made its way to Enzo Ferrari after Ferrari’s victory in the Circuito del Savio. Ferrari had made acquaintance with Baracca’s father and after he won the race, his wife, the Countess Paolina Baracca, presented a piece of her son’s Stuttgart coat of arms-emblazoned plane shrapnel to him. The Countess asked that he use the horse on his cars and suggested it would bring him good luck. The Porsche family asked the Stuttgart city government for permission to use their coat of arms in their logo, which they were granted, but it’s unknown whether Ferrari ever had to go through the same process. Austrian petrol station company Avanti also uses the same prancing black stallion with yellow background in their logo.

Count Francesco Baracca used the same Stuttgart coat of arms on his plane as Porsche and inspired Ferrari’s logo

With the Porsche name added at the top of the shield, the emblem was complete. From 1953-1957 the new logo first appeared only on the interior of Porsche’s vehicles. The 1957 Porsche 356 coupe was the first to have the emblem gleam resplendent on its bonnet. A 2008 Luxury Institute survey among wealthy Americans found the Porsche brand best luxury car brand today. Respondents of the survey associated Porsche with "power, style and excitement", "value," "elegance," and "trust and respect". Without its intricate yet meaningful logo, it is doubtful Porsche would have ever been able to sear itself into the minds of consumers, built such value, and commanded such respect.

Thanks to the team at vintage racing video website RaceFansTV for guest writing this post. RaceFansTV is an international initiative led by motorsports enthusiasts that aims to bring back much of the great historical racing footage that has been captured since the video camera was invented.

Well worth checking them out!

What Kind of Cop Car Are You Not Getting Away From?

PB — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:34:15 +0000

One heck of a scary police concept cruiser from Porsche Tuner Oakley Design. We’ve seen Porsche Cayenne Ambulances and Porsche 911 Police Cars , but this is the first Panamera we’ve ever seen wearing a law enforcement badge instead of a Porsche one. Oakley Design takes an already aggressive Porsche Panamera Turbo and developed a concept cruiser that shaves weight (more than 75 kilos or 165lbs), adds power (at least 80 more ponies) and bright blue lights to create a 580 HP Panamera Pursuit (we just made up the name, but maybe Oakley will like it enough to license it from us). Imagine seeing this in your rear-view mirror. Unless you’re in a Porsche GT2 (and even then) it would probably be best to just give up from the start.

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What Kind of Cop Car Are You Not Getting Away From?

Awards and Accolades Accumulate for the Porsche Panamera

PB — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:54:59 +0000

While the Panamera may polarize the Porsche enthusiasts community, there seems to be know doubt about its popularity among journalists and other automotive pundits. As further proof and on the heals of the Panamera receiving an Edmunds Inside Line Editors’ Most Wanted 2010 trophy at the recent 2009 LA Auto show, Bloomberg News has named the Porsche Panamera its 2009 Car of the Year. This is Bloomber’s first-ever Car of the Year slection, with seven categories including Car of the Year, Green Car, Economy, Family, All-Around SUV, Sports Car and Executive Sedan. All eligible contenders were evaluated by Bloomberg’s automotive columnist, Jason Harper for overall performance, intelligent design and smart style, desirability and build quality. To qualify, models must have been new or significantly revised for model year 2010, and be on sale by the first quarter of 2010.( read more about the selection process here ).

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Awards and Accolades Accumulate for the Porsche Panamera

Awards and Accolades Accumulate for the Porsche Panamera

PB — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:54:59 +0000

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Awards and Accolades Accumulate for the Porsche Panamera

Do You Know the Way to Monterey?

