Zuffenhausen: 75 Years of Porsche’s Legendary Sports Car Heritage
The first Porsche 356 built in Germany was completed on 6 April 1950, initiating a remarkable success story. Over several decades, Zuffenhausen evolved into the core site of Porsche’s sports car production. Today, this location also manufactures engines, electric drives and personalised customer vehicles.
Seventy-five years ago, Porsche started producing the 356 in Stuttgart. On 6 April 1950, the inaugural car of the new series emerged from Zuffenhausen, triggering the start of Porsche’s celebrated production story. Since then, this site has become inseparable from the brand’s sports cars: the iconic 911, which has been in production here since 1964, the 718 range and the all-electric Taycan. “Zuffenhausen remains the home of our sports cars. It exemplifies visionary thinking, cutting-edge production technologies and exceptional artistry,” says Albrecht Reimold, Member of the Executive Board for Production and Logistics at Porsche AG. “The site’s evolution demonstrates how Porsche transformed from a small sports car maker into a global leader producing exclusive vehicles.”
Porsche established roots in Zuffenhausen in 1938, initially as a design office. The production of Porsche-badged cars began only after the Second World War. On 8 June 1948, the Porsche 356 ‘No.1’ Roadster received its general operating permit. The first 52 units of the rear-engined 356, all featuring rear emergency seats, were painstakingly built with aluminium bodies in Austria between 1948 and 1950. These models served as a blueprint for the later 356 from Stuttgart. Upon returning to Swabia, the Allies occupied Porsche’s plant. While the main design office operated out of a barracks on Schwieberdinger Strasse, Porsche rented space across the road at Reutter Plant II to handle engine production and assembly. In exchange, the coachbuilder received a contract to produce complete, painted and fully outfitted bodies at Reutter Plant I on Augustenstrasse in western Stuttgart until 1953.
On 6 April 1950, the first Porsche 356 was completed in Zuffenhausen. By the end of that year, the company had built 317 cars. Successes in motorsport and soaring export demand turned the 356 into a major triumph for Porsche. Delays in regaining control of Werk 1 from the US military administration prompted Porsche to commission renowned Stuttgart architect Rolf Gutbrod to design Werk 2. This assembly hall, built on land purchased from Reutter, went into operation in 1952 and expanded by 1954. At the end of 1955, Porsche returned to its original building at Werk 1 in Zuffenhausen, housing the design department, commercial staff, repair workshop for company and customer vehicles, and the test and development department for race cars. Production, sales and parts distribution stayed in Werk 2. Engine production began in Werk 3 in 1960, and on 1 December 1963, Porsche acquired the Reutter body shop and its valuable expertise, adding around 1,000 employees—nearly doubling its workforce. By securing the Zuffenhausen site, Porsche assured its future there. That same year, the first 911—then still known as the 901—rolled off the Zuffenhausen production line. By 356 production ended in 1965, Porsche had built roughly 78,000 units. Over the following decades, the company systematically extended and modernised its production space.
As early as the 1950s, Porsche established a production principle in Zuffenhausen that still applies today: flexible manufacturing of multiple variants on one line. Coupé, Cabriolet, Roadster and Speedster versions of the Porsche 356 were produced simultaneously and finished individually. This approach—maintaining high efficiency and quality across various models—has remained a hallmark of the headquarters. Even now, Zuffenhausen’s defining feature is the single production line for all 911 models and variants, from the Carrera to the high-performance GT models and Cup cars. The factory’s saddlery creates and assembles intricate interior components by hand.
In the 1960s, the 911 eventually replaced the 356. Porsche expanded production and built new facilities. Engine construction moved to a separate location, and Werk 2—already undergoing continual expansion—was augmented by another hall. Building 41, a multi-storey assembly building was added in 1969 to streamline production and boost capacity.
By 1973, around 4,000 people worked at Porsche. By the late 1980s, that figure had more than doubled across the company’s three sites: the Zuffenhausen production location, the Weissach Research and Development Centre, and administrative offices in Ludwigsburg. Zuffenhausen steadily grew along with increased production volumes in the following decades. During the 1970s and 1980s, Porsche built front-engined models such as the 928, 944 and 968 alongside the 911.
During the 1980s, body production in Zuffenhausen neared its capacity limits, prompting an expansion of the facilities. Werk 5, designed for highly flexible body production, was constructed in 1988. A distinctive conveyor bridge soon became a focal point of the new system, carrying completed car bodies at a height of roughly 35 metres over the bustling Schwieberdinger Strasse to reach the final assembly line in Werk 2.
Over the years, Porsche has continually modernised Zuffenhausen through renovations, expansions and new buildings. The company has consistently used creativity and innovation to meet ever-increasing demands for precision, efficiency and flexibility.
Another pivotal moment in the plant’s history arrived when Porsche prepared to launch the all-electric Taycan, which entered series production in 2019. This transition saw the addition of new production areas: a dedicated body shop in Werk 5 and a modern paint shop at Werk 1, designed to meet the distinct requirements of e-mobility. Meanwhile, a contemporary assembly building featuring a modular linear structure was established at Werk 2, facing Adestrasse. A second conveyor bridge was added over Schwieberdinger Strasse to seamlessly integrate the new production logistics.
Zuffenhausen is a testament to precision, innovation and exceptional craftsmanship. In this place, Porsche melds heritage with cutting-edge manufacturing technologies such as driverless transport systems, a central factory cloud and artificial intelligence. The site hosts the primary production centre for the 911 and the all-electric Taycan. Spanning approximately one square kilometre in northern Stuttgart, the Zuffenhausen complex also accommodates two engine factories that build boxer engines for sports cars, V8 engines for four-door combustion models and electric motors for both the Taycan and the electric Macan.
Additionally, three specialist departments operate here: Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, which offers extensive personalisation for customer vehicles; the Sonderwunsch department, dedicated to crafting unique, bespoke cars; and the CFRP Manufaktur, which manually assembles exterior carbon fibre reinforced polymer body components for lightweight sports car models such as the 911 S/T and the 911 GT3 RS.
Alongside Zuffenhausen and Weissach, Leipzig completes Porsche’s production network. From 2002 to 2016, the Cayenne was produced in Leipzig, while the Carrera GT joined it from 2003 to 2006. In 2009, Porsche began manufacturing the Panamera sports saloon there, and the Macan followed in 2014. Between 2011 and 2014, Porsche transformed the Leipzig site into a fully-fledged production facility.
At Zuffenhausen, Porsche fuses the efficiency of industrial-scale production with the exclusivity of bespoke sports car craftsmanship. “Zuffenhausen remains the home of our sports cars. This is where we build cars that captivate the world—using a production system that has united artisan skill and engineering expertise for 75 years,” Reimold emphasises. As Porsche marks this milestone, it not only honours its illustrious heritage but also looks to the future: Zuffenhausen, like Weissach and the whole plant in Leipzig, embodies pioneering technologies, outstanding manufacturing quality, and Porsche’s enduring quest to approach the perfect sports car ever more closely.
