1.
Porsche SE
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Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE, is a German holding company with investments in the automotive industry. Porsche SE is headquartered in Zuffenhausen, a city district of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg and is owned by the Porsche, the company was founded in Stuttgart as Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche and his son-in-law Anton Piëch, Porsche SE was created in June 2007 by renaming the old Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG, and became a company for the families stake in Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH and currently is the major shareholder in Volkswagen AG. At the same time, the new Dr. Ing. h. c, F. Porsche AG was created for the car manufacturing business. In August 2009, Porsche SE and Volkswagen AG reached an agreement that the car manufacturing operations of the two companies would merge in 2011, to form an Integrated Automotive Group, as of the end of 2014, the 31. F. Porsche AG, as a 100% subsidiary of VW AG, is responsible for the actual production, in addition to Volkswagen AG, other subsidiaries of Porsche SE include Porsche Engineering and Porsche Design Group. Porsche SE has an investment in the US company INRIX, for the history as Porsche as an automobile manufacturer and brand, see Porsche AG. When the government-owned Volkswagenwerk GmbH was privatized in 1960 into Volkswagen AG, in order to maintain government control in the privately owned company, the law stipulated that the votes on major shareholder meeting resolutions will require 4/5th agreement. This effectively gave any shareholder with more than 20% ownership a veto of any resolution that is proposed and this not only secured government control, but also prevented the possibility of a hostile takeover in the future. When European Union was formed in 1993, European Union law was signed with the principles to promote movement of goods, people. In late 2005, Porsche took an 18. 65% stake in the Volkswagen Group, further cementing their relationship, and preventing a takeover of Volkswagen Group, hypothetical suitors included DaimlerChrysler AG, BMW, and Renault. Porsche then formally announced in a statement that it did not intend to take over Volkswagen Group. Porsches move came after the European Union announced that it intends to take steps against the Volkswagen Law, in October 2007, the European Court of Justice ruled against the law, potentially paving the way for a takeover. On 16 September 2008, Porsche increased its holdings to 35. 14%, in effect almost taking control of the company and it again triggered a takeover bid, but this time over Audi AG. Porsche dismissed the bid as a formality, since it was Porsches intention to keep the corporate structure of the Volkswagen Group. In October 2008, Porsche SE announced its intent to raise its stake in Volkswagen AG to 75% during 2009, at 75% ownership level, Porsche SE would have been able to bring VW AGs cash position onto Porsche SE books. Porsches move automatically triggered a bid for Scania AB, because VW AG already had a position in the Swedish truck-maker
2.
Aktiengesellschaft
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Aktiengesellschaft is a German word for a corporation limited by share ownership and may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol and it is also used in Luxembourg, though the French-language equivalent, Société Anonyme, is more common. An English translation can therefore be share corporation, in German the use of the term Aktien for shares is restricted to Aktiengesellschaften. Shares in other types of German companies are called Anteile rather than Aktien, in Germany and Austria, the legal basis of the AG is the German Aktiengesetz or the Austrian Aktiengesetz. In Switzerland, the Company Limited by Shares is defined in Title Twenty-Six of the Code of Obligations, article 950 specifies that the business name must indicate the legal form. German AGs have a two-tiered board structure, consisting of a supervisory board, the supervisory board is generally controlled by shareholders, although employees may have seats, depending on the size of the company. The management board directly runs the company, but its members may be removed by the supervisory board, some German AGs have management boards which determine their own remuneration, but that situation is now relatively uncommon. The general meeting is the governing body of a Swiss company limited by shares. It elects the board of directors and the external auditors, the board of directors may appoint and dismiss persons entrusted with managing and representing the company. Chapter 4, The History of Corporate Ownership and Control in Germany, a History of Corporate Governance around the World, Family Business Groups to Professional Managers. Ownership and Control of German Corporations
3.
Automotive industry
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The automotive industry is a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles, some of them are called automakers. It is one of the worlds most important economic sectors by revenue, the term automotive was created from Greek autos, and Latin motivus to represent any form of self-powered vehicle. This term was proposed by Elmer Sperry, the automotive industry began in the 1890s with hundreds of manufacturers that pioneered the horseless carriage. For many decades, the United States led the world in automobile production. In 1929, before the Great Depression, the world had 32,028,500 automobiles in use, at that time the U. S. had one car per 4.87 persons. After World War II, the U. S. produced about 75 percent of auto production. In 1980, the U. S. was overtaken by Japan, in 2006, Japan narrowly passed the U. S. in production and held this rank until 2009, when China took the top spot with 13.8 million units. With 19.3 million units manufactured in 2012, China almost doubled the U. S. production, with 10.3 million units, from 1970 over 1998 to 2012, the number of automobile models in the U. S. has grown exponentially. Safety is a state that implies to be protected from any risk, danger, in the automotive industry, safety means that users, operators or manufacturers do not face any risk or danger coming from the motor vehicle or its spare parts. Safety for the automobiles themselves, implies there is no risk of damage. Safety in the industry is particularly important and therefore highly regulated. Automobiles and other vehicles have to comply with a certain number of norms and regulations, whether local or international. The standard ISO26262, is considered as one of the best practice framework for achieving automotive functional safety. In case of safety issues, danger, product defect or faulty procedure during the manufacturing of the motor vehicle and this procedure is called product recall. Product recalls happen in every industry and can be production-related or stem from the raw material, however, the automotive industry is still particularly concerned about product recalls, which cause considerable financial consequences. Around the world, there were about 806 million cars and light trucks on the road in 2007, consuming over 980 billion litres of gasoline, the automobile is a primary mode of transportation for many developed economies. The Detroit branch of Boston Consulting Group predicts that, by 2014, meanwhile, in the developed countries, the automotive industry has slowed down. It is also expected that this trend will continue, especially as the generations of people no longer want to own a car anymore
4.
Ferdinand Porsche
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Ferdinand Porsche was an automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche car company. He is best known for creating the first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle, the Volkswagen Beetle, in addition, Porsche designed the 1923 Benz Tropfenwagen, which was the first racing car with a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. Porsche was an important contributor to the German war effort during World War II. He was involved in the production of advanced tanks such as the VK4501, Tiger I, Tiger II, Elefant, Porsche was a member of the German Nazi party and allegedly the SS. He was a recipient of the German National Prize for Art and Science, the SS-Ehrenring and he was called the Great German Engineer by Nazi propaganda. In 1996 Porsche was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, Ferdinand Porsche was born to German-speaking parents in Maffersdorf, northern Bohemia, part of the Austrian Empire at that time, and today part of the Czech Republic. Ferdinand was his parents third child and his father, Anton Porsche, was a master panel-beater. He showed an aptitude for mechanical work at a very early age. He attended classes at the Imperial Technical School in Reichenberg at night while helping his father in his shop by day. Thanks to a referral, Porsche landed a job with the Béla Egger Electrical company in Vienna when he turned 18, in Vienna he would sneak into the local university whenever he could after work. Other than attending classes there, Porsche never received any higher engineering education, during his five years with Béla Egger, Porsche first developed the electric hub motor. After the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I, in 1934 Adolf Hitler or Joseph Goebbels made Porsche a naturalized German citizen. In 1898, Porsche joined the Vienna-based factory Jakob Lohner & Company, which produced coaches for Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria as well as for the monarchs of the UK, Sweden, and Romania. Jakob Lohner had begun construction of automobiles in 1896 under Ludwig Lohner in the suburb of Floridsdorf. Their first design was the Egger-Lohner vehicle, first unveiled in Vienna, Austria, on 26 June 1898, Porsche had engraved the code P1 onto all the key components. The Egger-Lohner was a car driven by two electric motors within the front wheel hubs, powered by batteries. This drive train construction was expanded to four-wheel drive, by mounting two more electric motors to the rear wheels, and a four-motor example was ordered by Englishman E. W. Hart in 1900. In December that year, the car was displayed at the Paris World Exhibition under the name Toujours-Contente, even though this one-off vehicle had been commissioned for the purposes of racing and record-breaking, its 1,800 kg of lead–acid batteries was a severe shortcoming
5.
Stuttgart
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Stuttgart 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 Stuttgart Cauldron an hour from the Swabian Jura. Stuttgarts urban area has a population of 623,738, making it the sixth largest city in Germany. 2.7 million people live in the administrative region and another 5.3 million people in its metropolitan area. Since the 6th millennium BC, the Stuttgart area has been an important agricultural area and has been host to a number of cultures seeking to utilize the rich soil of the Neckar valley. The Roman Empire conquered the area in 83 AD and built a massive Castrum near Bad Cannstatt, Stuttgarts roots were truly laid in the 10th century with its founding by Liudolf, Duke of Swabia as a stud farm for his warhorses. Overshadowed by nearby Cannstatt, the town grew steadily and was granted a charter in 1320, the fortunes of Stuttgart turned with those of the House of Württemberg, and they made it the capital of their County, Duchy, and Kingdom from the 15th Century to 1918. Stuttgart prospered despite setbacks in the forms of the Thirty Years War and devastating air raids by the Allies on the city, however, by 1952, the city had bounced back and became the major economic, industrial, tourism and publishing center it is today. Stuttgart is also an important transport junction, and possesses the sixth largest airport in Germany. Such companies as Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Daimler AG, Dinkelacker, Stuttgart is unusual in the scheme of German cities. It is spread across a variety of hills, valleys and parks and this is often a source of surprise to visitors who associate the city with its reputation as the Cradle of the Automobile. The citys tourism slogan is Stuttgart offers more, under current plans to improve transport links to the international infrastructure, the city unveiled a new logo and slogan in March 2008 describing itself as Das neue Herz Europas. For business, it describes itself as Where business meets the future, in July 2010, Stuttgart unveiled a new city logo, designed to entice more business people to stay in the city and enjoy breaks in the area. Stuttgart is a city of mostly immigrants, according to Dorling Kindersley Publishings Eyewitness Travel Guide to Germany, In the city of Stuttgart, every third inhabitant is a foreigner. 40% of Stuttgarts residents, and 64% of the population below the age of five are of immigrant background, the reason for this being that the city was founded in 950 AD by Duke Liudolf of Swabia to breed warhorses. Originally, the most important location in the Neckar river valley as the rim of the Stuttgart basin at what is today Bad Cannstatt. As with many military installations, a settlement sprang up nearby, when they did, the town was left in the capable hands of a local brickworks that produced sophisticated architectural ceramics and pottery. When the Romans were driven back past the Rhine and Danube rivers in the 3rd Century by the Alamanni, in 700, Duke Gotfrid mentions a Chan Stada in a document regarding property
6.
Earnings before interest and taxes
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In accounting and finance, earnings before interest and taxes, is a measure of a firms profit that includes all expenses except interest and income tax expenses. It is the difference between operating revenues and operating expenses, when a firm does not have non-operating income, then operating income is sometimes used as a synonym for EBIT and operating profit. To calculate EBIT, expenses are subtracted from revenues, net income is later obtained by subtracting interest and taxes from the result
7.
