17 secret Porsches hidden in plain sight

Porsche has a talent for making cars drive brilliantly, so others sometimes ask for its help. We reveal the cars with a dash of Porsche magic.

  • With a little help from Porsche

    With a little help from Porsche

    © Audi

    When is a Porsche not a Porsche? Scratch beneath the surface of some vehicles and you’ll discover input from Stuttgart’s finest sports car company. From the people’s car to F1 cars, we’ve got it covered.

  • Audi RS2 Avant

    Audi RS2 Avant

    © Audi

    The RS2 was the first RS-badged Audi and – thanks in no small part to Porsche – gained legendary status. Its body may have been built in Ingolstadt, but the heart of the RS2 could be found in Zuffenhausen. Back in 1994, the Audi RS2 was the quickest estate car on the planet. Labradors had never travelled faster.

  • Audi RS2 Avant

    Audi RS2 Avant

    © Audi

    Once the Audi 80 had been shipped to Stuttgart, Porsche set about a transformation that would have pleased Gok Wan. A larger turbocharger was bolted to Audi’s famous 2.2-liter five-cylinder engine, with the result a massive 315hp. Porsche also fitted Brembo brakes, uprated the suspension and reworked the six-speed gearbox. The alloy wheels and door mirrors were also lifted from the Porsche parts bin.

  • Audi RS2 Avant

    Audi RS2 Avant

    © Audi

    A hefty £45,705 secured you a 163mph rocket ship, with an ability to shoot past 62mph in 4.8 seconds. A total of 2,896 RS2s were sold, with 180 converted to right-hand drive. It laid the foundations for a future of fast Audi wagons.

  • Mercedes-Benz 500 E

    Mercedes-Benz 500 E

    © Mercedes-Benz

    The formidable Mercedes-Benz 500 E was also assembled by Porsche and, like the Audi RS2, it wasn’t what you’d call cheap. Indeed, at its launch, the 500 E had a price tag of 134,520 Deutschmarks, double that of the 300 E.

  • Mercedes-Benz 500 E

    Mercedes-Benz 500 E

    © Classic Car Auctions

    But dare we say it was worth every penny? In classic Q-car style, the exterior gave little away, but under the hood you’d find the 32-valve 5.0-liter V8 engine from the Mercedes-Benz SL. The bodies-in-white were painted at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen, with the final assembly the responsibility of Porsche in Zuffenhausen.

  • Mercedes-Benz 500 E

    Mercedes-Benz 500 E

    © Classic Car Auctions

    Porsche was involved with the project from the outset, with Mercedes-Benz keen to blend the concept of a saloon with the performance of a sports car. The results were astonishing, with early examples of the 500 E developing 326hp, enough for a limited top speed of 155mph and 0-62mph in 6.1 seconds.

  • Volvo 850 T5-R

    Volvo 850 T5-R

    © Volvo

    It won’t come as a surprise to discover that one of the hottest Volvos in history was developed with the help of Porsche. The 850 T5-R was an indication that Volvo was keen to shake off its safe and sensible image, replacing it with something a little racier. Away went the slacks and in came the stockings and suspenders.

  • Volvo 850 T5-R

    Volvo 850 T5-R

    © Volvo

    Porsche assisted with the engine tuning and the transmission, along with the interior, including the delightful Alcantara seats. The 850 T5-R certainly looked the part, but the exterior modifications were kept to a minimum. It was quite the Q-car, unless you opted for the Cream Yellow paint.

  • Volvo 850 T5-R

    Volvo 850 T5-R

    © Volvo

    The 850 T5-R could accelerate to 60mph in under six seconds, going on to reach a top speed limited to 155mph. Astonishing figures for a car that wasn’t designed with performance in mind. That said, owners did end up being on first name terms with gas station staff and tire fitters. The 850 wagon enjoyed a short career in the British Touring Car Championship, too.

  • Volkswagen Beetle

    Volkswagen Beetle

    © Volkswagen

    That the Volkswagen Beetle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche is hardly a secret, but 80 years on, the story is no less compelling. In fact, had Ferdinand Porsche made a different decision, the Beetle could have been the Soviet Union’s people’s car.

  • Volkswagen Beetle

    Volkswagen Beetle

    © Volkswagen

    As a young apprentice, Ferdinand Porsche had caught the eye of Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin. In 1932, Stalin invited Porsche to Moscow with a view to heading up the development of the Soviet car industry. Porsche declined.

  • Volkswagen Beetle

    Volkswagen Beetle

    © Volkswagen

    That left Ferdinand Porsche free to accept a contract from Adolf Hitler to design West Germany’s national car, which he signed in June 1934. Porsche was involved with the decision to base the huge Volkswagen plant at Wolfsburg. Hitler wanted to call the factory ‘Porsche Plant’, but Ferdinand Porsche declined. The rest, as they say, is history.

  • Skoda Favorit

    Skoda Favorit

    © Skoda

    While the nation was busy laughing at ill-informed jokes at Skoda’s expense, the Czech firm was quietly laying the foundations for a formidable future. Though we did not know it at the time, the Favorit of 1987 was the final car designed and built by Skoda before Volkswagen came knocking.

