Porsche vs Ferrari

By AdNews | 2 June 2006

HISTORY Porsche was founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, the engineer who created the first Volkswagen. 4/5 Ferrari was founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929 to prepare Alfa Romeo race cars. The first official Ferrari car was made in 1940. 3/5 LOGO Porsche's logo uses the emblem of the German state of Württemberg and the coat of arms of its home town, Stuttgart - a black prancing horse on a yellow shield. Typically Germanic and fairly uninspiring despite its rich heritage. 3/5 Ferrari's famous logo also features a black prancing horse on a yellow background, this one below the Italian green, white and red. Stuttgart translates roughly into Italian as scuderia (stable), the word used for Ferrari's racing team. 5/5 SALES Porsche sold 1,205 vehicles in Australia in 2005 according to VFACTS; 414 of those were SUVs. It claims global sales of around 90,000 vehicles. 4/5 Just 76 Ferraris were sold in Australia in 2005 according to VFACTS. This is deliberate - the company has a self-imposed production limit of 4,300 cars globally, to ensure exclusivity. 4/5 PROFITS Porsche claims to be the most profitable car company in the world in terms of profit margin per unit sold - in 2005 it had a net profit of US$948.9 million on sales of US$7.97 billion. 5/5 Ferrari is 56%-owned by FIAT, which has struggled to turn a profit from the glamour brand. In 2004 it recorded a net loss of US$36.8 million on sales of US$2.06 billion. 1/5 MOTOR RACING Porsche is the most successful team owner in the history of the 24 hours of Le Mans race, where it has won overall honours a record 16 times. 4/5 Ferrari is the oldest and most successful Formula 1 racing team with 14 drivers championships from the likes of Fangio, Lauda, Prost and Schumacher. 5/5 FAMOUS DEATHS Twenty-four-year-old film star James Dean died in a 1955 pearl-grey Porsche Spyder 550 in September 1955 near Cholame, California, turning him into an instant icon. 5/5 During a practice run in Zolder, Belgium, popular Formula 1 racing driver Gilles Villeneuve's speeding Ferrari hit the rear of another race car and he was killed. 3/5 SPEED The latest Porsche 911 Turbo is the fastest accelerating Porsche ever, able to reach 100km/h in 3.7 seconds. Its top speed is 310km/h. 4/5 The fantastically expensive Ferrari Enzo can accelerate to 100km/h in 3.3 seconds and its top speed is over 360km/h. 5/5 PORSCHE 29/35 FERRARI 26/35

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