Net income
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In business, net income is an entitys income minus cost of goods sold, expenses and taxes for an accounting period. In the context of the presentation of financial statements, the IFRS Foundation defines net income as synonymous with profit, net income is a distinct accounting concept from profit but the same as net profit. Net income can also be calculated by adding a companys operating income to non-operating income, net income can be distributed among holders of common stock as a dividend or held by the firm as an addition to retained earnings. As profit and earnings are used synonymously for income, net earnings, often, the term income is substituted for net income, yet this is not preferred due to the possible ambiguity. Net income is called the bottom line because it is typically found on the last line of a companys income statement. The items deducted will typically include tax expense, financing expense, likewise, preferred stock dividends will be subtracted too, though they are not an expense. For a merchandising company, subtracted costs may be the cost of goods sold, sales discounts, for a product company advertising, manufacturing, and design and development costs are included
8.
Asset
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In financial accounting, an asset is an economic resource. Anything tangible or intangible that can be owned or controlled to produce value, simply stated, assets represent value of ownership that can be converted into cash. The balance sheet of a firm records the value of the assets owned by that firm. It covers money and other valuables belonging to an individual or to a business, one can classify assets into two major asset classes, tangible assets and intangible assets. Tangible assets contain various subclasses, including current assets and fixed assets, current assets include inventory, while fixed assets include such items as buildings and equipment. Intangible assets are resources and rights that have a value to the firm because they give the firm some kind of advantage in the marketplace. Examples of intangible assets include goodwill, copyrights, trademarks, patents and computer programs, an asset is a resource controlled by the entity as a result of past events and from which future economic benefits are expected to flow to the entity. One of the most widely accepted accounting definitions of asset is the one used by the International Accounting Standards Board, employees are not considered assets like machinery is, even though they can generate future economic benefits. This is because an entity does not have sufficient control over its employees to satisfy the Frameworks definition of an asset, similarly, in economics an asset is any form in which wealth can be held. The accounting equation is the structure of the balance sheet. It relates assets, liabilities, and owners equity, Assets = Liabilities + Capital Liabilities = Assets − Capital Equity = Assets − Liabilities Assets are listed on the balance sheet. On a companys balance sheet certain divisions are required by generally accepted accounting principles, Assets can be divided into e. g. current assets and fixed assets, often with further subdivisions such as cash, receivables and inventory. Assets are formally controlled and managed within larger organizations via the use of asset tracking tools and these monitor the purchasing, upgrading, servicing, licensing, disposal etc. of both physical and non-physical assets. Current assets are cash and other assets expected to be converted to cash or consumed either in a year or in the operating cycle and these assets are continually turned over in the course of a business during normal business activity. There are 5 major items included into current assets, Cash and cash equivalents – it is the most liquid asset, which includes currency, deposit accounts, short-term investments – include securities bought and held for sale in the near future to generate income on short-term price differences. Receivables – usually reported as net of allowance for non-collectable accounts, inventory – trading these assets is a normal business of a company. The inventory value reported on the sheet is usually the historical cost or fair market value. This is known as the lower of cost or market rule, prepaid expenses – these are expenses paid in cash and recorded as assets before they are used or consumed
9.
Equity (finance)
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In accounting, equity is the difference between the value of the assets and the value of the liabilities of something owed. Equity can be negative if liabilities exceeds assets, shareholders equity represents the equity of a company as divided among shareholders of common or preferred stock. Negative shareholders equity is often referred to as a shareholders deficit, alternatively, equity can also refer to the capital stock of a corporation. The value of the stock depends on the future economic prospects. For a company in liquidation proceedings, the equity is that which remains after all liabilities have been paid, when starting a business, the owners fund the business to finance various operations. Throughout the businesss existence, the equity of the business will be the difference between its assets and debt liabilities, this is the accounting equation, when a business liquidates during bankruptcy, the proceeds from the assets are used to reimburse creditors. The creditors are ranked by priority, with secured creditors being paid first, other creditors being paid next, owners equity is this remaining or residual claim against assets, which is paid only after all other creditors are paid. In such cases where even creditors could not get money to pay their bills. In financial accounting, owners equity consists of the net assets of an entity, net assets is the difference between the total assets and total liabilities. Equity appears on the sheet, one of the four primary financial statements. The assets of an entity can be tangible and intangible items. Intangible assets include such as brand names, copyrights or goodwill. Tangible assets include land, equipment, and cash, issue of new equity in which the firm obtains new capital increases the total shareholders equity. Share repurchases, in which a firm returns money to investors, reducing on the side its financial assets. For practical purposes, share repurchasing is similar to a dividend payment, rather than giving money to all shareholders immediately in the form of a dividend payment, a share repurchase reduces the number of shares outstanding. Dividends paid out to preferred stock owners are considered an expense to be subtracted from net income, sometimes assets bought and held in other countries get translated back into the reporting currency at different exchange rates, resulting in a changed value. When the owners are shareholders, the interest can be called shareholders equity, the remains the same. If all shareholders are in one and the class, they share equally in ownership equity from all perspectives
10.
Volkswagen Group
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Volkswagen Group, or Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, shortly VW AG, is a German multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. It designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, engines, in 2016, it was the largest automaker in the world with sales of 10.3 million units, overtaking Toyota. It has maintained the largest market share in Europe for over two decades and it ranked seventh in the 2016 Fortune Global 500 list of the worlds largest companies. It is divided into two divisions, the Automotive Division and the Financial Services Division, and has approximately 340 subsidiary companies. VW also has two major joint-ventures in China, the company has operations in approximately 150 countries and operates 100 production facilities across 27 countries. Volkswagen was founded in 1937 to manufacture the car which would become known as the Beetle, the companys production grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and in 1965 it acquired Auto Union, which subsequently produced the first post-war Audi models. Volkswagen launched a new generation of front-wheel drive vehicles in the 1970s, including the Passat, Polo and Golf, the companys operations in China have grown rapidly in the past decade with the country becoming its largest market. It has been traded in the United States via American Depositary Receipts since 1988, Volkswagen delisted from the London Stock Exchange in 2013. The state of Lower Saxony holds 12. 7% of the companys shares, Volkswagen held a 19. 9% non-controlling shareholding in Suzuki between 2009 and 2015. An international arbitration court ordered Volkswagen to sell the back to Suzuki. Suzuki paid $3. 8bn to complete the stock buy-back just hours prior to a scandal about emissions violations engulfing Volkswagen. Volkswagen was founded on 28 May 1937 in Berlin as the Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH by the National Socialist Deutsche Arbeitsfront. The purpose of the company was to manufacture the Volkswagen car, originally referred to as the Porsche Type 60, then the Volkswagen Type 1 and this vehicle was designed by Ferdinand Porsches consulting firm, and the company was backed by the support of Adolf Hitler. On 16 September 1938, Gezuvor was renamed Volkswagenwerk GmbH, only a small number of Type 60 Volkswagens were made during this time. The Fallersleben plant also manufactured the V-1 flying bomb, making the plant a major bombing target for the Allied forces, however, no British car manufacturer was interested, the vehicle does not meet the fundamental technical requirement of a motor-car. It is quite unattractive to the average buyer, to build the car commercially would be a completely uneconomic enterprise. In 1948, the Ford Motor Company of USA was offered Volkswagen, but Ernest Breech, as part of the Industrial plans for Germany, large parts of German industry, including Volkswagen, were to be dismantled. Total German car production was set at a maximum of 10% of the 1936 car production numbers
11.
Mieschke Hofmann und Partner
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Mieschke Hofmann und Partner GmbH is a global consultancy based in Ludwigsburg, Germany, specializing in IT and process consulting in the automotive and manufacturing sectors. Porsche has held an equity stake in the firm since 1999, starting at 49%, MHP has experienced sustained growth since its inception in 1996. The firm was established in May 1996 by Ralf Hofmann. The idea was to provide consulting services combining both business process optimization as well as IT services, with SAP software being the primary concentration of the IT services offering, in January 1999, Porsche AG began its equity investment at 49% and MHP became their primary IT service partner. At this point the company is known as MHP - A Porsche Services Company, in March 2002, Porsche increased its stake to 51% and MHP became a subsidiary of Porsche AG. In June 2003, Porsche further increased its investment to 74. 8%, CEO Dr. -Ing Hofmann holds the remaining 18. 2% ownership stake. The primary focus of consulting services is on the automotive industry, industry award-winning strategic innovations have been applied to clients in other industries. At the international level MHP advises its clients both strategically and operationally, atlanta - co-located at Porsche Cars North America headquarters Romania MHP Consulting Romania SRL Cluj-Napoca China MHP Management Consultancy Co. Ltd. Shanghai United Kingdom MHP Consulting UK Limited Birmingham For over a decade, MHP has sustainably supported social projects, projects are in areas that have a direct relation to the employees or their families. Employees are encouraged to participate in several of these on a volunteer basis, as of the 2013-14 season MHP is also the naming rights sponsor of the Bundesliga Basketball team MHPRIESEN Ludwigsburg. Other sponsorships include, Match Race Germany at Lake Constance Ritz-Carlton Dragon Boat Cup RGH Heidelberg Rugby Youth Teams
12.
Sports cars
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A sports car is a small, usually two seater, two door automobile designed for spirited performance and nimble handling. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the first known use of the term was in 1928, Sports cars may be spartan or luxurious, but high maneuverability and minimum weight are requisite. The basis for the car is traced to the early 20th century touring cars and roadsters. These raced in rallies, such as the Herkomer Cup, Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt. These would shortly be joined by the French DFP and the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. In 1921, Ballot premiered its 2LS, with a remarkable 75 hp DOHC two liter, designed by Ernest Henry, capable of 150 km/h, at most, one hundred were built in four years and this was followed by the SOHC 2LT and 2LTS. The same year, Benz built a supercharged 28/95PS four for the Coppa Florio, duerkopps Zoller-blown two liter in 1924, as well. There was a clear cleavage by 1925, by the end of the 1920s, AC produced a 2-liter six, the 3. Benz introduced the powerful SS and SSK, and Alfa Romeo, hispano-Suizas Alfonso XIII is considered the first sportcar developed between 1911 and 1914. Two companies would offer really reliable sports cars, Austin with the Seven, the drive train and engine layout significantly influences the handling characteristics of an automobile, and is crucially important in the design of a sports car. The front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is common to cars of any era and has survived longer in sports cars than in mainstream automobiles. Examples include the Caterham 7, Mazda MX-5, and the Chevrolet Corvette, more specifically, many such sports cars have a FMR layout, with the centre of mass of the engine between the front axle and the firewall. In search of improved handling and weight distribution, other layouts are sometimes used, the RMR layout is commonly found only in sports cars—the motor is centre-mounted in the chassis, and powers only the rear wheels. Some high-performance sports car manufacturers, such as Ferrari and Lamborghini have preferred this layout, Porsche is one of the few remaining manufacturers using the rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. The motors distributed weight across the wheels, in a Porsche 911, provides excellent traction, Porsche has continuously refined the design and in recent years added electronic driving aids to counteract these inherent design shortcomings. The front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout layout which is the most common in sport compacts and hot hatches, however, its conservative handling effect, particularly understeer, and the fact that many drivers believe rear wheel drive is a more desirable layout for a sports car count against it. The Fiat Barchetta, Saab Sonett, and Berkeley cars are cars with this layout. Before the 1980s few sports cars used four-wheel drive, which had added a lot of weight
13.
