Made in Germany: History of the German Car Industry

1948 – Porsche release their first sports car

The Porsche company was founded in the 1930s by Ferdinand Porsche. It was originally a company that helped develop and advise on cars, but eventually started building them.

Ferdinand’s son, Ferry, made the company famous by creating Porsche’s first sports car, the 365. Ferry was a big motorsports fan, but he couldn’t find a car he wanted to buy. So, he decided to design his car.

The 365 car used parts from the Volkswagen Beetle, like the engine, transmission, and suspension. But it had a sleek body, a special engine that didn’t need water to cool down, and only had two seats, making it lighter.

The car won its first race at Innsbruck in 1948 and was later improved to make it even faster. Since the car was based on the Beetle, the engine was in the back of the vehicle, which is still a feature that Porsche cars are known for today.