PB — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:10:14 +0000

Okay, so maybe not the exact lyrics of the song, but you get the idea? How many of you are headed to the Monterey Peninsula (or are already there) for this week’s Porsche festivities? A portion of the PorschePurist.com team was planning on attending the event starting this Thursday (yours truly). We had everything scheduled and planned out including some time behind the wheel of a new Panamera and a full week with a Boxster S driving the PCH. In addition to driving some great Porsches, we had planned on documenting and photographing all the Porsche goodness at The Quail, Laguna Seca, Pebble Beach, etc. Basically, anywhere we found Porsches (which will be all over the Peninsula) we were going to be there with our cameras. Unfortunately, a member of the team (Lucy, one of our dogs) became very sick and we have to cancel our trip. So, here’s my question to you. Would any of you attending be willing to send me pictures as you have the time? I’m specifically interested in pictures of the Porsche Zentrum (the picture above is of the Zentrum being prepared for the event), any of the numerous famous racing Porsches featured at Laguna Seca and anything else of interest. I will post the pictures in the new Porsche Purist flickr account and will use them in a future post as well (proper credit and links to be provided of course). If interested, let me know by commenting below or using the contact page to get in touch. Porsche Zentrum The Zentrum is a specially built facility based on aspects of the new Porsche museum and the flagship dealerships from around the world. This free-standing building is built prominently on the grounds of the Quail Lodge and will showcase the new Panamera and much of the new technology to be found in today’s Porsche sports cars. Here’s a picture I was sent today of the Zentrum being made ready for prime time. 36th Annual Rolex Monterey Historics As the featured marque of this year’s event, Porsche is expecting more than 450 historic race cars to be in attendance, racing and on display. In addition to these privately owned cars, four historicaly significant Porsche race cars will be on display from the Museum including: 1960 Porsche Type 718 Formula 2 racing car, which gave Porsche its first Formula 2 world title and was driven in 1961 by Californian Dan Gurney, is making its North American debut. 1962 Porsche Type 804 Formula 1 racer, the car that brought Dan Gurney to his win that year in the French Grand Prix. This car has not been in North America since the 1960s. 1962 Porsche Type 718 W-RS 8-cylinder Spyder, in which Gurney and Joakim Bonnier finished second at the Targa Florio in 1961, has also not been in North America for more than 40 years. In the 1960s, it was raced in the U.S. by Gurney, Jo Bonnier and Phil Hill. The Porsche GT1 98LM, which helped Porsche finish 1-2 at the 1998 24-hours of Le Mans event. Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Porsche is displaying the Panamera at the legendary Lodge at Pebble Beach and for the second time in the history of the Concours, organizers have created a Porsche class to include racing legends from the 1950s through the 1980s on display at the famed 18th fairway at the Pebble Beach Golf Links. Notable Porsches to be on display at Pebble Beach to include: 356 driven by Manfredo Lippman in the 1953 Carrera Panamericana. 917/10 driven by John Fitzpatrick in the German Interseries. The Porsche 917K Steve McQueen drove in the movie Le Mans 962C that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1987 Related Posts What Does Porsche Have That’s Bigger and Faster Than The Panamera? Dealer Launch of the Porsche Panamera [Source: PCNA, 993C4S]

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Do You Know the Way to Monterey?

Dealer Launch of the Porsche Panamera Courtesy of Hilton Head Porsche

PB — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:10:06 +0000

With the North American launch of the Panamera just weeks away (slated for the Rolex Monterey Historics), Porsche took time in the month of July to introduce their dealer network to the new four-door flagship and they did so in style. Dealer owners, and/or their representatives, were treated to a five day excursion to the Cote D’ Azure (that’s the French Riviera to you and me). Arriving by air to Barcelona, Spain dealers immediately embarked upon the cruise liner Crystal Serenity as it sailed through the night on its way to Marseille where a plethora of Panameras awaited their arrival and provided a strong statement about the event’s focus. After an introduction to the car (and presumably a roadmap and directions) the dealers were off on a two day drive along the French coast passing through St. Tropez, Nice and Cannes, arriving at their final destination in Monaco. At all times, the cruise ship paced the group and awaited their arrival for what I can only assume would be a comfortable and luxurious way to spend the evening. Let’s see, four days in the French Riviera on both land and sea. Cruising aboard a top luxury liner. Driving one of the most sought after and highly anticipated Grand Turismos through some of the most storied and scenic destination in the world. Sounds like a good way to build up excitement and anticipation among dealers as they await the first Panamera(s) to find its way to their lot. Based on the fact that Porsche has pre-orders for more than 3000 of them so far and the dealers understandable desire to sell them, don’t be surprised if you might need to wait a bit before going for your first test drive. Introducing Porsche of Hilton Head The pictures above and the information for the narrative come courtesy of our newest site sponsor, Porsche of Hilton Head . I was first introduced to this dealership through their general sales manager Wallace Higginbotham . Wally and I became friendly when he started publishing his own Porsche blog and we reached out to each other for introductions. Since then, Wally’s site has grown to be the unofficial blog of Porsche of Hilton Head and provides everything from news, pictures and entertaining stories. What’s great, is because of Wally’s affiliation with Porsche and Porsche of Hilton Head, there are always a significant number of pictures and stories that the rest of us might not otherwise have access to. With regard to Porsche of Hilton Head, after spending some time discussing it with Wally we decided they would make a great addition to our growing list of sponsors. Why? Simple. While a lot of people like doing business with their local dealer (understandably) they might not always have access to the particular Porsche you want. Specifically, Porsche allocates certain cars (Turbos, GT3s, GT2s, etc.) based on the number of Carrera 911s sold. Porsche of Hilton Head is a well run shop and geographically placed in an affluent area. This results in a large number of 911 sales which provides them with a higher percentage of special Porsches than normal. Combine this unique access and other new car inventory with a large supply of in demand, pre-owned Porsches and you can see why it makes sense to reach out beyond your local area . Regardless if you’re in the market for a new or used Porsche or not, definitely take a minute to check out Wally’s Porsche blog (especially if you want to see more pictures about the Panamera dealer launch ), welcome him here to PorschePurist.com and take a look through the Porsche of Hilton Head web-site . Related Posts Used Porsches for Sale Used Porsche Parts

