Porsche
The 57th most valuable brand globally, Porsche is valued at in excess of £10 billion. While today Porsche is viewed as the personification of speed and luxury, it wasn’t always the case.
Back in 1931 when Porsche was founded by Ferdinand Porsche, the car maker's original remit was to help develop vehicles for - you guessed it - the likes of Volkswagen. And in particular, the Beetle.
It was only after the Second World War that Porsche began constructing its own cars, starting with the 356. A vehicle which by all intents and purpose borrowed a number of key design characteristics from that original Beetle. Perhaps most notably, the rear-mounted air-cooled four-cylinder engine.
On the back of the 356, the seminal Porsche 911 was later borne, and many incarnations down the road from the initial 1963 model is still regarded as the ultimate supercar to many.
A sometimes-tumultuous relationship, successive generations of the Porsche and Piech families have tried to conspire against each other in one of the automotive world’s longest-running feuds/soap operas.
Which almost reached a nadir in the early 2000’s when Porsche and Volkswagen each both tried to take over the other.
