As of July 5, 2012, Volkswagen is to acquire the 50. 1 per cent in Porsche's capital that it doesn't already hold from holding company Porsche SE for € 4. 46 billion plus one Volkswagen share.

The Boxster was Porsche's biggest volume seller from its introduction in 1996 until the company introduced the Cayenne sport utility vehicle in 2003.

In October 1931, Komenda resigned his most respectable job with Mercedes and joined Ferdinand Porsche's new company, a step into an unknown future.

Porsche had announced in June 2008 that the Boxster and Cayman models would be manufactured by Magna Steyr from 2012, but this contract was cancelled in December 2009 and transferred to Karmann, a German car assembly company which had recently been taken over by Porsche's parent company, Volkswagen.

The first two running prototypes of Porsche's M28 V8 used one four-barrel carburetor, but this was just for initial testing.

The team to lay out the body shell design was led by Ferry Porsche's eldest son, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche ( F.

Ferdinand Piëch, who was responsible for mechanical development of Porsche's serial and racing cars, formed his own engineering bureau, and developed a five-cylinder-inline diesel engine for Mercedes-Benz.

Ferdinand Porsche's grandson, Ferdinand Piëch, was chairman and CEO of the Volkswagen Group from 1993 to 2002.

In October 2008, Porsche announced its intent to raise its stake in Volkswagen AG to 75 % during 2009, and on 7 January 2009, Porsche's holding in VW AG was raised to 50. 76 %.

Porsche's 944 model debuted for the 1982 model year, was updated as " 944S " in 1987 and as " 944S2 " in 1989.

Production was moved from the Audi plant in Neckarsulm ( where the 924 and 944 had been manufactured under contract to Porsche ), to Porsche's own factory in Zuffenhausen.

The 968 was Porsche's last new front-engined vehicle ( of any type ) before the introduction of the Cayenne SUV.

It was Porsche's first water-cooled non-front engine.

Erwin Komenda, Ferdinand Porsche's first car body designer, was forced to develop an all-new unitized bodytub structure since the flat floorpan chassis of the existing VW vehicles was unsuited to smooth movement through water.

Ferry Porsche's life was intimately connected with that of his father, Ferdinand Porsche, Sr., who began sharing his knowledge of mechanical engineering already in his childhood.

It was one of the first high-performance vehicles to use an all-wheel drive system, providing the basis for Porsche's first all-wheel drive Carrera 4 model.

For instance, Porsche's 1962 F1 model was called Porsche 804.

Despite Porsche's direct involvement in the Ibiza's engines, it was only after paying a royalty of 7 German marks per car sold back to Porsche that SEAT gained the right to put the ' System Porsche ' inscription on the engine blocks.

The project was canceled after two days of testing for the first car, in mid-1999, mostly due to Porsche's wish to build the Cayenne SUV with involvement from Volkswagen and Audi, thus requiring engineering expertise to be pulled from the motorsports division.

It was Porsche's top-of-the-range 911 model for its entire production duration and at the time of its introduction the fastest production car available in Germany.

In order to ensure that the platform could make the most of the higher power output, a revised suspension, larger brakes and stronger gearbox became part of the package, although some consumers were unhappy with Porsche's use of a 4-speed whilst a 5-speed manual was available in the " lesser " Carrera.

It was the first generation of 911 to be offered with Porsche's optional Tiptronic automatic transmission as well as the first generation to be offered with all wheel drive.

It was based on Porsche's 911 " Carrera Cup " race car and harked back to the 2. 7 and 3. 0 RS and RSR models.

It was ultimately unsuccessful, leading to the resignation of Porsche's chief executive and financial director and to the merger of Porsche into Volkswagen.

Moreover, the little Steyr offered better seating and luggage space than Porsche's Volkswagen with shorter overall length, a large sheet metal sliding roof and was available with hydraulic brakes ( instead of the early Volkswagens ' cable-operated ones ).

