Porsche vs Ferrari

History of Porsche

Ferdinand Porsche played an important role in the development of airplanes and racing cars, and the construction of tanks for the Wehrmacht. He is an automobile engineer with more than a thousand patents to his name. He was appointed chief engineer at Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart in the 1920s. Later on, he set up his own engineering workshop and designed among others the Volkswagen.

At the plant where Volkswagen was made, Wolfsburg, he was chief of operations and at the end of the war he was interned by the Allies. He was released a few years later and started building his first car with his son, Ferry Porsche. The car was named the Porsche 356 and it was a sports car and a reminiscent of the Volkswagen. It had the same four-cylinder boxer engine that was rear-mounted, just like the VW.

It was far from being a powerful sports car, developing only 40 bhp and a maximum speed of 87 mph (140 km/h). First produced as a convertible and later as a hard top it distinguished by the very elegant and innovative body. It was developed in the workshop of Erwin Komenda, a master of restrained streamlining who had been in charge of sheet metal and design techniques at Porsche since the VW Beetle.

The new style of closed coupe was designed by Komenda and it soon became the embodiment of the sports car, thanks to its fastback. This tradition was continued by Komenda and Ferdinand “Butzi” Porsche, the founder’s grandson, with the 911. The 911 became easily recognizable: it had attractive sloping bonnet and what later became characteristic “frog eye” headlights, curves running from the top edge of the windscreen to the rear bumper and a straight waistline.

From a functional and technical point of view it was more like BMW 1500, although it retained the stylistic features of the original Porsche. The new 911 will become the foundation stone of Porsche’s identity, even though the design was not always appreciated. During the 1970s and 1980s, the designers attempts to distance Porsche from its legendary design brought the company to the edge of disaster.

The more modern 924 model, “a people’s Porsche”, developed with Volkswagen, as well as the 928 were far from fulfilling the expectations. In the 1990s, the company realized that what for over twenty years was perceived as a straitjacket, it was in fact a market advantage. During the 1990s, Porsche became highly profitable since they now knew that the typical Porsche features were timeless.

Nearly forty people now worked in the design department on further developments of the long-running 911. These developments included the 911 GTI, a powerful combination of sports and racing car, put forward by the in-house designer Anthony R. Hatter. In 1999, chief designer proudly presented the new Boxster which enabled Porshe to establish a second independent range of models.

Porsche and Ferrari are German and Italian sides of the same coin, interpretations of the sports car idea. Both founded by a dominant patriarch, both honed in racing, both more than 50 years old, both with engineering and styling integrity. Whether on the track of Le Mains or on the streets, the two have always been put head-to-head and compared. Even the most naive motorist associates these two names with both performance and style.

We’ve decided to compare the methodical Porsche 911 Carrera 4S and the passionate Ferrari F430 because both of them astonish with their performance while attempting to maintain a reasonable amount of practicality but do not pretend to be anything other than sports cars. A modern sports car should feature these characteristics: it should be started easily, maneuvered around town, blasted on a couple of country roads, it looks and performs the part on a racetrack but at the same time it is very safe.

The easier way to separate the two cars is by measuring figures since both of them have mastered the modern sports car requirements and basically there’s no other way to choose between these two phenomenal cars. What initially impresses is Ferrari’s lightning fast 4-second 0-100km/h acceleration and thrilling exhaust tone. As the occupants are pinned to the seats, the new generation 4.3-litre V8 pushes out 368 snarling kilowatts.

Porsche’s acceleration also offers that kick in the pants a super car should deliver, although it is 0.8 seconds slower at the 100 km/k mark. With such acceleration performance, it comes natural for both cars to excel in the braking department. The two cars offer optional ceramic discs for impressive stopping. Porsche’s engine gets the upper hand as it is more refined and on the economy rank leaps ahead Ferrari with a 11.8 liters per 100 km as opposed to 18.3 liters. Both cars deliver the power through impressive 6-speed gearboxes and offer top rate handling performance.

Both F430 and Carrera4S offer great interior comfort and even if the space is limited, the occupants don’t feel claustrophobic and flustered. Although an impressive mix of suede, carbon fiber and aluminum abound in the Ferrari, the Italians stand no chance when it comes to the high finish level attained by the Germans. Speed and silence are key elements for any super car. The look and appearance is the biggest draw card.

The Carrera 4S is a typical Porsche, despite the new proportions. It is a great looking car, like any other 911 but somehow the styling no longer creates the jaw dropping reaction that the Ferrari does. Indeed, traditionalists may say that Porsche pays homage to its roots, but the truth is that Ferrari F430 simply draws the attention. However, even if Ferrari F430 takes your breath away with its appearance, the super car title goes to the Porsche Carrera 4S with a more complete all round package.