Driving Force: Celebrating 50 Years of Porsche Turbo in June

A Turbo from Zuffenhausen. The mere thought of it is enthralling for many. A captivating vision of the ultimate connection between the driver and the road. While we celebrate 50 years of Porsche Turbo, we also look back at this month's 24 hours of Le Mans - a race that offered highlights on and off the track.

Our fourth issue of Porsche Spotlight tells a story of passion, excitement, sportiness and more. So let’s dive right in!

The Turbo principle has marked the frontier of what is feasible at Porsche for half a century. Turbo is far more than just a model designation. A Turbo from Zuffenhausen combines experience and success, sportiness and day-to-day usability. Every Turbo carries within it all the victories that Porsche has celebrated on the race tracks of the world.

"No other model reflects the company’s innovative drive as strikingly as the Turbo derivatives,” Achim Stejskal, Director of Porsche Heritage and Museum

The word ‘Turbo’ symbolises many things, not just the crowning glory of the eight Turbo generations. Turbo is an integral part of the name of our models: 924 Turbo, 944 Turbo, Cayenne Turbo, Panamera Turbo and Macan Turbo¹. ‘Turbo’ embodies the name of a technology, ‘Turbo-look’ styling, turbocharging as a means of forced induction and, in the case of the Taycan Turbo², even a standalone brand name.

Want to experience the Turbo feeling? Then dive right in:

The 911 Turbo generations: car racing technology for the road

50 years ago, in 1974, we presented the first series 911 Turbo at the Paris Motor Show. A technology that migrated from motorsport to series production in characteristic Porsche fashion. Over the years and model generations, the 911 Turbo became more and more sophisticated, comfortable and luxurious.

Have a closer look:

Our history is full of such notable examples where a technology migrated from motorsport to our series production. More recently, this was illustrated by the Turbo technology and the 24 Hours of Le Mans through to the new 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid³. The latest 911 model variant reaps the benefits of the insights that Porsche gained with the 919 Hybrid and currently with the 963.

You can't get enough of that Turbo feeling? Then learn more about the eight different 911 Turbo generations: https://porsche.click/Eight911TurboGenerations

When it comes to endurance racing, there’s a weekend each year that’s ringed in the calendar of all motorsport fans. Along with the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the most famous of all motor racing events.

This year we celebrated the victory of Manthey-Racing GmbH EMA team in the new LMGT3 class as well as the good race of the 963 LMDh cars, that sadly didn't finish with a podium position.

You missed all the fun? We have you covered. Relive the race with our aftermovie:

Porsche Employee Camp @ Le Mans

In addition to world class racing, the 24 hours of Le Mans also offered highlights off the track. Most notably, our Porsche employee camp:

• Some 500 employees travelled to the northwestern part of France to enjoy the best motorsport action and a fantastic atmosphere within the Porsche employee camp.
• Located inside the Circuit de la Sarthe, our employees slept in tents, caravans and camper vans in close proximity to the race track.
• On Friday, they even had the chance to walk or cycle around the 13.626 km open track route and experience the drivers up close.
• It really felt like a big family reunion. Our CEO Oliver Blume and Andreas Haffner, Member of the Executive Board for Human Resources and Social Affairs, joined our employees in supporting our motorsport team.
• As an added bonus, the German soccer team won their first Euro 2024 match, which was broadcast live in the camp.

JOIN THE PORSCHE FAMILY: Interested in joining Porsche as part of our motorsport department? Find all our current vacancies here: https://porsche.click/JobsMotorsport

Racing for Charity:

Like last year, the three 963 LMDh racing cars from Porsche Penske Motorsport raced the 24 Hours of Le Mans in both the spirit of sporting success and for a good cause.

As part of the initiative 'Racing for Charity', we donated 750 euros for each lap driven by the works cars. In the end, a total of 833 laps were completed adding up to 624,750 euros. This sum was topped up to 911,000 euros and gifted to three charitable initiatives supporting seriously ill children and their families.

Motorsport is a central part of Porsche’s brand identity but ultimately it is the people who deserve our respect and acknowledgment beyond the factory gates.” Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board of Porsche AG, Research and Development

Thus, the registered associations Kinderherzen retten (Save Children’s Hearts) and Interplast Germany each receive 350,000 euros from the funds raised. The Ferry Porsche Foundation is given 211,000 euros towards further initiatives to support sick children and their families.

Figure of the month:

911,000 euros – as part of the initiative 'Racing for Charity', we donated 750 euros for each lap driven by the 963 LMDh racing cars from Porsche Penske Motorsport. In the end, the sum was topped up to 911,000 euros and gifted to three charitable initiatives.

Focus Story: Climatic wind tunnel in Weissach

From the Arctic Circle to South Africa, and from the Alpine pass to Dubai — what would normally involve flying around the world can be achieved in just a few hours back home at the Weissach Development Center.

In the new climate center, which began operations two years ago, Porsche engineers can simulate nearly all possible weather and climate conditions in the world. This gives our engineers the chance to consider how they can adapt the vehicles and their equipment to the diverse weather conditions all around the world.

“From an air temperature of -30 to +50°C, and from a monsoon to a drizzle, we can reproduce everything in our new climatic wind tunnel in the climate center. We can also simulate wind speeds of up to 250 km/h for the vehicle and solar radiation of up to 1200 watts per square meter and relative humidity of between 5 and 95 percent.” - Horst-Uwe Kroß, Head of V&V Thermodynamics

You want to find out how that works? See for yourself:

Dive into our focus story: https://porsche.click/ClimaticWindTunnel

JOIN THE PORSCHE FAMILY: Interested in joining Porsche as part of our product development? Find all our current vacancies here: https://porsche.click/JobsDevelopment

¹ Macan Turbo (WLTP): Electrical consumption combined: 20.7 – 18.8 kWh/100 km; CO₂ emissions combined: 0 g/km; CO₂ class: A; Status 06/2024

² Taycan Turbo (WLTP): Electrical consumption combined: 20.5 – 18.0 kWh/100 km; CO₂ emissions combined: 0 g/km; CO₂ class: A; Status 06/2024

³ 911 Carrera GTS (WLTP, preliminary values): Fuel consumption combined: 11.0 – 10.5 l/100 km; CO₂ emissions combined: 251 – 239 g/km; CO₂ class: G; Status 06/2024