Porsche Holding GmbH, also known as Porsche Holding Salzburg, is the largest car distributor in Europe. In 2011, the company was sold by the
Porsche family
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company is ...
and
Porsche SE
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE (), is a German multinational corporation primarily known as a holding company of Volkswagen Group with investments in the automotive industry. Porsche SE is headquartered in Zuffenh ...
to
Volkswagen AG
Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...
, which is the majority owner of the company.
History
![Porsche 356 Pre-A 1948 Rearview](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Porsche_356_Pre-A_1948_Rearview.JPG)
Porsche Konstruktionen GesmbH was founded by
Louise Piëch Louise Hedwig Anna Wilhelmine Piëch (née Porsche; 29 August 1904, in Wiener Neustadt – 10 February 1999, in Zell am See) was the daughter of automotive pioneer Ferdinand Porsche. In 1928, she married Anton Piëch, a lawyer from Vienna who from 1 ...
and
Ferry Porsche
Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche (19 September 1909 – 27 March 1998), mainly known as Ferry Porsche, was an Austrian-German technical automobile designer and automaker-entrepreneur. He operated Porsche AG in Stuttgart, Germany. His fathe ...
(daughter and son of
Ferdinand Porsche
Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-German automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first gasoline–electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner–Porsche), the Volkswag ...
) in 1947 in
Gmünd, Austria. After the
Porsche 360 360 may refer to:
* 360 (number)
* 360 AD, a year
* 360 BC, a year
* 360 degrees, a circle
Businesses and organizations
* 360 Architecture, an American architectural design firm
* Ngong Ping 360, a tourism project in Lantau Island, Hong Kong
* ...
Grand Prix racing car was designed by Ferry Porsche with help from the engineers of his father's design office for
Cisitalia
Cisitalia was an Italian sports and racing car brand. The name "Cisitalia" derives from "Compagnia Industriale Sportiva Italia", a business conglomerate founded in Turin in 1946 and controlled by the wealthy industrialist and sportsman Piero Dusio ...
in 1947, the company started manufacturing the
Porsche 356
The Porsche 356 is a sports car that was first produced by Austrian company Porsche Salzburg, Porsche Konstruktionen GesmbH (1948–1949), and then by German company Porsche, Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH (1950–1965). It was Porsche's first ...
, starting with the prototype
Porsche 356/1 and then 356/2 in 1948 at a factory located at a saw mill in Gmünd, and later at a factory in Salzburg.
After
Ferdinand Porsche
Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-German automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first gasoline–electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner–Porsche), the Volkswag ...
was released from a French prison after the war, the production of the Porsche 356 was taken over by Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, Germany, and the facility in Salzburg became home to Porsche Konstruktionen as the Austrian importer of
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
and
Porsche
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
products in 1949. Ferry Porsche joined his father's company in Stuttgart, while the Austrian operation was left with
Anton Piëch
Anton Piëch (; 21 September 1894 – 29 August 1952) was an Austrian-German lawyer and the son-in-law of Ferdinand Porsche. He headed Volkswagenwerk GmbH between 1941 and 1945, which produced the Volkswagen vehicles ('' KdF-Wagen'') at the factor ...
and
Louise Piëch Louise Hedwig Anna Wilhelmine Piëch (née Porsche; 29 August 1904, in Wiener Neustadt – 10 February 1999, in Zell am See) was the daughter of automotive pioneer Ferdinand Porsche. In 1928, she married Anton Piëch, a lawyer from Vienna who from 1 ...
, who managed it to become the largest car dealership chain in Austria by 1957.
By the 1960s, Porsche Konstruktionen became one of the largest distributors of Volkswagen and Porsche products in Europe.
Motorsport
![Porsche 908 - Vic Elford 1970-05-31](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Porsche_908_-_Vic_Elford_1970-05-31.jpg)
In the late 1960s, Porsche entered many sports cars in races, and to support the factory effort (then calling itself
Porsche System Engineering
Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long-distance races.
Despite their early involvement in motorsports being limited to supplying relatively small engines to racing underdogs up until the ...
), external semi-factory teams were set up to share the work load. In 1969, ''Porsche Salzburg'' became such a ''de facto'' second works team, sponsored by Porsche Konstruktionen. Early in the season, at the
Nürburgring
The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...
, cars were entered as ''Salzburg Porsche Konstruktionen'', but later at Austria's
Österreichring
The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg, Styria, Austria.
The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from to . It was later sho ...
, it became Porsche Salzburg for short.
Porsche Salzburg became an entrant in the
1969 World Sportscar Championship season
The 1969 World Sportscar Championship season was the 17th season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It featured the 1969 International Championship for Makes,FIA Yearbook, 1974, Grey section, page 124-125 which was a series for FIA ...
and
1970 World Sportscar Championship season, representing
Porsche in motorsport
Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long-distance races.
Despite their early involvement in motorsports being limited to supplying relatively small engines to racing underdogs up until the ...
. In 1970, the team of
John Wyer
John Wyer (11 December 1909 in Kidderminster, England – 8 April 1989 in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States), was an English automobile racing engineer and team manager. He is mainly associated with cars running in the light blue and orange ...
was the designated factory partner. The Porsche factory itself did not compete anymore, focussing on development, but Salzburg continued. Usually two cars were entered, for
Vic Elford
Victor Henry Elford (10 June 1935 – 13 March 2022) was an English sports car racing, rallying, and Formula One driver. He participated in 13 World Championship F1 Grands Prix, debuting on 7 July 1968. He scored a total of 8 championship poin ...
and
Hans Herrmann
Hans Herrmann (born 23 February 1928) is a retired Formula One and sports car racing driver from Stuttgart, Germany.
In F1, he participated in 19 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 2 August 1953. He achieved 1 podium, and scored a ...
. Salzburg operated the winning
Porsche 908
The Porsche 908 was a racing car from Porsche, introduced in 1968 to continue the Porsche 906- Porsche 910- Porsche 907 series of models designed by Helmuth Bott (chassis) and Hans Mezger (engine) under the leadership of racing chief Ferdinand P ...
/3 in the
1000km Nürburgring
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
for that year, and the winning
Porsche 917KH at the
1970 24 Hours of Le Mans. After 1970, the name of Porsche Salzburg disappeared from entry lists, as
Martini Racing
Martini Racing is the name under which various motor racing teams race when sponsored by the Italian company Martini & Rossi, a distillery that produces Martini vermouth in Turin. Martini's sponsorship program began in 1958 as Martini Internati ...
took over as the second factory-backed team besides Wyer.
Recent developments
In January 2009,
Porsche SE
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE (), is a German multinational corporation primarily known as a holding company of Volkswagen Group with investments in the automotive industry. Porsche SE is headquartered in Zuffenh ...
became the largest shareholder of Volkswagen AG, and in March 2011, Porsche SE as well as the
Porsche and Piëch families sold the ownership in the Austrian company, which had been reorganized into Porsche Holding GmbH (Porsche Holding Salzburg), to
Volkswagen AG
Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...
.
Today, Porsche Holding Salzburg is the largest car distributor in Europe, representing
Volkswagen Group brands, including Porsche, in wholesale (as importer), retail (through its dealers), and in the after-sales business (service) in 21 countries in Europe, as well as in South America and in China.
See also
*
Porsche (disambiguation)
Porsche AG is an automobile manufacturer and a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG
Porsche may also refer to:
Buildings
* Porsche Design Tower, in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida
* Porsche Museum, Stuttgart
* Porsche-Arena, in Stuttgart, Germany
Companies ...
References
{{Authority control
Porsche
Porsche in motorsport
Companies based in Salzburg