SUVs
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A sport utility vehicle or suburban utility vehicle is a vehicle classified as a light truck, but operated as a family vehicle. They are similar to a station wagon or estate car. Some SUVs include the capacity of a pickup truck with the passenger-carrying space of a minivan or large sedan. Popular in the late-1990s and early–mid-2000s, SUVs sales temporarily declined due to oil prices. The traditional truck-based SUV is gradually being supplanted by the crossover SUV, by 2010, SUV sales around the world were growing, in spite of high gas prices. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a utility vehicle is a rugged automotive vehicle similar to a station wagon. The SUV term is defined as a vehicle that is designed to be used on rough surfaces. The SUV acronym is used to describe nearly anything with available all-wheel drive. There is no one definition for an SUV, Most government regulations simply have categories for off-highway vehicles, which in turn are lumped in with pickup trucks and minivans as light trucks. The auto industry has not settled on one definition, starting in 2004, the United States Environmental Protection Agency began to hold sport utility vehicles to the same tailpipe emissions standards as cars. Many people question how can an SUV be called a truck, for industry production statistics, SUVs are counted in the light truck product segment. Not all SUVs have four-wheel drive capabilities, and not all passenger vehicles are SUVs. While automakers tout an SUVs off-road prowess with advertising and naming, in India, all SUVs are classified in the Utility Vehicle category per the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers definitions and carry a 27% excise tax. Those that are 4 metres long, have a 1,500 cc engine or larger, although designs vary, SUVs have historically been mid-size passenger vehicles with a body-on-frame chassis similar to that found on light trucks. Early SUVs were mostly two-door models, and were available with removable tops, however, consumer demand pushed the SUV market towards four doors, by 2002 all full-size two-door SUVs were gone from the market. Two-door SUVs were mostly carry-over models, and their sales were not viable enough to warrant a redesign at the end of their design cycle. The Jeep Wrangler remained as a compact two-door body style, although it was joined by a four-door variant starting with the 2007 model year. The number of two-door SUV models increased in the 2010s with the release of the Range Rover Evoque, Most SUVs are designed with an engine compartment, a combined passenger and cargo compartment, and no dedicated trunk such as in a station wagon body
14.
Sedans
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A sedan /sᵻˈdæn/ or saloon is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with A, B & C-pillars and principal volumes articulated in separate compartments for engine, passenger and cargo. The passenger compartment features two rows of seats and adequate passenger space in the compartment for adult passengers. The cargo compartment is typically in the rear, with the exception of some rear-engined models, such as the Renault Dauphine, Tatra T613, Volkswagen Type 3 and it is one of the most common car body styles. A battery electric sedan such as the Tesla Model S has no engine compartment, but a front cargo compartment, the primary purpose of the sedan is to transport people and their baggage on ordinary roads. Sedan versions of the body style have a central pillar that supports the roof and come in two-. Sedans usually have a two-box or three-box body, popular in the U. S. from the 1950s through the 1970s, true hardtop body designs have become increasingly rare. For example,1962 Rambler Classic sedans feature identical windshield, A-pillar, roof, C-pillar, and rear window. A two- or four-door design built on a chassis, but with a shorter roof and interior space. Originating from the car on a Pullman passenger train that was well appointed. A notchback sedan is a sedan, where the passenger volume is clearly distinct from the trunk volume of the vehicle. The roof is on one plane, generally parallel to the ground, the window at a sharp angle to the roof. A fastback sedan is a sedan, with continuous slope from the roof to the base of the decklid. They are not fastbacks because their bodyline changes from the roof to the rear deck and their steeply raked rear windows end with a decklid that does not continue down to the bumper. Instead, their ends are tall — sometimes in a Kammback style — to increase trunk space. Typically this design is chosen for its aerodynamic advantages, automakers can no longer afford the penalty in fuel consumption produced by the traditional notchback three box form. In historic terminology, a sedan will have a frame around the door windows, a true hardtop design also has no center or B pillar for roof support behind the front doors). This pillarless body style offers greater visibility, however, it requires extra underbody strengthening for structural rigidity. The hardtop design can be considered separately, or it can be called a hardtop sedan, during the 1960s and 1970s, hardtop sedans were often sold as sport sedans by several American manufacturers and they were among the top selling body styles
15.
Volkswagen AG
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Volkswagen Group, or Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, shortly VW AG, is a German multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. It designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, engines, in 2016, it was the largest automaker in the world with sales of 10.3 million units, overtaking Toyota. It has maintained the largest market share in Europe for over two decades and it ranked seventh in the 2016 Fortune Global 500 list of the worlds largest companies. It is divided into two divisions, the Automotive Division and the Financial Services Division, and has approximately 340 subsidiary companies. VW also has two major joint-ventures in China, the company has operations in approximately 150 countries and operates 100 production facilities across 27 countries. Volkswagen was founded in 1937 to manufacture the car which would become known as the Beetle, the companys production grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and in 1965 it acquired Auto Union, which subsequently produced the first post-war Audi models. Volkswagen launched a new generation of front-wheel drive vehicles in the 1970s, including the Passat, Polo and Golf, the companys operations in China have grown rapidly in the past decade with the country becoming its largest market. It has been traded in the United States via American Depositary Receipts since 1988, Volkswagen delisted from the London Stock Exchange in 2013. The state of Lower Saxony holds 12. 7% of the companys shares, Volkswagen held a 19. 9% non-controlling shareholding in Suzuki between 2009 and 2015. An international arbitration court ordered Volkswagen to sell the back to Suzuki. Suzuki paid $3. 8bn to complete the stock buy-back just hours prior to a scandal about emissions violations engulfing Volkswagen. Volkswagen was founded on 28 May 1937 in Berlin as the Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH by the National Socialist Deutsche Arbeitsfront. The purpose of the company was to manufacture the Volkswagen car, originally referred to as the Porsche Type 60, then the Volkswagen Type 1 and this vehicle was designed by Ferdinand Porsches consulting firm, and the company was backed by the support of Adolf Hitler. On 16 September 1938, Gezuvor was renamed Volkswagenwerk GmbH, only a small number of Type 60 Volkswagens were made during this time. The Fallersleben plant also manufactured the V-1 flying bomb, making the plant a major bombing target for the Allied forces, however, no British car manufacturer was interested, the vehicle does not meet the fundamental technical requirement of a motor-car. It is quite unattractive to the average buyer, to build the car commercially would be a completely uneconomic enterprise. In 1948, the Ford Motor Company of USA was offered Volkswagen, but Ernest Breech, as part of the Industrial plans for Germany, large parts of German industry, including Volkswagen, were to be dismantled. Total German car production was set at a maximum of 10% of the 1936 car production numbers
16.
Porsche Automobil Holding SE
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Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE, is a German holding company with investments in the automotive industry. Porsche SE is headquartered in Zuffenhausen, a city district of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg and is owned by the Porsche, the company was founded in Stuttgart as Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche and his son-in-law Anton Piëch, Porsche SE was created in June 2007 by renaming the old Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG, and became a company for the families stake in Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH and currently is the major shareholder in Volkswagen AG. At the same time, the new Dr. Ing. h. c, F. Porsche AG was created for the car manufacturing business. In August 2009, Porsche SE and Volkswagen AG reached an agreement that the car manufacturing operations of the two companies would merge in 2011, to form an Integrated Automotive Group, as of the end of 2014, the 31. F. Porsche AG, as a 100% subsidiary of VW AG, is responsible for the actual production, in addition to Volkswagen AG, other subsidiaries of Porsche SE include Porsche Engineering and Porsche Design Group. Porsche SE has an investment in the US company INRIX, for the history as Porsche as an automobile manufacturer and brand, see Porsche AG. When the government-owned Volkswagenwerk GmbH was privatized in 1960 into Volkswagen AG, in order to maintain government control in the privately owned company, the law stipulated that the votes on major shareholder meeting resolutions will require 4/5th agreement. This effectively gave any shareholder with more than 20% ownership a veto of any resolution that is proposed and this not only secured government control, but also prevented the possibility of a hostile takeover in the future. When European Union was formed in 1993, European Union law was signed with the principles to promote movement of goods, people. In late 2005, Porsche took an 18. 65% stake in the Volkswagen Group, further cementing their relationship, and preventing a takeover of Volkswagen Group, hypothetical suitors included DaimlerChrysler AG, BMW, and Renault. Porsche then formally announced in a statement that it did not intend to take over Volkswagen Group. Porsches move came after the European Union announced that it intends to take steps against the Volkswagen Law, in October 2007, the European Court of Justice ruled against the law, potentially paving the way for a takeover. On 16 September 2008, Porsche increased its holdings to 35. 14%, in effect almost taking control of the company and it again triggered a takeover bid, but this time over Audi AG. Porsche dismissed the bid as a formality, since it was Porsches intention to keep the corporate structure of the Volkswagen Group. In October 2008, Porsche SE announced its intent to raise its stake in Volkswagen AG to 75% during 2009, at 75% ownership level, Porsche SE would have been able to bring VW AGs cash position onto Porsche SE books. Porsches move automatically triggered a bid for Scania AB, because VW AG already had a position in the Swedish truck-maker
17.
