Porsche’s Museum in Stuttgart, Germany is currently celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Weissach Development Centre that has played a pivotal role in the creation of all the brand’s vehicles.
As discussed in this video released by Porsche, Professor Ferdinand Porsche first started performing development work for clients in the 1930s. The Porsche Research and Development Centre in Weissach as it exists today provides extensive engineering services to thousands of external clients.
The ground was broken at the R&D center in 1961 by Ferry Porsche before being officially opened on October 1, 1971. Just a couple of weeks later, Porsche broke ground on a large skidpad where it could perform key development tasks. It also constructed two circuits where the automaker could test and develop its racing cars and street cars. A torture test area was also created to test key components like the suspension and a vehicle’s ability to deal with deep sections of water.
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If it wasn’t for Porsche’s development center in Weissach, who knows how the carmaker would have developed over the decades.
One of the lesser-known projects developed at the Weissach site was the turbocharged TAG Formula 1 engine that McLaren used to claim driver’s championships in 1984, 1985, and 1986. This engine could pump out 1,000 hp and proved to be unbeatable.
Another intriguing car that was developed in Weissach was the C88. This car was a family car designed specifically for the Chinese market that premiered at the Beijing Auto Show in 1994. It had just a single child seat, reflective of the one-child policy that existed in China at the time.