About Porsche Cars
The luxury sportscar brand Porsche is a division of Volkswagen, which in turn is majority-owned by Porsche Automobil Holding SE. It is based in Stuttgart, Germany. The company was founded by Ferdinand Porsche in 1931, and one of its first projects was to design a vehicle accessible and useful for “the people” which was the Volkswagen Beetle. It was the prototype for the wartime kubelwagen and schwimmwagen as Porsche designed many types of mechanized vehicles for the German military during World War II, often using slave labor from Nazi concentration camps.
The founder’s son and daughter developed the first production Porsche vehicle, known as the 356, in 1947-48. Much of the 356 was based on the Beetle, including air-cooled, rear-mounted engines. The company’s iconic 911 model debuted in 1964. Porsche and Volkswagen maintained a close relationship, sharing design and components. In 2011 the two companies merged. The Volkswagen AG company, which also owns Audi, Lamborghini, Bugatti, and Bentley, is valued at about $80 billion and is the second-largest car company in the world after Toyota.
Quick Facts
-
Porsche 911
is the most-recalled Porsche vehicle
-
Porsche 924
is the least expensive car from Porsche starting from
$ 26,560.00
-
Porsche Taycan
has an MPG of
79 miles/gallon / 80 miles/gallon
which is the highest gas mileage in the city and on highways
-
Porsche 911
has the most trims available with 13 variations released
Number of Porsche Sales in the United States
Porsche U.S. Sales Reports - By Month
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 3,937 | 3,202 | 4,291 | 5,217 | 4,268 | 4,223 | 4,730 | 5,008 | 4,424 | 4,070 | 4,450 | 3,936 |
| 2016 | 4,354 | 3,561 | 4,323 | 5,410 | 4,578 | 4,482 | 3,878 | 5,181 | 4,479 | 4,506 | 5,513 | 4,015 |
| 2017 | 4,159 | 3,637 | 4,479 | 5,529 | 4,805 | 4,516 | 4,709 | 5,059 | 4,715 | 5,555 | 3,913 | |
| 2018 | 4,816 | 4,382 | 4,756 | 5,570 | 5,005 | 4,892 | 4,083 | 5,102 | 4,817 | 5,673 | 4,086 | |
| 2019 | 5,419 | 4,826 | 4,779 | 5,018 | 5,010 | 5,205 |
Porsche Car Sales in The United States from 2015 to 2019
| Year | Car Sales |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 51,756 |
| 2016 | 54,280 |
| 2017 | 51,076 |
| 2018 | 53,182 |
| 2019 | 30,257 |
Average Pricing for Porsche Popular models
| Popular Porsche Models | Average Price |
|---|---|
| 911 | $ 95,836.52 |
| Cayenne | $ 66,232.01 |
| Boxster | $ 48,789.21 |
| Panamera | $ 96,072.14 |
| Macan | $ 60,030.24 |
| 944 | $ 13,276.41 |
| 928 | $ 32,480.05 |
| 968 | $ 46,225.09 |
| Panamera Hybrid | $ 98,251.21 |
| 718 Cayman | $ 49,733.33 |
| 924 | $ 4,712.26 |
| 718 Boxster | $ 37,440.68 |
| Carrera GT | $ 440,000.00 |
| Taycan | $ 126,390.91 |
| 918 Spyder | $ 845,000.00 |
Interesting Facts About Porsche
The company’s North American manufacturing facility and headquarters is moving, at the cost of $80-$100 million, to a former Ford factory near Atlanta’s international airport.
The Porsche 911 continues to represent 16 percent of the company’s sales, but the luxury SUVs Cayenne, introduced in 2002, and the Macan, introduced in 2014, have been wildly popular, representing 28 percent and 35 percent, respectively, of overall sales.
The 911 has only been manufactured in Stuttgart, Germany, but it was originally called the 901. Peugeot claimed it had exclusive rights to three-digit vehicle model names with a zero in the middle, so the Porsche 901, of which about 80 were made, was rebranded the 911.
Ferdinand Porsche made the world’s first hybrid electric vehicle in 1899, the Lohner-Porsche “Semper Vivus,” which used an internal combustion engine as a generator for its electric batteries.
Porsche has also manufactured farm tractors. One, made especially for coffee farmers, is gasoline-powered because they feared that a diesel-powered tractor would affect the taste of the coffee beans.