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Dealer Launch of the Porsche Panamera Courtesy of Hilton Head Porsche

Graffiti Tagged Porsches to $1 Billion in Profit (yes, that’s a B).

PB — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:10:13 +0000

Busy, busy day today in the world of all things Porsche. Rather than bombard your mailbox with multiple emails I thought I would wrap up today’s events in a quick summary and provide links to full-text articles in case you want to dig deeper into any or all of the subjects.

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Graffiti Tagged Porsches to $1 Billion in Profit (yes, that’s a B).

Free Tour of the Porsche Panamera and Cayenne Production Lines

PB — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:26:02 +0000

Plan on traveling to Germany soon? With production starting in the newly remodeled Leipzig plant of Porsche AG, the facility is once again open to the public for tours. Visitors now have the opportunity to see the all new Panamera rolling off the assembly line prior to the official launch this coming September.

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Free Tour of the Porsche Panamera and Cayenne Production Lines

Porsche asks Panamera to withstand spiraling luxury sales

PB — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:55:04 +0000

Porsche has forecasted a reversal of fortunes through their controversial Panamera Sedan. Porsche’s top brass has suggested that its first fresh model in seven years, Panamera Sedan, would help in bucking up luxury sales. Klaus Berning, Sales Chief for Porsche said that irrespective of dubious situation, the carmakers would sell a minimum of 20000 units in a year.

Porsche Panamera

Porsche trusts Panamera to combat a serious sales slump. Sales figure from Stuttgart, Germany is showing a dismal 27 percent drop whereas sales in U.K are in disarray with 36 percent drop. Panamera is Porsche’s first four-door sedan and has cost the carmaker something to the tune of 1 billion euros for development. The car is set to give Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz CLS and Fiat SpA’s Maserati Quattroporte a run for their money.

Porsche contests that about nine-tenth of the customers will be fresh ones without any brand loyalty as such. Sales will be trifurcated between Europe, US and rest of the world. Porsche is looking to bring the car in China in January and is already setting sight on 2000 unit sale by the seventh month of the year.

Porsche is exhibiting a family sized Panamera for ushering into would-be markets. This step is to counter the spiraling sales among conventional customers and loyalists. The 94000 Euro four-door Panamera Sedan is all set to start its road journey in the month of September. Porsche is also planning to unravel a Hybrid Cayenne in 2010 and looking to top it up with Hybrid Panamera.

Porsche focuses on green fuels?

Social acceptance, above all, is the reason why Porsche purchasers look towards hybrids or electricity or diesel cars.

Porsche is fast collecting stakes in Volkswagen since the erstwhile auto giant from Germany suggested restructuring and acute liquidity crisis. With recession looming even further, Volkswagen has nearly called it “quits”. Porsche has already promised to lift its holding in Volkswagen to some 75 percent. While Porsche has fallen 3.02 euros or 6.2 percent, Volkswagen has had a sharp slip of 11.2 euros r about 4.4 percent. Both these downfalls have been the highest in three weeks or so.

Porsche reveals Panamera details (AM Online)

PB — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:55:09 +0000

Porsche has revealed details for its production ready Panamera model at the Shanghai Motor Show.

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/nws/th/main_142.gif

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Porsche reveals Panamera details (AM Online)