Porsche

Some people want a sports car that?s more advanced than a Mustang, but not quite as expensive or impractical as an ultra-high end Italian supercar. One of the first brands someone in that position should look to is Porsche.

More than a century of innovation

The first car to bear the name ?Porsche? was the Lohner-Porsche electric car, which was debuted at the 1900 World?s Fair in Paris, according to Porsche?s web site. Ferdinand Porsche, pronounced ?poorsh-UH,? the founder of the brand, was a brilliant engineer who also happened to design and build the world?s first hybrid car, in the same year. Ferdinand would go on to make successful racing cars for Daimler until launching his own engineering and consultancy firm, Dr. Ing. h.c.F. Porsche AG, in 1931.

Ferdinand Porsche was awarded a contract in 1934 to design a ?People?s Car? by the German government, or ?Volkswagen,? creating the Beetle, one of the best-selling cars of all time. During the war, he continued his work on racing cars, culminating in a mid-engined but light-weight racing car in 1939, the Type 64, which formed the basis of every Porsche sports car that followed. Successes in motor sport and strong sales followed. In 1964, the company released one of the most iconic cars of all time, the Porsche 911. The Porsche 911, in some configuration, has been in production ever since, and it is what most people think of when they think of a Porsche.

Getting the money?s worth

The qualities of the classic Porsche are inherent in a modern Porsche. Porsches are fast and designed to handle just about anything that can be thrown at them. They?re adorned with plenty of luxury inside and, of course, they are beautiful to look at. The needs of just about any driver looking for something special can be met, as the company has added a four-door luxury sport sedan and an SUV to its lineup alongside the sports cars. The bread and butter of the company, though, is still the 911. The 911 model lineup ranges from the most basic models to insane speed demons that will outpace a Ferrari at half the cost and with twice the gas mileage.