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1949 Gm?nd Porsche shows the birth of an icon

The Austrian village of Gmünd is more than just difficult to pronounce; it's also the birthplace of the Porsche brand. Before the company ever started building sports cars at its current home base near Stuttgart, the fledgling business completed several vehicles in the tiny town in Southern Austria. In this video, former Pikes Peak International Hill Climb champion Jeff Zwart takes a look at a 1949 Gmünd coupe to see how the company has evolved since its earliest days.
The thing to note about the Gmünd-built Porsches is their absolute design simplicity. The phrase "form follows function" gets bandied around a lot, but it really means something when you look at these early cars. However, the minimalism was partially out of necessity. The vehicles were meant to be sporty but certainly weren't rockets. Power came courtesy of a modified Volkswagen Beetle engine, and anything extraneous would have slowed the models down. Scroll down to watch Zwart go back in time to Porsche's beginnings.

Porsche 911 GT3 wows the crowds in Geneva

Porsche has a long and storied history of taking its range-topping 911 sportscar racing, with an enviable record of achievements in tow. The latest machine with which the automaker will take to the track can be seen above: the fifth-generation 2014 911 GT3.
With 475 horsepower strumming through the 3.8-liter six-cylinder boxer engine, this is the pinnacle of naturally aspirated performance from Porsche. It can go from 0 to 60 in just 3.3 seconds, hit a top speed of 195 miles per hour and has lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in less than seven and a half minutes.
A dual-clutch PDK transmission (no standard manual gearbox will be offered) with shorter gearing than lesser 911 models sends power to the rear wheels. Providing forward motion isn't the only thing those rear wheels will be doing - Porsche says the 2014 911 GT3 is fitted with the manufacturer's first active rear-wheel steering.

Petrolicious details why the Porsche 911 is something special

The Porsche 911 is a special car, if for no other reasons than it's been continuously produced since 1964, with nearly every generation regarded as being at or near the top of its class. But why the rear-engined icon has done so well among enthusiasts and regular drivers alike can't always be explained easily. To truly understand the 911, you have to experience the whole package, and that means driving one.
While just about every publication has raved about the Porsche, commercial director, race driver, photographer and 911 owner Jeff Zwart explains to Petrolicious why he was drawn to the legend as a young child, and why he still loves them today.
Zwart's professional and personal life are inextricably linked to the 911, and hearing him talk about the car and its history makes for fascinating viewing. Watch the video below to hear Zwart's story and see him drive a couple examples from his collection: an early 911 and the 964-generation Carrera 4 he won Pikes Peak with for the first time - a car that happens to be equipped with the 959 Paris-Dakar's fascinating torque-split transmission. Enjoy!