Porsche is having a bass-ackwards party. The German brand is celebrating over 75 years of "doing everything wrong" with a stylish promotional video which, of course, is really bragging about going against the grain. It's a fun, yet slick, "they said we couldn't, but we did" piece of marketing. We're cool with that.The video starts off by talking about putting the engine in the rear of a sports car, which started with the Porsche 356 and went into production in 1948. The video also talks about putting the ignition on the left of the wheel, building four-door and electric sports cars, and using the Porsche community as an example that luxury "isn't for the few." Porsche Doesn't Mention A Performance SUV YouTube/Porsche Curiously, one of Porsche's greatest moments isn't directly mentioned. Not including a line like "They told us we couldn't build a performance SUV," seems like a missed opportunity, as the Cayenne is one of the most obvious vehicles that helped shape the modern automotive landscape. Porsche may not publicly say that it was a brilliant business decision that saved the brand despite the initial push back from pretty much everyone. But in hindsight, this was a game-changer in more ways than one. Fun To Debate YouTube/Porsche Porsche brings up in the video about its habit of having the ignition key or start button on the opposite side of the steering wheel to the shifter. According to Porsche, it's a part of the brand that dates back to the motorsports Le Mans start, back when drivers had to run across the track to their cars, climb in, start the car, and drive away to begin the race. According to Porsche, having the ignition key on the left saved the driver tenths of a second when starting the car.In reality, we can see in images of the 356 that Porsche put the key on the opposite side of the shifter in 1948. In post-war Germany, copper wiring and electrical components were expensive. However, Porsche entered Le Mans for the first time in 1951 with the 356 SL, which pictures show had the key on the same side of the shifter. And so did all its race cars through the 1950s and most of the 1960s. But, the Porsche 907 won its class in 1967 with a right-hand-drive/right-hand-shifter/left-hand ignition arrangement – which does look deliberate. Porsche carried that on with the 908 race car. About The Engine In The Rear YouTube/PorscheWe vaguely recall a joke about Porsche clearly being run by men, because they would rather spend decades forcing a rear-engine layout to work than admit a mistake was made. Indeed, almost every generation of 911 has brought the rear-mounted engine a little further forward, to the point that it's now almost a rear-mid mount in the same way a front-engine car can be front-mid once it moves behind the axle. But, that doesn't change the uniqueness of the 911's handling characteristics, which have proven to be incredibly effective over the decades.Another powerful comment Porsche makes in the video pertains to air-cooling versus water-cooled engines:. "They said we’d ruin everything if we gave up air-cooled engines. We replied that progress doesn’t ask for permission." That's a surprisingly strong thing for Porsche to declare, because it was mainly the Porsche hardcore saying things along those same lines. But, Porsche is correct there. Time was up for the air-cooled Porsche 911 engine, and as a result, we now have the fastest, best-handling 911s of all time.Source: Porsche
