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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.

Watch 1,208 Porsche 911s collect at Silverstone for world record

Porsche has been spending the majority of 2013 celebrating the 50th birthday of the 911, with its latest stunt taking the German brand to the home of British motorsports, Silverstone. To celebrate, Porsche invited enthusiasts to take their personal 911s on a lap of the former airfield, and boy, did the Porschephiles show up. 1,208 911s took part in the lap around the Grand Prix circuit, making it the largest-ever gathering of the iconic, rear-engined cars.
This wasn't just a celebration of 50 years for the 911, though. Funds raised were channeled towards Hope For Tomorrow, a cancer charity that works with the United Kingdom's National Health Service in operating mobile chemothereapy units that make life just a little bit easier on cancer patients.
Take a look at the long video below, and enjoy the passing of what are likely examples of every 911 model ever built.

Porsche Classic puts modern navigation in older cars [w/video]

People drive classic vehicles for many, many reasons. Maybe it's because they're cool, or they bring back memories, or perhaps they just want to take a trip back in time, before the days of adaptive cruise control, massaging seats and satellite navigation. You know, back to when driving was about, well, driving. Someone did not mention this reasoning to Porsche, because the German company has decided to offer the tiniest, most ridiculous in-dash navigation system we've ever laid eyes on, through its Porsche Classic line. Because, you know, people don't own smartphones nowadays. In fact, most smartphones are significantly bigger than Porsche's new nav setup. The touchscreen is just 3.5 inches in size, although its graphical layout is clean and in line with the company's more modern offerings. It also integrates a new entertainment system, which adds Bluetooth connectivity and a 4x45 watt amp. The system is being offered for a wide array of vintage Porsches, ranging from the most modern, air-cooled 993s, all the way back to the earliest 911. Four-cylinder and V8 models, as well as front and mid-engine cars, can be fitted with the nav system, too. Porsche Classic has priced the new system at the frankly absurd price of 1,184 euros ($1,344 at today's rates), though we're sure a large number will indeed be sold and installed. Dedicated US pricing is still pending. Check out Porsche's rather silly video of the system in action, available alongside the full press release below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. PORSCHE CLASSIC BRINGS OUT NEW NAVIGATION RADIO FOR CLASSIC SPORTS CARS True-to-style upgrade with state-of-the-art technology Atlanta. Classic on the outside yet ultra-modern on the inside: with its newly developed navigation radio, Porsche is responding to the growing demand for a built-in device for classic sports cars. The purpose-built unit combines the style of yesteryear with the benefits of modern technology. It fits perfectly into the DIN-1 slot that has been used in the sports cars for decades and is operated by means of two knobs, six discreetly integrated buttons and a touch-sensitive 3.5-inch display. Thanks to the appearance of the black surface and the shape of the knobs, which are supplied in two authentically styled versions as standard, the navigation radio blends harmoniously into the dashboard of classic Porsche models.