  • Skoda Favorit

    Skoda Favorit

    © Skoda

    To help build its first front-wheel-drive car, Skoda assembled an all-star cast, with Bertone sorting the styling, Ricardo Consulting tweaking the engine and Porsche working on the front suspension. Yes, really.

  • Skoda Favorit

    Skoda Favorit

    © Skoda

    Porsche also helped with the engine mountings and the net effect was a thoroughly convincing and cost-effective hatchback. The Skoda Favorit was light, easy to drive and economical.

  • Seat Ibiza

    Seat Ibiza

    © Seat

    The ‘System Porsche’ decals added some much needed glamour to the original Seat Ibiza – the first truly domestic car created by the Spanish firm. The neat, Giugiaro-penned styling played a part in its success, but input from Stuttgart certainly helped.

  • Seat Ibiza

    Seat Ibiza

    © Seat

    Some versions were powered by Porsche, with the German firm receiving seven Deutschmarks for every System Porsche Ibiza sold. The supermini would go on to become Seat’s most successful export and best selling car.

  • Seat Ibiza

    Seat Ibiza

    © Seat

    A total of 1,308,461 first-generation Ibizas were sold and it was the official car of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.

  • Mercedes-Benz T80

    Mercedes-Benz T80

    © Mercedes-Benz

    The Mercedes-Benz T80 was designed by Ferdinand Porsche and powered by a huge Daimler-Benz DB 603 V12 engine developing 3,000hp.

  • Mercedes-Benz T80

    Mercedes-Benz T80

    © Mercedes-Benz

    The plan was to set a land speed record on a stretch of motorway near Dessau, Germany, but the outbreak of World War II prevented the T80 from hitting the road.

  • Mercedes-Benz T80

    Mercedes-Benz T80

    © Mercedes-Benz

    Had things gone according to plan, the Mercedes-Benz T80 could have hit a top speed of 373mph. It now lives in the Mercedes-Benz museum.

  • VAZ-Porsche 2103

    VAZ-Porsche 2103

    © VAZ-Porsche

    Jalopnik tells a story of how the then Porsche chairman met with the Soviet car industry leader and signed a three-year deal for Porsche to help design Ladas.

  • VAZ-Porsche 2103

    VAZ-Porsche 2103

    © VAZ-Porsche

    The VAZ-Porsche 2103 was planned to be a facelift of the Lada, with Porsche working on the suspension, interior and exterior. The changes were rejected, bringing things to an abrupt end. But not quite…

  • Lada Samara

    Lada Samara

    © Lada

    Because Porsche helped develop the engine of the Lada Samara, introduced in 1984. And that’s not all, because the Lada Samara T3 Paris-Dakar rally car featured the four-wheel system from a Porsche 959 and a 3.6-liter engine from a Porsche 911. Incredible.

  • Porsche 64

    Porsche 64

    © RM Sotheby's

    OK, so we’re stretching things here, because – as you can see – the Type 64 features some giveaway P.O.R.S.C.H.E letters on the front. Ferdinand Porsche designed the car in 1938 for the planned Berlin-Rome long-distance race.

  • Porsche 64

    Porsche 64

    © RM Sotheby's

    The Type 64 was the first car produced by what would become the Porsche company, with Ferdinand Porsche driving the car on public roads. Its aerodynamic properties and aluminium construction meant it was far ahead of its time.

  • Porsche 64

    Porsche 64

    © RM Sotheby's

    The Porsche 64 featured a 1.1-liter engine developing close to 50hp, with a top speed of 90mph. On drives between Stuttgart and Berlin it achieved an average speed of 80mph, which was quite remarkable for the time.

  • C88 China Car

    C88 China Car

    © C88

    Given Porsche’s experience with Germany’s ‘people’s car’, it’s no surprise to discover the company answered the call to create something similar for China. This is the C88 of 1994.

  • C88 China Car

    C88 China Car

    © C88

    The C88 displayed no Porsche badges and – in accordance with China’s policy on children – featured one child seat. Although it was a one-off, with the benefit of hindsight, the C88 looks wonderfully forward-thinking.

  • McLaren MP4

    McLaren MP4

    © Goodwood

    The McLaren MP4/1, MP4/2 and MP4/3 Formula One cars were powered by a 1.5-liter TAG-Porsche V6 engine, with the MP4/1 switching from the 3.0-liter Ford-Cosworth V8.

  • Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk7

    Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk7

    © Volkswagen

    We end where it all began for Porsche: with a Volkswagen. Porsche’s involvement with the Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk7 is at best described as ‘in spirit’ rather than anything else. The link is a man called Karsten Schebsdat.

  • Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk7

    Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk7

    © Volkswagen

    Schebsdat made the outgoing Golf GTI the prodigious all-rounder it is, utilising the resources at his disposal to endow it with a clever limited-slip differential, adaptive damping and impeccable balance. His previous credits include the first Ford Focus, Golf GTI Mk2 and, not long before joining Volkswagen again, the Porsche 997 GT3.

  • Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk7

    Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk7

    © Volkswagen

    The Mk7 benefits from that GT3 experience, and a man with obvious talent in setting up cars. The Mk7 GTI isn’t labelled as a Porsche, but it’s got that inexplicable feel to it.