Porsche 911
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The Porsche 911 is a two-door, 2+2 high performance and one of the most powerful sports cars made since 1963 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a six cylinder boxer engine and all round independent suspension. It has undergone development, though the basic concept has remained little changed. The engines were air-cooled until the introduction of the Type 996 in 1998, with Porsches 993 series, produced in model years 1994–1998, the 911 has been modified by private teams and by the factory itself for racing, rallying, and other forms of automotive competition. It is among the most successful competition cars, in the mid-1970s, naturally aspirated 911 Carrera RSRs won major world championship sports car races, such as Targa Florio and 24 Hours of Daytona, even against prototypes. The 911-derived 935 turbo also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979, in the 1999 international poll for the award of Car of the Century, the 911 came fifth. It is one of the oldest sports coupé nameplates still in production, around 150,000911 cars from the model years 1964 to 1989 are still on the road today. Dilip Chhabria of DC Design said that the most difficult car to customise has to be the Porsche 911 and it hasn’t dated since it was designed. It is a desirable car. I have attempted to redraw, reskin, redesign it but could not do anything with it, I realised that it is difficult to alter the perfect design. Although Porsche changes the internal codes for its models, all 911 models were and are sold as a 911.2 The series letter is used by Porsche to indicate the revision for production cars. It often changes annually to reflect changes for the new model year, the first 911 models are the A series, the first 993 cars are the R series. Not all of the Porsche 911 models ever produced are mentioned here, the listed models are notable for their role in the advancements in technology and their influence on other vehicles from Porsche. Carrera, Also offered in upgrades of S and GTS, Carrera 4, 4S, Also offered in upgrades of S and GTS. Targa 4, 4S, Also offered in upgrades of S, Turbo, turbo S, Also offered in upgrades of S. GT3/GT3-RS, Track dedicated version of the 911, no cabriolet available with this variant. The 911 traces its roots to sketches drawn by Ferdinand Butzi Porsche in 1959, the Porsche 911 was developed as a more powerful, larger, more comfortable replacement for the Porsche 356, the companys first model. The new car made its debut at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show
18.
Porsche Panamera
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The Porsche Panamera is a luxury four-door sedan. It is front-engined with two-wheel drive, with all-wheel drive versions also available, the Porsche Panamera production model was unveiled at the 13th Auto Shanghai International Automobile Show in Shanghai, China, on April 2009. In 2011, hybrid and diesel versions were launched, in April 2013, a facelift to the Panamera was announced, launching again at the Auto Shanghai show. A plug-in hybrid version, the Panamera S E-Hybrid, was released in the U. S. market in November 2013, the Panameras name is derived, like the Porsche Carrera line, from the Carrera Panamericana race. The Panamera is generally considered to be the fruit of Porsches 989 concept vehicle from the late 1980s. Like the Porsche Cayenne SUV, the Panamera upset many Porsche purists, the Panamera ran contrary to the companys signature offerings, particularly its light two-door rear-engine sports cars like the 911. The Panamera on the hand is considered a full-size luxury car, weighing nearly 4,000 pounds, with four doors. The Panameras appearance with its hood and rear hatch bears resemblance to a stretched 911. The iconic 911 has an interior, as it was focused on raw performance, while the Panamera has a sumptuous interior loaded with modern technological amenities. Engines are first assembled in Stuttgart, and the body is built, painted and final assembly in Leipzig, Germany, alongside the Cayenne. From 2009 to 2016, the bodies were built at the Volkswagen Group facility in Hannover, production began in April 2009, one month after its debut in the Shanghai Motor Show in China. The V8-powered Panamera S, 4S, and Turbo models were the first versions that debuted in 2009. In addition to the 4. 8L Twin Turbo 500 bhp V8, Turbo version uses active aerodynamics with a multi-stage, adjustable rear spoiler. Optional Sports Chrono Packages include a Sport Plus button, which has tighter damping and air springs, in 2011, the Panamera S Hybrid, Diesel, Turbo S, and GTS variants were added to the range. The GTS achieves a lateral acceleration of 0. 96g, the Panamera, S, Hybrid and Diesel models are rear-wheel drive, while the Panamera 4, 4S, and GTS have the same four-wheel drive system as the Turbo and Turbo S, called Porsche Traction Management. Panamera introduced Adaptive air suspension, the Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control, active anti-roll bars, the new ZF seven-speed PDK dual clutch transmission is standard on the Panamera 4, 4S and Turbo models. With the addition of the optional sport package, this provides faster acceleration times. In some markets a six-speed manual is available for rear-wheel drive petrol versions, the S Hybrid and Diesel models have an Aisin-supplied eight-speed automatic transmission called Tiptronic S
19.
Porsche Macan
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The Porsche Macan is a five-door luxury crossover SUV produced by the German car manufacturer Porsche from 2014. It is built in Leipzig, Germany, the Macan range includes many variants, including the Macan, Macan S, Macan S Diesel, Macan GTS and the Macan Turbo. The Macan was originally known by its code name Cajun, a portmanteau of Cayenne Junior, on February 16,2012 Porsche announced the final name for the car to be Macan. This is the Indonesian word for tiger, the Macan is produced alongside the Panamera and the Cayenne in Leipzig, Germany in a newly extended factory. The Macan compact crossover SUV offers a compact body than the Cayenne midsize crossover SUV. The Porsche Macan shares its platform with the Audi Q5, the wheelbase and suspension configuration are based on and heavily modified from the Audi, but the engine, transfercase, suspension tuning, interior and exterior are unique to Porsche for the Macan. It is also 1.7 inches longer and 1.4 inches wider than a Q5, the Macan GTS was announced in October 2015 to fit into the gap between the Macan S and Macan Turbo. All Macans feature a seven-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive, with options available including air suspension. Porsche subsequently released a base Macan for select Asian markets and the United Kingdom and this engine became offered globally for the Macans 2017 model year following an announcement in March 2016. A204 PS2. 0-litre four-cylinder diesel is due to join the range at a later date, the Macan S has a 0–60 miles per hour time of 5.2 seconds and the Macan Turbo 4.6 seconds. Both times are improved by 0.2 sec when employing Launch Control, south African Car of the Year 2015 Porsche Macan microsite
20.
Porsche Cayenne
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The Porsche Cayenne (Type 9PA, Designated 955 is a mid-size luxury crossover sport utility vehicle produced by the German manufacturer Porsche since 2002, with North American sales beginning in 2003. It is the first V8-engined vehicle built by Porsche since 1995 and it is also Porsches first off road Varient sports car since its Super and Junior tractors of 1950s, and the first Porsche with four doors. Since 2008, all engines have featured direct injection technology, the second-generation Cayenne was unveiled at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in March following an online reveal. Although the Cayenne shares its platform, body frame and doors with the similar Volkswagen Touareg, all aspects of vehicle design, tuning. The second generation received a facelift in 2014 with minor external changes, the Porsche Cayenne entered the market with mixed anticipation. However, it proved that it was the performance vehicle among SUVs and was praised for its excellent handling. The lineup initially consisted of the V8-powered Cayenne S and Cayenne Turbo, later in the model cycle, VR6 and diesel-powered versions joined the lineup. The base model is powered by a 3. 2-L VR6 engine producing 250 PS, Acceleration from 0 to 60 mph is approx 7.5 seconds with manual transmission and 8.1 seconds with the Tiptronic S. The S is powered by an 8-cylinder engine with a lubrication system. The Cayenne S engine produces 340 PS and 310 lb·ft of torque, Acceleration from 0–60 mph is 7.1 seconds and the top speed is 150 mph. Pre–facelift Porsche Cayenne S. Exhaust tone is Aggressive and Deep and this Sporty Design S is also powered by an Alloy 4. 5L V8 cylinder engine with a dry-sump lubrication system and variable valve timing. The Cayenne S engine produces healthy 340 PS and 310 lb·ft of torque, Acceleration is quicker from 0–60 mph at sub 6.8 seconds and the top speed is +150 mph. It featured a Sport Tuned Suspension, included a low-range case, the GTS is powered with a 405 PS4. 8-L V8 and features a sport suspension and 21-inch wheels. It is lighter than the Cayenne S and has a body kit. The Porsche Cayenne GTS has a 0 to 100 km/h time of 5.7 seconds, a six-speed manual transmission is also offered. The first-generation Cayenne Turbo had 450 PS, and accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.3 seconds, a Turbo S version was built in 2006 to compete with the Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG. The Cayenne Turbo and Turbo S included a case, a locking differential. It was powered by a twin-turbocharged 4. 5-L V8 that produced 521 PS and 720 N·m of torque, Acceleration from 0–60 mph was 5.0 seconds and the top speed was 171 miles per hour
21.
Volkswagen Beetle
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Hitler contracted Ferdinand Porsche in 1934 to design and build it. Porsche and his team took until 1938 to finalise the design, the influence on Porsches design of other contemporary cars, such as the Tatra V570 and the work of Josef Ganz remains a subject of dispute. The result was one of the first rear-engined cars since the Brass Era, with 21,529,464 produced, the Beetle is the longest-running and most-manufactured car of a single platform ever made. Although designed in the 1930s, the Beetle was only produced in significant numbers from 1945 on when the model was designated the Volkswagen Type 1. Later models were designated Volkswagen 1200,1300,1500,1302 or 1303, the model became widely known in its home country as the Käfer and was later marketed as such in Germany, and as the Volkswagen in other countries. For example, in France it was known as the Coccinelle, the original 25 hp Beetle was designed for a top speed around 100 km/h, which would be a viable speed on the Reichsautobahn system. As Autobahn speeds increased in the years, its output was boosted to 36, then 40 hp. The Beetle ultimately gave rise to variants, including the Karmann Ghia, Type 2, the 1948 Citroën 2CV and other European models marked a later trend to front-wheel drive in the European small car market, a trend that would come to dominate that market. In 1974, Volkswagens own front-wheel drive Golf model succeeded the Beetle and it remained in production through 2010, being succeeded in 2011 by the more aggressively styled Beetle. In the 1999 Car of the Century competition, to determine the worlds most influential car in the 20th century, the Type 1 came fourth, after the Ford Model T, the Mini, and the Citroën DS. In April 1934, Adolf Hitler gave the order to Ferdinand Porsche to develop a Volkswagen, the epithet Volks- literally, peoples- had been applied to other Nazi-sponsored consumer goods such as the Volksempfänger. The engine had to be powerful for sustained cruising on Germany’s new Autobahnen, everything had to be designed to ensure parts could be quickly and inexpensively exchanged. The engine had to be air-cooled because, as Hitler explained, the Peoples Car would be available to citizens of Nazi Germany through a savings scheme, or Sparkarte, at 990 Reichsmark, about the price of a small motorcycle. Ferdinand Porsche developed the Type 12, or Auto für Jedermann for Zündapp in 1931, Porsche already preferred the flat-four engine, and selected a swing axle rear suspension, while Zündapp insisted on a water-cooled five-cylinder radial engine. In 1932, three prototypes were running, all of those cars were lost during World War II, the last in a bombing raid in Stuttgart in 1945. The Zündapp prototypes were followed by the Porsche Type 32, designed in 1933 for NSU Motorenwerke AG, the Type 32 was similar in design to the Type 12, but it had a flat-four engine. NSUs exit from car manufacturing resulted in the Type 32 being abandoned at the prototype stage, initially designated Type 60 by Porsche, the design team included Erwin Komenda and Karl Rabe. In October 1935, the first two Type 60 prototypes, known as the V1 and V2, were ready, in 1936, testing began of three further V3 prototypes, built in Porsches Stuttgart shop
22.