However, Henschel was unable to make the 88 mm main gun fit in a turret, and used Porsche's turret design on all of their tigers.

Porsche's sport coupes which were originally based on Volkswagen parts and platforms continue to use the classic rear engine layout ( which later became water-cooled ) in the Porsche 911 series, which remains competitive in the second decade of the 21st century.

The 911 has become Porsche's most well-known and iconic model – successful on the race-track, in rallies, and in terms of road car sales.

Surprising interest in the vehicle and an influx of revenue provided from the Cayenne helped Porsche decide to produce the car, and development started on a road-legal version that would be produced in small numbers at Porsche's new manufacturing facility in Leipzig.

By the mid 1990s most of the sanctioning bodies of road racing had placed severe limitations if not outright bans on the use all-wheel drive systems, due in part to Audi's earlier success in campaigning their various 4WD sedans in touring car races around the globe, to Porsche's 959 and its racing version the Porsche 961, and in part to the Nissan Skyline.

Porsche's more recent VarioCam Plus combines variable valve timing with two-stage lift on the intake side.

* Elefant — " Elephant "; a heavy Panzerjäger ( tank hunter or tank destroyer ) built on the chassis of Porsche's unsuccessful prototypes for the Tiger tank, and mounting the 88mm L / 71 PaK 43.

This flat nose ( also known as the slant nose ), with headlights in the front spoiler, became the distinguishing feature of the 935 and was later offered on the roadgoing 930 as the Flachbau, or " flatnose ", part of Porsche's Sonderwunsch, or " special wish " program.

The New Zealander's Cooper slid by on lap 57, and soon after, Gurney began losing power in the Porsche's engine.

Scarfiotti entered the 1968 Targa Florio, but wrecked his Porsche 907 (# 230 ) on the first day of qualifying and was forced to race with Porsche's T-car which did not last the 720 km long road race.

An electronically controlled 5-speed automatic transaxle ( Tiptronic ) was also available on the S ( A87. 21 ) and the non-S version ( A87. 02 ) ( The 2009 models replaced this option with a seven-speed " PDK ", Porsche's dual-clutch robotic manual transmission ).

Porsche's project becomes the-005, although work never starts on it.

Harm Lagaay in an interview in German, on Porsche's convex and concave curves mastery, 2004

Porsche's 2002 introduction of the Cayenne also marked the unveiling of a new production facility in Leipzig, Saxony, which once accounted for nearly half of Porsche's annual output.

Porsche then formally announced in a press statement that it did not intend to take over Volkswagen Group ( it would set its offer price at the lowest possible legal value ) but intended the move to avoid a competitor taking a large stake, and to stop hedge funds dismantling Volkswagen Group, which is Porsche's most important partner.

It took over the entry-level position in Porsche's lineup from the 944, with which it shared about 20 % of its parts.

For the 1970 model year the 914 superseded the 912 as Porsche's entry-level model ; a Porsche-Volkswagen joint effort vehicle which Porsche had thought would be less expensive for them to manufacture and sell than the 912.

BMW had now 3 wins compared to Porsche's two, which meant that Porsche had to win the final two races.

Like the Porsche Cayenne SUV ( which has become the marque's best-selling vehicle ), the Panamera upset many Porsche purists, since it was seen as an attempt to broaden Porsche's appeal beyond that of hardcore fans.

This # 49 camera car, which can be briefly seen in the starting grid covered with a black sheet ( at approximately 17: 51 ) and again at just before the 79 minute-mark ( at 1: 18: 42 ) racing past the starting line, was driven by Porsche's Herbert Linge and Jonathan Williams.

Built to comply with the championship's new Group C regulations which were introduced in 1982, the car was a replacement for Porsche's successful 936 model which competed in the previous Group 6 category of the World Championship.

Under pressure from new cars from Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz, in 1987 Porsche again brought in a new engine, a more durable and powerful 3. 0 L unit which powered the car to an overall win at the 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans, Porsche's record seventh consecutive victory at the race.