21/09/2021
6. Ferdinand Porsche developed a four wheel-drive Formula One car.
The Porsche 360 Cisitalia had 385 hp and could top 200 mph, but because of the owner’s lack of funding and a change to the rules, it never actually raced.
7. The prancing horse on the Porsche Crest is similar to the horse on the Ferrari Crest.
For Porsche, it makes sense: it’s actually integral to the coat of arms for the city of Stuttgart, Porsche’s home. Ferrari only uses it because an Italian fighter ace shot down a pilot over Stuttgart in WWI, and the ace’s mother told Ferrari to use the horse as good luck.
8. The very first road going sports car made by Porsche was mid-engined.
Everyone thinks of the Porsche 356 as a rear-engined car—and most were—but the first prototype, 356/1, had the engine behind the driver but in front of the rear axle for better balance. It also won its very first race, a hillclimb event in Innsbruck.
9. For two years, all 356 models were built in an old sawmill in Gmund, Austria.
They were also better, since they were made with aluminum bodies instead of the steel bodies the later German cars had, and were thus much lighter.