Porsche 64
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The model number comes from the fact that it was built mainly from design drawings for the Type-64 record car. Most mechanical parts came from the 38 prototype series, the chassis was heavily reinforced and the engine also reworked to produce around 40 horse power. The Type-64 was only a drawing until the three racers were built, the body was also a compromise in that the cab had to look like a KdF car, but the rest was record car. The VW beetle was the Type-60, and the name the 60K10 means body design 10 for the Type-60 Beetle and its flat-four engine produced 50 bhp and gave a top speed of around 160 km/h. The body design was made by the Porsche Büro after wind tunnel tests for a planned V10 sports car that never came into existence, dr. Porsche promoted the idea to enter the car into the 1939 Berlin-Rome race as a public relations ploy. Three cars were made in hand shaped aluminium by the bodywork company Reutter, one was destroyed early in World War II. The two remaining were used by the Porsche family, eventually they only used one of them and put the other in storage. In May 1945 American troops discovered the one put in storage, cut the roof off and used it for joyriding for a few weeks until the engine gave up, the last remaining Porsche 64 was owned by Ferry Porsche who had it restored by Battista Farina in 1947. In 1949 it was sold to the Austrian motorcycle racer Otto Mathé, the last time he drove it in a race was at the Monterey Historic Races in Monterey, California, in 1982
23.
Henschel & Son
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Georg Christian Carl Henschel founded the factory in 1810 at Kassel. His son Carl Anton Henschel founded another factory in 1837, in 1848, the company began manufacturing locomotives. The factory became the largest locomotive manufacturer in Germany by the 20th century, Henschel built 10 articulated steam trucks, using Doble steam designs, for Deutsche Reichsbahn railways as delivery trucks. Several cars were built as well, one of which became Hermann Görings staff car, early in 1935, Henschel began manufacturing Panzer I tanks. During World War II, the firm was responsible for production of the Dornier Do 17Z medium bomber. Henschel was the manufacturer of the Tiger I and Tiger II. In 1945, the company had 8000 workers working in two shifts each of 12 hours, and forced labour was used extensively. Henschel Hs P.87, a similar to the Hs P.75, except that the canards in the front are straight. Henschel Zitterrochen, air-to-surface missile Manufacturing began again in 1948, in 1964, the company took over Rheinische Stahlwerke and became Rheinstahl Henschel AG, in 1976 Thyssen-Henschel, and 1990 ABB Henschel AG. In 1996, the company became ABB Daimler Benz Transportation Adtranz, the company was subsequently acquired by Bombardier around 2002. The Kassel facility still exists and is one of the worlds largest manufacturers of locomotives, herbert A. Wagner <http, //www. steamlocomotive. info/vlocomotive. cfm. Display=1309> Henschels Mittelfeld Werkes Tiger tank factory Luft 46
24.
Tiger I
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The Tiger I listen was a German heavy tank of World War II deployed from 1942 in Africa and Europe usually in independent heavy tank battalions. Its final designation was Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf, the Tiger I gave the Wehrmacht its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted the 8.8 cm KwK36 gun. 1,347 were built between August 1942 and August 1944, after August 1944, production of the Tiger I was phased out in favour of the Tiger II. While the Tiger I has been called a design for its time, it was over-engineered, using expensive materials. The Tiger was prone to types of track failures and breakdowns. It was expensive to maintain, but generally mechanically reliable and this was a problem on the Eastern Front in the muddy rasputitsa season and during extreme periods of cold. The tank was given its nickname Tiger by Ferdinand Porsche, the initial designation was Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausführung H where H denoted Henschel as the designer/manufacturer. It was classified with ordnance inventory designation SdKfz 182, the tank was later re-designated as PzKpfw VI Ausf. E in March 1943, with ordnance inventory designation SdKfz 181, today, only a handful of Tigers survive in museums and exhibitions worldwide. The Bovington Tank Museums Tiger 131 is currently the only one restored to running order, Henschel & Sohn began development of a large tank design in January 1937 when the Waffenamt requested Henschel to develop a Durchbruchwagen in the 30–33 tonne range. Only one prototype hull was built and it was never fitted with a turret. The Durchbruchwagen Is general shape and suspension resembled the Panzer III while the turret resembled the early Panzer IV C turret with the short-barrelled 7.5 cm L/24 cannon.5 cm L/24 gun, overall weight would have been 36 tonnes. Only one hull was built and no turret was fitted, further development of the Durchbruchwagen was dropped in 1938 in favour of the larger and better-armoured VK30.01 and VK36.01 designs. Both the Durchbruchwagen I and II prototype hulls were used as test vehicles until 1941, the VK30.01 medium tank and the VK36.01 heavy tank designs pioneered the Schachtellaufwerk, the overlapping and interleaved main road wheels for tank use. This concept was common on German half-tracks such as the SdKfz 7. The VK30.01 was intended to mount a low-velocity 7.5 cm L/24 infantry support gun, overall weight was to be 33 tonnes. The armour was designed to be 50 mm on frontal surfaces and 30 mm on the side surfaces, four prototype hulls were completed for testing. Two of these were modified to build the Sturer Emil self-propelled anti-tank gun
25.
Elefant
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The Elefant was a heavy tank destroyer used by German Wehrmacht Panzerjäger during World War II. In 1944, after modification of the vehicles, they were renamed Elefant. The official German designation was Panzerjäger Tiger and the ordnance inventory designation was Sd, Porsche GmbH had manufactured about one hundred chassis for their unsuccessful proposal for the Tiger tank, the Porsche Tiger, in the Nibelungenwerk factory in Sankt Valentin, Austria. Since the competing Henschel Tiger design was chosen for production, the Porsche chassis were no longer required for the Tiger tank project. It was therefore decided that the Porsche chassis were to be used as the basis of a new tank destroyer, Ferdinand. This precise long-range weapon was intended to destroy enemy tanks before they came within their own range of effective fire, Ferdinand was intended to supplant previous light tank destroyers such as Marder II and Marder III in the offensive role. A similar gun was used in the lightly armored Hornisse tank destroyer, the gun was mounted in a simple casemate-style box structure, with slightly sloped sides, on top of this chassis. The driver and radio operator were in a compartment at the front. As the engines were placed in the middle, the radio operator, add-on armor of 100 mm was bolted to the front plates, increasing the plates thickness to 200 mm and adding another 5 tons of weight. The two Porsche air-cooled engines in each vehicle were replaced by two 300 PS Maybach HL120 TRM engines, the engines drove a single Siemens-Schuckert 500 VA generator, which powered two Siemens 230 kW output-apiece electric motors, one each connected to each of the rear sprockets. The electric motors also acted as the vehicles steering unit and this petrol-electrical drive delivered 0.11 km/l off road and 0.15 km/l on road at a maximum speed of 10 km/h off road and 30 km/h on road. In addition to high fuel consumption and poor performance, the vehicle was maintenance-intensive. Porsche had experience of this form of petrol-electric transmission extending back to 1901, suspension for the slack track equipped Elefant consisted of six twin bogies with longitudinal torsion bars, without any overlapping wheels or return rollers. There are sprockets at both ends of the vehicle, the drive sprockets are at the rear, while the front pair contain a drum brake system. The vehicle was fitted with an 88 mm Panzerjägerkanone 43/2 gun and this 71 caliber-long gun had originally been developed as a replacement for the famous 88 mm anti-aircraft gun that had been used against Allied tanks in the Western Desert Campaign. It had a longer barrel than the L/56 guns, which gave it a higher muzzle velocity. These improvements gave the 88 mm L/71 significantly improved armor penetration ability over the earlier 88 mm, although it lost the competition to the 8.8 cm Flak 41 and never became an anti-aircraft weapon, it was turned into the very successful Pak 43 anti-tank gun. As fitted, the gun was capable of 25° traverse and a limited elevation
26.
Tank destroyer
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The tank destroyer on the other hand is specifically designed to take on enemy armour. Many are based on a tank chassis, while others are wheeled. Since World War II, gun-armed tank destroyers have fallen out of favor as armies have favored multirole main battle tanks, however, lightly armored anti-tank guided missile carriers are commonly used for supplementary long-range anti-tank work. Dedicated anti-tank vehicles made their first major appearance in the Second World War as combatants developed effective armored vehicles, some were little more than stopgap solutions, mounting an anti-tank gun on a tracked vehicle to give mobility, while others were more sophisticated designs. Except for most American designs, tank destroyers were all turretless and had fixed or casemate superstructures, the turretless design allowed accommodation of a more powerful gun, typically a dedicated anti-tank gun that had a longer barrel than could be mounted in a turreted tank on the same chassis. The lack of an increased the vehicles internal volume, allowing for increased ammunition stowage. Eliminating the turret allowed the vehicle to carry thicker armor than would otherwise be the case, sometimes there was no armored roof to keep the overall weight down to the limit that the chassis could bear. Variants of the Polish TKS and TK-3 tankettes up-armed with 20 mm gun were operationally deployed in the invasion of Poland and they were used as an anti-tank component of the reconnaissance units. Due to the defeat of France, few French vehicles were built. The Laffly W15 TCC was an attempt to build a light tank destroyer by mounting a 47 mm SA37 anti-tank gun onto a lightly armored Laffly W15T artillery tractor. Other French tank destroyers were being developed, including the SOMUA SAu-40, ARL V39, for instance,202 obsolete Panzer I light tanks were modified by removing the turret and were rebuilt as the Panzerjäger I self-propelled 4.7 cm PaK. Similarly, Panzer II tanks were used on the eastern front, captured Soviet 76.2 mm anti-tank guns were mounted on modified Panzer II chassis, producing the Marder II self-propelled anti-tank gun. The most common mounting was a German 75 mm anti-tank gun on the Czech Panzer 38 chassis to produce the Marder III, the Panzer 38 chassis was also used to make the Jagdpanzer 38 casemate style tank destroyer. The Panzerjäger series continued up to the 88 mm equipped Nashorn, German tank destroyers based on the Panzer III and later German tanks were unique in that they had more armor than their tank counterparts. One of the more successful German tank destroyers was actually designed as an artillery gun. Based on the Panzer III tank chassis, the Sturmgeschütz III was originally fitted with a low-velocity gun, later, after encountering Soviet tanks, it was refitted with a comparatively short-barreled high-velocity anti-tank gun, usually with a muzzle brake, enabling it to function as a tank destroyer. The Sturmgeschütz III from its 1938 origin used a new superstructure with an integrated design similar to the later Jagdpanzer to completely enclose the crew. It was employed in support and offensive armored operations as well as in the defensive anti-tank role
27.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
28.