The Porsche 944 built-in 1986 was the first vehicle with standard passenger-side airbags.
Porsche designed a double overhead cam engine for Harley Davidson’s racing bike, the V-Rod.
How to Identify and Decode Porsche VINs
The first three digits of a modern VIN are known as the World Manufacturer Identifier. These three digits represent the country of origin and manufacturer and often indicate the type of vehicle. Porsche has used a standardized VIN numbering system for all U.S. vehicles since the early 1980s.
The first digit in a Porsche VIN is the country of origin. For Porsche, this will always be a W, indicating Germany as the country of origin.
The second digit is the manufacturing company. For Porsche vehicles, this will always be P for Porsche.
The third digit indicates the type of vehicle. Porsche uses the number 0 for passenger cars and 1 for SUVs.
The fourth digit is used to identify the model for U.S. cars.
| A | 911 Coupé, 924, 928 from MY1991, 944 Coupé, 968 Coupé, Cayman, Cayenne, Panamera |
| B | 964/996/997 Targa |
| C | 944 Cabriolet, 968 Cabriolet, 964 Cabriolet/America Roadster/Speedster, 993/996/997 Cabriolet, 997 Speedster, Boxster, Carrera GT |
| D | 993 Targa |
| E | 911 SC Targa/Cabrio, 3.2 Targa/Cabrio/Speedster, 911 G-model Turbo Targa/Cabriolet |
| J | 928 up to MY1990, 911 G-model Turbo Coupé |
The fifth digit indicates the engine.
| A | 911 SC, 924 2.0/Turbo/S, 928 MY1981-82, 928 MY1991-95, 944 2.5 N/A up to MY1986, 944 2.7, 944 S, 944 Turbo, 968, 964 Turbo 3.3, 993/996/997 Carrera, Boxster 986 2.5/2.7, Boxster/Cayman 987 base, Carrera GT, Cayenne V6, Panamera V6 |
| B | 911 3.2, 911 G-model Turbo, 928 MY1983-90, 944 2.5 N/A MY1987-88, 944 S2, 964 Carrera/RS America/America Roadster/Speedster, 996 Turbo/GT2, 997 Carrera S/4S/GTS/Sport Classic/Speedster, Boxster 986/987 S, Cayman S/R, Cayenne S, Panamera S/4S |
| C | 964 Turbo 3.6, 993 Turbo, 996 GT3, 997 GT3 3.6/3.8, Cayenne Turbo, Panamera Turbo |
| D | 997 Turbo/GT2, Cayenne GTS, Panamera Hybrid |
| E | 997 GT2 RS, Cayenne Hybrid |
| F | 997 GT3 RS 4.0 |
Position six is used to identify the safety equipment included from the factory. Porsche uses the following codes to indicate safety equipment.
| 0 | no airbags |
| 2 | front airbags only |
| E | no side airbags |
| F | also side airbags |
Porsche differs from most manufacturers in the way it uses the next series of numbers. Porsche vehicles are identified by model numbers. Position seven is the first of the three-digit model identifiers. Position eight is the second digit. Position 12 is the final digit.
The seventh digit will be either a 9 for vehicles up to MY 2009 or the letter A for newer vehicles.
Position eight and 12 will be the remainder of the model identifier. Porsche uses these codes to denote model numbers.
| 68 | 968 |
| 70 | 970 (Panamera 2009-2016) |
| 71 | 971 (Panamera 2016-2023) |
| 80 | 980 (Carrera GT) |
| 81 | 981 (Boxster/Cayman 2012-2016) |
| 82 | 982 (718 Boxster/Cayman 2016-2019) |
| 86 | 986 (Boxster 1997-2004) |
| 87 | 987 (Boxster/Cayman 2005-2012) |
| 91 | 991 (911 2011-2018) |
| 92 | 992 (911 2019-2025) |
| 93 | 993 (911 1993-1997) |
| 96 | 996 (911 1997-2004) |
| 97 | 997 (911 2004-2011) |
| PA | Cayenne 955 (2002-2007), 957 (2007-2010) |
| 2A | Cayenne 958 (2010-2018) |
| YA | Cayenne 9Y0 station wagon (2018-...) |
| YB | Cayenne 9Y0 Coupé (2019-...) |
Position nine is used as a check digit. This number relates to the solution of a mathematical algorithm using the numbers and letters of the VIN to verify its authenticity.
