It is Ferdinand Porsche (1875-1951) who is credited for the German brand bearing his name and created in 1931. The first model, the Porsche 53, was launched in 1938. In 1944, because of World War 2, the firm is forced to relocate to Austria, before returning to Germany and be truly established under the name Porsche AG in 1947. The Porsche and Volkswagen firms are closely linked. Ferdinand Porsche’s son, Ferry Porsche, created the very first Volkswagen before assuming the leadership of Porsche in 1951 after the death of his father. Since 2006, the Porsche group (Porsche SE) is the largest shareholder in the Volkswagen group (with 50.76% of regular shares), but does not control it due to a peculiarity being that the detention of 80% of action is necessary to take control of Volkswagen Group (click here to see the structure of Porsche SE in early 2009). Porsche is the most profitable car manufacturer of all times (for example, net profits were 19% of revenues in 2005-2006, namely 1.39 over 7.27 billion Euros). Porsche’s secret is to offer incredibly high performing sports cars, with a streamlined and seductive design and to remain true to the brand and its legend, the 911, even though conceptually this car falls short of perfection (rear engine making the balance of the car less than ideal).