Volkswagen
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Volkswagen, shortened to VW, is a German automaker founded on May 28,1937 by the German Labour Front and headquartered in Wolfsburg. It is the flagship marque of the Volkswagen Group and is the largest automaker worldwide, Volkswagen is German for peoples car, and the companys current international advertising slogan is just Volkswagen. American English pronunciation is approximately volks wagon, for vehicle timeline tables, see, Volkswagen. Volkswagen was originally established in 1937 by the German Labour Front, in the early 1930s, the German auto industry was still largely composed of luxury models, and the average German could rarely afford anything more than a motorcycle. As a result, only one German out of 50 owned a car, seeking a potential new market, some car makers began independent peoples car projects – the Mercedes 170H, Adler AutoBahn, Steyr 55, and Hanomag 1. 3L, among others. The trend was not new, as Béla Barényi is credited with having conceived the design in the mid-1920s. Josef Ganz developed the Standard Superior, in Germany, the company Hanomag mass-produced the 2/10 PS Komissbrot, a small, cheap rear engined car, from 1925 to 1928. Also, in Czechoslovakia, the Hans Ledwinkas penned Tatra T77, Ferdinand Porsche, a well-known designer for high-end vehicles and race cars, had been trying for years to get a manufacturer interested in a small car suitable for a family. He felt the cars at the time were just stripped down big cars. He wanted his German citizens to have the access to a car as the Americans. The Peoples Car would be available to citizens of the Third Reich through a plan at 990 Reichsmark —about the price of a small motorcycle. Despite heavy lobbying in favor of one of the existing projects, thus, Hitler chose to sponsor an all-new, state-owned factory using Ferdinand Porsches design. The intention was that ordinary Germans would buy the car by means of a savings scheme, however, the entire project was financially unsound, and only the corruption and lack of accountability of the Nazi regime made it possible. Prototypes of the car called the KdF-Wagen, appeared from 1938 onwards, the car already had its distinctive round shape and air-cooled, flat-four, rear-mounted engine. The VW car was just one of many KdF programs, which included such as tours. The prefix Volks— was not just applied to cars, but also to products in Germany. On May 28,1937, Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH, more than a year later, on September 16,1938, it was renamed to Volkswagenwerk GmbH. Erwin Komenda, the longstanding Auto Union chief designer, part of Ferdinand Porsches hand-picked team, developed the car body of the prototype and it was one of the first cars designed with the aid of a wind tunnel—a method used for German aircraft design since the early 1920s
29.
Schwimmwagen
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The VW Type 128 and 166 Schwimmwagen were amphibious four-wheel drive off-roaders, used extensively by German ground forces during the Second World War. The Type 166 is the most numerous mass-produced amphibious car in history, komenda patented his ideas for the swimming car at the German Patent office. The earliest Type 128 prototype was based on the full-length Kübelwagen chassis with a 240 cm wheelbase and this was unacceptable for an amphibious vehicle. The large-scale production models were made smaller, and had a wheel-base of only 200 cm. VW Schwimmwagens were produced by the Volkswagen factory at Fallersleben / Wolfsburg and Porsches facilities in Stuttgart,15,584 Type 166 Schwimmwagen cars were produced from 1941 through 1944,14,276 at Fallersleben and 1,308 by Porsche. Given these numbers, the VW166 is the most mass-produced amphibious car in history, only 189 are known by the Schwimmwagen Registry to remain today, and only 13 have survived without restoration work. All Schwimmwagen were four wheel drive only on first gear and had ZF self-locking differentials on both front and rear axles, when crossing water a screw propeller could be lowered down from the rear deck engine cover. When in place a simple coupling provided drive straight from an extension of the engines crankshaft and this meant that screw propulsion was only available going forward. For reversing in the water there was the choice of using the standard equipment paddle or running the land drive in reverse, the front wheels doubled up as rudders, so steering was done with the steering wheel both on land and on water. Amphicar MAV DUKW LuAZ-967 Ford GPA Toyotas Su-Ki, Japanese World War II boat-hulled amphibious truck René Pohl, HEEL Verlag, Gut-Pottscheidt Konigswinter 1998, ISBN 3-89365-702-9 U. S
30.
Heavy tank
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As lighter tanks were introduced, the larger designs became known as heavies. A similar breakthrough role remained into World War II, as tank-v-tank combat became more common, heavy tanks mounted very powerful anti-tank guns. By the end of the war they were used both for dealing with heavy fortifications as well as antitank work and they were also known as breakthrough tanks, indicating their purpose of spearheading the attack. They were usually organised into specialised heavy tank units, the emergence of the main battle tank spelled the end of the heavy tank as a separate class, although a number of post-war examples were produced. These were generally gone by the 1960s, heavy tanks achieved their greatest successes both fighting other, lighter tanks, and destroying fortifications with their very large guns. But the greatest drawback is cost which translates into production quantities and/or design and this case repeated itself in the operational use of the Tiger II of which only 492 were produced. Heavy tanks feature very heavy armour and weapons relative to lighter tanks, many heavy tanks shared components from lighter tanks. For example, the US M103 shared many components with the lighter Patton tanks including its transmission, as a result, they tend to be either underpowered and comparatively slow, or have engine and drive train reliability problems. In case of a new design development, which was the case with the German Tiger I. The heavy tank concept originated in World War I and co-existed with light, the first British tank, the Mark I of World War I, was introduced to break through German defensive lines of trenches and barbed wire. When lighter, faster tanks were introduced, the tanks were classified as heavy. The Char 2C was one of the largest tanks ever produced, at the start of World War II, the French and the Soviets were the only countries to have inventories of heavy tanks, such as the Char B1, T-35, and KV-1. The Matilda II infantry tank, though not weighing as much as the others, was designed to the British infantry tank concept and had thicker armour than most tanks in service at the time. Later war examples were the German Tiger I and II, as well as the Soviet IS series, note that heavy versus medium is more a question of tactical roles than weight, the Panther, for example, was a medium tank that outweighed most Allied heavy tanks. Near the end of World War II, the M26 Pershing was sent to Europe in limited numbers, the largest tank guns were approaching maximum calibre whose shell could still be handled by the crew, even using awkward two-part ammunition, which greatly slowed their rate of fire. Thanks to improved gun designs and fire technology, postwar medium tanks were catching up to heavy tanks in firepower. The tactical value of heavy tanks thus declined to the point that no new designs were fielded, doctrine held that less expensive self-propelled artillery could serve in the infantry support role. Older heavy tanks with steel armour were rendered obsolete by anti-tank guided missiles, light tank Medium tank Super-heavy tank Main battle tank
31.
Tiger II
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Tiger II is the common name of a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf, B, often shortened to Tiger B. The ordnance inventory designation was Sd. Kfz and it is also known under the informal name Königstiger, often translated literally as Royal Tiger, or somewhat incorrectly as King Tiger by Allied soldiers, especially by American forces. The Tiger II was the successor to the Tiger I, combining the latters thick armour with the armour sloping used on the Panther medium tank, the tank weighed almost 70 tonnes, and was protected by 100 to 185 mm of armour to the front. It was armed with the long barrelled 8.8 cm KwK43 L/71 anti-tank cannon, the chassis was also the basis for the Jagdtiger turretless tank destroyer. The Tiger II was issued to tank battalions of the Army. Development of a tank design had been initiated in 1937. Another design contract followed in 1939, and was given to Porsche, both prototype series used the same turret design from Krupp, the main differences were in the hull, transmission, suspension and automotive features. The Henschel version used a hull design with sloped armour resembling the layout of the Panther tank. The Porsche hull designs included a turret and a mid-mounted engine. The suspension was the same as on the Elefant tank destroyer and this had six road wheels per side mounted in paired bogies sprung with short longitudinal torsion bars that were integral to the wheel pair, this saved internal space and facilitated repairs. This method of propulsion had been attempted before on the Tiger and in some US designs, the Porsche suspension were later used on a few of the later Jagdtiger tank destroyers. Another proposal was to use hydraulic drives, dr. Porsches unorthodox designs gathered little favour. Henschel won the contract, and all Tiger IIs were produced by the firm. Two turret designs were used in production vehicles, the initial design is often misleadingly called the Porsche turret due to the belief that it was designed by Porsche for their prototype, in fact it was the initial Krupp design for both prototypes. This turret had a front and steeply sloped sides, with a difficult-to-manufacture curved bulge on the turrets left side to accommodate the commanders cupola. Fifty early turrets were mounted to Henschels hull and used in action, the turrets were designed to mount the 8.8 cm KwK43 L/71 gun. Combined with the Turmzielfernrohr 9d monocular sight by Leitz, which all but a few early Tiger IIs used, it was a very accurate and deadly weapon
32.
Panzer VIII Maus
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Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus was a German World War II super-heavy tank completed in late 1944. It is the heaviest fully enclosed armoured fighting vehicle ever built, five were ordered, but only two hulls and one turret were completed before the testing grounds were captured by the advancing Soviet forces. These two prototypes – one with, and the other without a turret – underwent trials in late 1944, the complete vehicle was 10.2 metres long,3.71 metres wide and 3.63 metres high. The 128 mm gun was powerful enough to destroy all Allied armoured fighting vehicles then in service, the drive train was electrical, designed to provide a maximum speed of 20 kilometres per hour and a minimum speed of 1.5 kilometres per hour. The vehicles weight made it unable to utilize most bridges, instead it was intended to ford to a depth of 2 metres or submerge up to a depth of 8 metres and use a snorkel to cross rivers. The Maus was intended to punch holes through enemy defences in the manner of a breakthrough tank. The basic design known as the VK100.01 / Porsche Type 205 was suggested by Ferdinand Porsche to Adolf Hitler in June 1942, work on the design began in earnest, the first prototype, to be ready in 1943 was initially to receive the name Mammut. This was reportedly changed to Mäuschen in December 1942 and finally to Maus in February 1943, the Maus was designed from the start to use the electric transmission design which Ferdinand Porsche had used in the VK4501, his unsuccessful attempt to win the production contract for the Tiger. Each set of tracks had a suspension containing a total of 24 road wheels per side, in six bogie sets. The armour was substantial, the front was 220 millimetres thick. The turret armour was thicker, the turret front was up to 240 millimetres. The gun mantlet was 250 millimetres, and combined with the armour behind. The initial plan for the Maus was for the prototype to have completed by mid-1943. The work on the Maus would be divided between Krupp, responsible for the chassis, armament and turret and Alkett, who would be responsible for final assembly. The Maus tank was designed to weigh approximately 100 tons and be armed with a 128 mm main gun. Additional armament options were studied including various versions of 128 mm,150 mm, in January 1943 Hitler himself insisted that the armament be a 128 mm main gun with a coaxial 75 mm gun. By May 1943, a mockup of the final Maus configuration was ready and presented to Hitler. At this point, the weight of the Maus was 188 tons
33.
