2001 Porsche 911 Carerra 4 Cabriolet on 2040-cars

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Porsche looks back on very first 911 Turbo

Porsche has really hit on a winning formula with its series of videos going inside its vault. So far, we've seen the V8 911 prototype, mid-engine test mule and aerodynamic prototype. The company is sticking with the 911 theme in the latest entry, but this time it's an actual production car - the very first 911 Turbo ever made.
Being the first Turbo would make it important enough, but the car was also a birthday present for Louise Piëch, daughter of Ferdinand Porsche and sister to Ferry Porsche, and she regularly used the car. The family didn't just hand her a random car off the assembly line, either. She got to make it her own with some interesting modifications. She supposedly even painted landscapes from inside the car.
You have to wonder what Piëch thought of her present. The early Turbos had a reputation for being a bit of a handful to drive. The boost tended to bring the power all at once, which wasn't always welcome when cornering. She deserves some honor just for driving the car on the curvy, alpine roads. Scroll down to learn about this important Porsche, and we can't wait to see what car the brand showcases next.

Porsche Macan sales may push brand past 200K unit goal early

In late 2010, Volkswagen announced that it would spend the equivalent of $71 billion through 2015 to beef up its product lineup, determined to overtake Toyota in overall sales and profitability by 2018. Each of VW's many brands, in turn, would play its part contributing to a goal of 10 million sales per year. VW-owned Porsche was expected to sell 200,000 vehicles per year by 2018, but with the imminent arrival of the Macan small sport utility vehicle in 2014, the automaker is poised to meet that goal years ahead of schedule, Automotive News reports.
Porsche sold 143,096 cars in 2012, and IHS Automotive predicts Porsche will sell 63,000 Macans in 2014, according to Automotive News, which would make it the brand's best-selling vehicle. Do the math and you can see how Porsche could easily beat original expectations ahead of schedule. But Porsche's sales and marketing boss Bernhard Maier says not so fast: "We will not offer [63,000 Macans] in 2014 as we will still be ramping up production and introducing models top down," he told Automotive News Europe. Whether Porsche surpasses the 200,000 mark early or not, he said, the company will not set a new sales target and will remain committed to its business model.
The Macan shares its architecture with the Audi Q5, but Porsche will be able to charge more for its SUV. Tim Urquhart, a senior analyst at IHS Autmotive, told Automotive News that Porsche can charge 10 to 20 percent more, for what is basically the same SUV, than other VW Group brands. How's that for brand value?

eGarage video features Helmuth Bott's personal Porsche 959 prototype

"We thought we were going to build a super-911," said Peter Schutz, former CEO of Porsche AG of the development of the Porsche 959. That was before it started getting expensive. At that point, Helmuth Bott, Porsche R&D director got frightened. Costs ballooned because of the all-wheel drive, sequential turbocharging and other technology Porsche had never even thought about when it set out to build a 911 to compete in Group B. Schutz continued, "The amount of resources we were committing got totally out of hand." Instead of pulling the plug, Bott doubled down and drew on the strength of his brilliant team to build a car whose impact is still echoing aross the industry.
"It's probably one of our most prized possessions" says Don Leatherwood, Director of the Brumos collection where Dr. Bott's personal prototype resides, and where Frazer Spowart went to see the car and create a video for eGarage. Check out the sights and sounds of the 959 before it was the 959, and get personal takes on the car from Hurley Haywood, Peter Schutz and Don Leatherwood. Keep reading to see the video.