Position 10 is used to identify the model year.
| A | 1980, 2010 |
| B | 1981, 2011 |
| C | 1982, 2012 |
| D | 1983, 2013 |
| E | 1984, 2014 |
| F | 1985, 2015 |
| G | 1986, 2016 |
| H | 1987, 2017 |
| J | 1988, 2018 |
| K | 1989, 2019 |
| L | 1990, 2020 |
| M | 1991, 2021 |
| N | 1992, 2022 |
| P | 1993, 2023 |
| R | 1994, 2024 |
| S | 1995, 2025 |
| T | 1996, 2026 |
| U | 1997, 2027 |
| W | 1998, 2028 |
| X | 1999, 2029 |
| Y | 2000, 2030 |
| 1 | 2001, 2031 |
| 2 | 2002, 2032 |
| 3 | 2003, 2033 |
| 4 | 2004, 2034 |
| 5 | 2005, 2035 |
| 6 | 2006, 2036 |
| 7 | 2007, 2037 |
| 8 | 2008, 2038 |
| 9 | 2009, 2039 |
Position 11 denotes the factory at which completion of the vehicle was done. The codes Porsche uses to denote its factories are as follows:
| S | Stuttgart (911, 928, 959, 968, Boxster, Cayman) |
| N | Neckarsulm Audi factory (924, 944) |
| U | Uusikaupunki Valmet factory (Boxster 986 was produced there 1997-2004, Boxster 987 2004-2010 and Cayman 987 2005-2011) |
| L | Leipzig (Cayenne, Carrera GT, Panamera, Macan) |
| K | Osnabrück VW factory, ex-Karmann, hence the "K" (Boxster, Cayman, Cayenne) |
| D | Bratislava VW factory (Cayenne) |
The digits in positions 12 through 17 represent the serial number. Serial numbers are not sequential. A smaller serial number does not always indicate an earlier production vehicle.
Safety and Recalls for Porsche Cars
Defective airbag control modules have been recalled in the following models:
- 2016-2017 Porsche 911 coupes produced between June 30, 2015, and April 16, 2016.
- 2016-2017 Porsche Boxster coupes produced between July 1, 2015, and March 15, 2016.
- 2016 Porsche Cayman coupes produced between July 8, 2015, and April 18, 2016.
- 2016 Porsche Panamera hatchbacks produced between June 23, 2015, and April 7, 2016.
Fuel gauge issues affecting 2013 and 2014 models of the following prompted a recall to rectify the issue so that owners don’t unknowingly run out of gas:
- Porsche Cayenne,
- Porsche Cayenne GTS,
- Porsche Cayenne diesel,
- Porsche Cayenne S,
- Porsche S Hybrid,
- Porsche Turbo, and
- Porsche Turbo S.
Front seat and knee-level airbags are involved in a recall of the following 2014 models:
- Porsche Boxster,
- Porsche Boxster S,
- Porsche Cayman,
- Porsche Cayman S, and
- Porsche 911 Carrera.
The 2014-2015 911 Porsche Boxster and Cayman models have a recall affecting the hood latch, but no immediate safety issues were raised. The manufacturer is unaware of any incidents when the hood of a model affected opened on its own.
Rear-wheel hubs have been found to fail on Porsche 911 GT3 models, prompting a recall of 450 vehicles made in 2010.
The Porsche 911 Carrera and Carrera 4 models made in 2011 were recalled due to an issue with the exhaust that may cause the tailpipe to fall off. This issue affected 2,263 vehicles.
Porsche Recalls
Porsche had 1442 from 1980 to 2024 of which the most recalled model is 2021 Porsche 911 and the least is 1988 Porsche 924. Porsche had the most recalled during 2021.
| Model | Number of Recalls |
|---|---|
| 2021 Porsche 911 #1 with most recalls | 44 |
| 2017 Porsche Macan #2 with most recalls | 15 |
| 2011 Porsche Panamera #3 with most recalls | 10 |
| 2019 Porsche 911 #4 with most recalls | 1 |
| 1998 Porsche 911 #5 with most recalls | 1 |
| 1991 Porsche 928 #6 with most recalls | 1 |
| 1988 Porsche 924 #7 with most recalls | 1 |