Super-heavy tank
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Super-heavy tank, also super heavy tank, is a semi-official term for any armoured fighting vehicle in the class beyond heavy tanks. As such, they can most easily be distinguished from vehicles by their very large size. Weight-classes are only meaningful when comparing contemporary vehicles, examples were designed in World War I and World War II, along with a few in the Cold War. The first super-heavy tank was designed by the Russian naval engineer Vasily Mendeleyev who worked on the project from 1911 to 1915, the tank was envisioned to be invulnerable to almost all contemporary threats but remained on paper because of its high construction cost. Following the production of their first tanks, the British Flying Elephant was designed as a tank that would be resistant to artillery fire, since mobility was more important than protection, and the tanks already developed were successful, work on the project was stopped. The German K-Wagen was a very heavy design carrying 4 guns, Two of them were under construction when the war ended and both were demolished. During World War II all of the major combatants introduced prototypes for special roles. Adolf Hitler was a proponent of war winning weapons and supported projects like the 188 tonne Maus, and even larger 1,000 tonne Landkreuzer P.1000 Ratte and 1,500 ton Landkreuzer P.1500 Monster. The British and Soviets all built prototype designs similar to the Jagdtiger, and the US was working on the then known T95 Gun Carriage, however, most of these designs never passed the prototype stage, and only some have ever been in existence. The idea of heavy tanks saw less development after the war. The advances in technology allowed large tanks to stay in the approximate up to 65 ton range. Examples include Object 279 and T29 Heavy Tank, further advances in armour technology have given the armour of late 20th century tanks the estimated equivalent of over a meter of rolled homogeneous armour. At the same time the weapon development allows for any equal adversary to destroy any target detected and tracked by the array of different sensors available. United Kingdom TOG1 –80 tons, built in 1940, designed for ground conditions similar to those experienced in WWI, tOG2 –80 tons improved design of TOG1, one prototype. Flying Elephant – First World War-era project at 100 tons, not built, tortoise heavy assault tank –80 tons, designed to attack fortifications. FCM F1 –139 tons, World War II era replacement for the Char 2C, to attack fortifications, ordered, nazi Germany Panzer VII Löwe – About 95–100 tons, cancelled in favour of Maus. Panzer VIII Maus –188 tons, two prototypes, both were captured by the Soviet army, although one was partially destroyed. One can now be seen at the Kubinka Tank Museum, panzerkampfwagen E-75 –95 tons, designed to succeed Tiger II
34.
List of Volkswagen Group factories
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This list of Volkswagen Group factories details the current and former manufacturing facilities operated by the automotive concern Volkswagen Group, and its subsidiaries. The German Volkswagen Group is the largest automaker in the world as of 2015, as of February 2010, it has 61 production plants and factories in fifteen European countries, along with six countries in the Americas, Asia, and Africa. The Group employs nearly 370,000 people around the world, who produce an output of over 26,600 motor vehicles. Component factories which do not produce complete vehicles do not have this factory ID code, component factories which do not produce complete vehicles do not have this factory ID code. Volkswagen Group China list of former manufacturing plants Volkswagen Group
35.
KdF-Stadt
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Wolfsburg is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony. Located on the River Aller northeast of Braunschweig, it lies about 75 km east of Hanover and 230 km west of Berlin, in 2013, Wolfsburg ranked as the richest city in Germany with a GDP per capita of $128,000, due to its thriving auto industry. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AGs headquarters and the worlds biggest car plant, Wolfsburg is one of the few German cities built during the first half of the 20th century. From its foundation on 1 July 1938 as a home for workers producing the KdF-Wagen until 25 May 1945, in 1972, the population first exceeded 100,000. Wolfsburg is located at the Southern edge of the ancient river valley of the Aller at the Mittellandkanal and it is bordered by the districts of Gifhorn and Helmstedt. The total annual precipitation is about 532 mm which is low as it belongs to the lowest tenth of the measured data in Germany. Only 7% of all stations of the Deutscher Wetterdienst record lower data. The driest month is October, most precipitation is measured in June where observation stations measure 1.9 times more precipitation than in October, precipitation hardly diversifies and is constantly distributed all over the year. Only 17% of observation stations measure lower annual deviation, the castle Wolfsburg was first mentioned in 1302 in a document as the domicile of the noble lineage of Bartensleben. Originally a keep next to the Aller, it was protected by a moat some centuries later, in 1372, the first documentary reference to the Burg Neuhaus near Wolfsburg appeared. After the extinction of the Bartensleben line in 1742, the property, the communal manor was an important employer for the nearby settlements Rothenfelde and Heßlingen. Some of todays urban districts, including Heßlingen, belonged to the Duke of Magdeburg during the 18th century, in 1932, these districts were detached from the Prussian province Saxony and integrated in the administrative district of Lüneburg belonging to Hannover. Other urban districts, like Vorsfelde and the transferred to Wolfsburg from the county of Helmstedt. Fallersleben and other villages belonged to the Electorate of Braunschweig - Lüneburg or the Kingdom of Hanover, during World War II military cars, aeroplanes, and other military equipment were built there, mainly by forced workers and POWs. In 1942, the Nazis established the Arbeitsdorf concentration camp in the city for a few months, at the urging of the British occupying power, the city was renamed as Wolfsburg on 25 May 1945, after the eponymous castle located there. In 1951, Wolfsburg was separated from the District of Gifhorn, in 1955 the one-millionth VW Beetle was manufactured in Wolfsburg. Postwar Beetle production ended in Wolfsburg in 1974, though German Beetle production continued in Emden until 1978, the factories in Wolfsburg remain a key part of Volkswagens production capacity. During the German economic miracle Wolfsburg experienced an influx of immigrant workers
36.
Ivan Hirst
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Major Ivan Hirst, was a British Army officer and engineer who was instrumental in reviving Volkswagen from a single factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, into a major postwar automotive manufacturer. Hirst was born in Saddleworth, Yorkshire, England and attended Hulme Grammar School in Oldham and his family had founded the Hirst Brothers Company, a manufacturer of watches, clocks and optical components in Oldham. He studied optical engineering at the University of Manchester, prior to forming his own company repairing optical instruments, while a student he was a member of the universitys Officers Training Corps contingent. Hirst was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 7th Battalion, Duke of Wellingtons Regiment on 27 June 1934. A Captain on the outbreak of the Second World War, he was appointed adjutant on 1 October 1939. He transferred to the Royal Army Ordnance Corps as a Mechanical Engineering Officer on 14 November 1941, in the period after the D-Day landings, he was in charge of a tank repair facility in Belgium. He arrived in Germany in the summer of 1945, along with his colleague, Colonel Charles Radclyffe, hence, Hirst and Radclyffe laid the foundations for Volkswagens successful automotive business. Much of the machinery had survived the bombing, having been stored in various outbuildings, cars were put together with old-stock and whatever could be found, many using parts from the Kübelwagen until 1946, when the factory produced about 1,000 cars a month. Hirst was fascinated by the potential of a four-wheel drive Commanderwagon and he also liked the proven versatility of the Volkswagen chassis demonstrated by Ambi Budd, Karmann and other coachworks. Hirst ended the war as a major, the Radclyffe was a two-seater roadster that was the transport of Colonel Charles Radclyffe over the summer months of 1946. The four-seater convertible was Ivan Hirsts personal transport, Karmann was asked to build a four-seater, another coach-builder, Hebmüller, was asked to make a two-seater roadster. Its design was not unlike the Radclyffe Roadster, with a similar hood, the rear engine cover, however, was a hand-formed panel, not a converted front bonnet as was the Radclyffe version. Hirst, the Control Commission for Germany’s British Senior Resident Officer, from 1946 the Volkswagen factory focus was on repairing and reconditioning Volkswagens and became known as No 2 REME Auxiliary Workshop. As the companys prospects improved, the unit became essentially civilian-run, the REME link ended when, on 6 September 1949, ownership transferred to the German Government. Since then VW has recognised the role that Ivan Hirst and the REME played in its rise from the ashes of the Second World War, a close bond exists between Volkswagen and REME to this day. Hirst had strong memories of his time at Wolfsburg which he would share with local Volkswagen enthusiasts, the one strongest memory he would refer to regularly was the smell of the fish glue used to fix the cardboard headlinings in early cars. In later life, he became somewhat more reticent about his involvement, often saying that it was only by chance that he had been involved, Hirst once showed a friend a scale model of a Volkswagen Beetle that Volkswagen had presented to him. The 1,10 scale model, now on display in the REME Museum, was one of three made by Koch in Cologne
37.
Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche
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Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche, mainly known as Ferry Porsche, was an Austrian technical automobile designer and automaker-entrepreneur. He operated Porsche AG in Stuttgart, Germany and his father, Ferdinand Porsche, Sr. was also a renowned automobile engineer and founder of Volkswagen and Porsche. His nephew, Dr. Ferdinand Piëch, is the chairman of Volkswagen Group. Ferry Porsches life was connected with that of his father, Ferdinand Porsche. With his father he opened a bureau of automobile design, in Stuttgart in 1931 and they worked together to fulfill their countrys National Socialist regimes needs and they met Adolf Hitler at many business events. The Volkswagen Beetle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche, Sr. after World War II, while his father remained imprisoned in France, being accused of war crimes, Ferry Porsche ran their company. Aided by the postwar Volkswagen enterprise, he created the first cars that were associated with the company. Despite the political-economical adversities of the years, the company manufactured automobiles and, eventually. Ferdinand Porsche Sr was chief designer at Austro-Daimler in Austria and his designs were focused on compact street cars and race cars. Austro-Daimler was so tied to the local royalty that the Austrian double-headed eagle became the trademark of the company. The day Ferry Porsche was born, his father was competing with one of his cars at Semmering, finishing first in his class. He found out about his sons birth by telegram, Ferry Porsches mother was Aloisia Johanna Kaes. He had a sister, Louise Piëch, who was five years his senior. He was baptized Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche, with the name Ferdinand after his father, the name Anton after his grandfather, during the following years, the family moved around a lot. He and his father spent much time together in workshops where he began early to learn mechanical engineering. They also used to tour around Europe and the United States of America, Ferry remarked later. cars were my greatest passion from the very beginning. Ferry Porsche learned to drive when he was only 10 years old, at age 12 he drove a real race car, the Austro-Daimler Sascha, which had just won its class at Targa Florio, Sicily, in 1922. Ferry Porsche attended school at Wiener Neustadt and Stuttgart, concentrating on mathematics, in 1923, the family moved to Stuttgart, due to senior Ferdinand Porsches unrest about the squandering financial destiny of Austro-Daimler
38.
