Porsche-Excellence Was Expected (2019)

Name: Porsche-Excellence Was Expected (2019)
Brand: Bentley Publishers
SKU: 9780837617695
Price: 755.94 USD
Availability: InStock

$755.94

Product Variants

Review Quotes:
I'll say this right now: This is the finest, most authoritative marque history that I've ever read on any make of car, and from any author. I challenge anyone to dispute that. -- Jim Donnelly "JimDonnellyOnWheels.com"

Jacket Description/Flap:
Porsche: Excellence was Expected, Karl Ludvigsen's masterwork, is the unrivaled history of the Porsche company, its cars, and its motor racing heritage from the first Gmund coupe in 1948 through its sixty years as an independent car company to its continued success with the 2020 Taycan under the auspices of the Volkswagen Group.

Over 40 years ago, Ludvigsen's first edition of Porsche: Excellence Was Expected was hailed as "the definitive archetypal marque history," and updates in 2003 and 2008 continued to enhance that reputation. For this final update, the first in over 10 years, Ludvigsen reviewed newly available Porsche archival material, conducted new in-depth interviews, and unearthed many fresh facts that allowed new and sometimes surprising interpretations of many aspects of the Porsche company and its cars.

Now four volumes, 2,834 pages and with nearly 3,000 photos and illustrations, every page of this all new Excellence Was Expected has been revised and redesigned.

Ludvigsen dedicates 30 chapters to tracing the evolution of the iconic Porsche 911 from its conception in 1962 to the cutting-edge technology in the current 992 platform. As the world's largest race car manufacturer, Porsche's storied competition history is given 44 chapters, taking the reader from the 550 Spyder's class win in the 1954 Mille Miglia to the impressive 919 Hybrid's third consecutive overall win at Le Mans in 2017. Also closely examined is the market success of the Cayenne, Macan and Panamera, as well as the enthusiastic press and customer response to the Boxster/Cayman.

A more human drama unfolds as Ludvigsen presents the inner workings, masterpieces and failures of the independent automaker. And he outlines in detail just how and why, even after the events that eventually plunged Porsche into the hands of Volkswagen, Porsche has continued to be Porsche.

Publisher Marketing:
Porsche: Excellence Was Expected explores the history of the Porsche company, its cars, and its motor racing heritage from its beginning in 1948 through its sixty years as an independent car company to its continued success under the auspices of the Volkswagen Group. Karl Ludvigsen goes behind the scenes to explore the events that eventually plunged Porsche into the hands of Volkswagen. And he outlines in detail how and why, after the final schism from the Porsche/Piech dynasty in 2012, Porsche has continued to be Porsche. New material for the 2019 edition includes the continuing evolution of the iconic Porsche 911. He also looks at the market success of the Cayenne, Cayman, Macan and Panamera. Competition coverage is expanded to include the exotic 918 hybrid and the winning 919 Hybrid LMP1 racer. A final chapter on Porsche's high-performance, all-electric Taycan production car points the way to the iconic sports-car maker's future.

Contributor Bio:Ludvigsen, Karl E
Author Karl Ludvigsen is among today's most respected automotive historians. He has served as technical editor of Auto Age and Sports Cars Illustrated magazines, as east coast editor of Motor Trend and as editor of Car and Driver. He is the author, co-author or editor of over four dozen books about cars and the motor industry and was awarded the Friend of Automotive History award by the Society of Automotive Historian