Porsche 356
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The Porsche 356 is a luxury sports car which was first produced by Austrian company Porsche Konstruktionen GesmbH, and then by German company Dr. Ing. h. c. It was Porsches first production automobile, earlier cars designed by the Austrian company include Cisitalia Grand Prix race car, the Volkswagen Beetle, and Auto Union Grand Prix cars. The 356 is a lightweight and nimble-handling, rear-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-door, sports car available in hardtop coupé, engineering innovations continued during the years of manufacture, contributing to its motorsports success and popularity. Production started in 1948 at Gmünd, Austria, where approximately 50 cars were built, in 1950 the factory relocated to Zuffenhausen, Germany, and general production of the 356 continued until April 1965, well after the replacement model 911 made its autumn 1963 debut. Of the 76,000 originally produced, approximately half survive, prior to World War II Porsche designed and built three Type 64 cars for a 1939 Berlin-to-Rome race that was cancelled. In 1948 the mid-engine, tubular chassis 356 prototype called No.1 was completed and this led to some debate as to the first Porsche automobile, but the 356 is considered by Porsche to be its first production model. The 356 was created by Ferdinand Ferry Porsche, who founded the Austrian company with his sister, like its cousin, the Volkswagen Beetle, the 356 is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, rear-engine, rear-wheel drive car with unitized pan and body construction. Ferry Porsche described the thinking behind the development of the 356 in an interview with the editor of Panorama, …. I had always driven very speedy cars. I had an Alfa Romeo, also a BMW and others, …. By the end of the war I had a Volkswagen Cabriolet with a supercharged engine and that was the basic idea. I saw that if you had enough power in a car it is nicer to drive than if you have a big car which is also overpowered. On this basic idea we started the first Porsche prototype, to make the car lighter, to have an engine with more horsepower…that was the first two seater that we built in Carinthia. The first 356 was road certified in Austria on June 8,1948, Porsche re-engineered and refined the car with a focus on performance. Fewer and fewer parts were shared between Volkswagen and Porsche as the 1950s progressed, the early 356 automobile bodies produced at Gmünd were handcrafted in aluminum, but when production moved to Zuffenhausen, Germany in 1950, models produced there were steel-bodied. The aluminium bodied cars from very small company are what are now referred to as prototypes. Porsche contracted Reutter to build the bodies and eventually bought the Reutter company in 1963. The Reutter company retained the seat manufacturing part of the business, little noticed at its inception, mostly by a small number of auto racing enthusiasts, the first 356s sold primarily in Austria and Germany. It took Porsche two years, starting with the first prototype in 1948, to manufacture the first 50 automobiles, by the early 1950s the 356 had gained some renown among enthusiasts on both sides of the Atlantic for its aerodynamics, handling, and excellent build quality. The class win at Le Mans in 1951 was a factor and it was common for owners to race the car as well as drive them on the streets
39.
Porsche Salzburg
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Porsche Holding is the largest car distributor in Europe. In 2011, the company was sold by the Porsche family, Porsche Holding GmbH, headquartered in Salzburg, Austria, was founded by Louise Piëch and Ferry Porsche in 1947 as Porsche Konstruktionen GesmbH in Gmünd, Austria. After Ferdinand Porsche was released from a French prison after the war, F. Porsche GmbH, in Stuttgart, Germany, and the facility in Salzburg became home to Porsche Konstruktionen as the Austrian importer of Volkswagen and Porsche products in 1949. By the 1960s, Porsche Konstruktionen became one of the largest distributors of Volkswagen, in the late 1960s, Porsche entered many sports cars in races, and to support the factory effort, external semi-factory teams were set up to share the work load. In 1969, Porsche Salzburg became such a de facto works team. Early in the season, at the Nürburgring, cars were entered as Salzburg Porsche Konstruktionen, Porsche Salzburg became an entrant in the 1969 World Sportscar Championship season and 1970 World Sportscar Championship season, representing Porsche in motorsport. In 1970, the team of John Wyer 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 and Hans Herrmann, Salzburg operated the winning Porsche 908/3 in the 1000km Nürburgring for that year, and the winning Porsche 917KH at the 197024 Hours of Le Mans. After 1970, the name of Porsche Salzburg disappeared from entry lists, as Martini Racing took over as the second factory-backed team besides Wyer
40.
Weimar Republic
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Weimar Republic is an unofficial, historical designation for the German state between 1919 and 1933. The name derives from the city of Weimar, where its constitutional assembly first took place, the official name of the state was still Deutsches Reich, it had remained unchanged since 1871. In English the country was known simply as Germany. A national assembly was convened in Weimar, where a new constitution for the Deutsches Reich was written, in its fourteen years, the Weimar Republic faced numerous problems, including hyperinflation, political extremism, and contentious relationships with the victors of the First World War. The people of Germany blamed the Weimar Republic rather than their leaders for the countrys defeat. However, the Weimar Republic government successfully reformed the currency, unified tax policies, Weimar Germany eliminated most of the requirements of the Treaty of Versailles, it never completely met its disarmament requirements, and eventually paid only a small portion of the war reparations. Under the Locarno Treaties, Germany accepted the borders of the republic. From 1930 onwards President Hindenburg used emergency powers to back Chancellors Heinrich Brüning, Franz von Papen, the Great Depression, exacerbated by Brünings policy of deflation, led to a surge in unemployment. In 1933, Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor with the Nazi Party being part of a coalition government, the Nazis held two out of the remaining ten cabinet seats. Von Papen as Vice Chancellor was intended to be the éminence grise who would keep Hitler under control, within months the Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act of 1933 had brought about a state of emergency, it wiped out constitutional governance and civil liberties. Hitlers seizure of power was permissive of government by decree without legislative participation and these events brought the republic to an end, as democracy collapsed, a single-party state founded the Nazi era. The Weimar Republic is so called because the assembly that adopted its constitution met at Weimar, Germany from 6 February 1919 to 11 August 1919, but this name only became mainstream after 1933. To the right of the spectrum the politically engaged rejected the new democratic model, the Catholic Centre party, Zentrum favoured the term Deutscher Volksstaat while on the moderate left the Chancellors SPD preferred Deutsche Republik. Only during the 1930s did the term become mainstream, both within and outside Germany, after the introduction of the republic, the flag and coat of arms of Germany were officially altered to reflect the political changes. The Weimar Republic retained the Reichsadler, but without the symbols of the former Monarchy and this left the black eagle with one head, facing to the right, with open wings but closed feathers, with a red beak, tongue and claws and white highlighting. If the Reichs Eagle is shown without a frame, the charge and colors as those of the eagle of the Reichs coat of arms are to be used. The patterns kept by the Federal Ministry of the Interior are decisive for the heraldic design, the artistic design may be varied for each special purpose. The achievements and signs of movement were mostly done away with after its downfall
41.
Coat of arms
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A coat of arms is an heraldic visual design on an escutcheon, surcoat, or tabard. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the heraldic achievement which in its whole consists of shield, supporters, crest. A coat of arms is traditionally unique to a person, family, state. The ancient Romans used similar insignia on their shields, but these identified military units rather than individuals, the first evidence of medieval coats of arms has been attributed to the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry in which some of the combatants carry shields painted with crosses. However, that heraldic interpretation remains controversial, coats of arms came into general use by feudal lords and knights in battle in the 12th century. By the 13th century, arms had spread beyond their initial battlefield use to become a flag or emblem for families in the social classes of Europe. Exactly who had a right to use arms, by law or social convention, in the German-speaking regions both the aristocracy and burghers used arms, while in most of the rest of Europe they were limited to the aristocracy. The use of spread to the clergy, to towns as civic identifiers. Flags developed from coats of arms, and the arts of vexillology, the coats of arms granted to commercial companies are a major source of the modern logo. Despite no widespread regulation, heraldry has remained consistent across Europe, some nations, like England and Scotland, still maintain the same heraldic authorities which have traditionally granted and regulated arms for centuries and continue to do so in the present day. In England, for example, the granting of arms is and has controlled by the College of Arms. Unlike seals and other emblems, heraldic achievements have a formal description called a blazon. Many societies exist that also aid in the design and registration of personal arms, in the heraldic traditions of England and Scotland, an individual, rather than a family, had a coat of arms. In those traditions coats of arms are legal property transmitted from father to son, wives, undifferenced arms are used only by one person at any given time. Other descendants of the bearer could bear the ancestral arms only with some difference. One such charge is the label, which in British usage is now always the mark of an apparent or an heir presumptive. Because of their importance in identification, particularly in seals on legal documents and this has been carried out by heralds and the study of coats of arms is therefore called heraldry. In time, the use of arms spread from military entities to educational institutes, the author Helen Stuart argues that some coats of arms were a form of corporate logo
42.
Weimar Germany
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Weimar Republic is an unofficial, historical designation for the German state between 1919 and 1933. The name derives from the city of Weimar, where its constitutional assembly first took place, the official name of the state was still Deutsches Reich, it had remained unchanged since 1871. In English the country was known simply as Germany. A national assembly was convened in Weimar, where a new constitution for the Deutsches Reich was written, in its fourteen years, the Weimar Republic faced numerous problems, including hyperinflation, political extremism, and contentious relationships with the victors of the First World War. The people of Germany blamed the Weimar Republic rather than their leaders for the countrys defeat. However, the Weimar Republic government successfully reformed the currency, unified tax policies, Weimar Germany eliminated most of the requirements of the Treaty of Versailles, it never completely met its disarmament requirements, and eventually paid only a small portion of the war reparations. Under the Locarno Treaties, Germany accepted the borders of the republic. From 1930 onwards President Hindenburg used emergency powers to back Chancellors Heinrich Brüning, Franz von Papen, the Great Depression, exacerbated by Brünings policy of deflation, led to a surge in unemployment. In 1933, Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor with the Nazi Party being part of a coalition government, the Nazis held two out of the remaining ten cabinet seats. Von Papen as Vice Chancellor was intended to be the éminence grise who would keep Hitler under control, within months the Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act of 1933 had brought about a state of emergency, it wiped out constitutional governance and civil liberties. Hitlers seizure of power was permissive of government by decree without legislative participation and these events brought the republic to an end, as democracy collapsed, a single-party state founded the Nazi era. The Weimar Republic is so called because the assembly that adopted its constitution met at Weimar, Germany from 6 February 1919 to 11 August 1919, but this name only became mainstream after 1933. To the right of the spectrum the politically engaged rejected the new democratic model, the Catholic Centre party, Zentrum favoured the term Deutscher Volksstaat while on the moderate left the Chancellors SPD preferred Deutsche Republik. Only during the 1930s did the term become mainstream, both within and outside Germany, after the introduction of the republic, the flag and coat of arms of Germany were officially altered to reflect the political changes. The Weimar Republic retained the Reichsadler, but without the symbols of the former Monarchy and this left the black eagle with one head, facing to the right, with open wings but closed feathers, with a red beak, tongue and claws and white highlighting. If the Reichs Eagle is shown without a frame, the charge and colors as those of the eagle of the Reichs coat of arms are to be used. The patterns kept by the Federal Ministry of the Interior are decisive for the heraldic design, the artistic design may be varied for each special purpose. The achievements and signs of movement were mostly done away with after its downfall
€21.533 billion (2015 annual report) [2]
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