All language subtitles for Supercar.Superbuild.S02E02.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-RAWR_track4_[eng]

(engine roaring)

- [Narrator] It's a
machine beloved by purists.

(engine revving)

- It's a symbol for Germany.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] A car admired by drivers.

(engine revving)

- Getting better at every model we build.

- [Narrator] And a high performance
vehicle hated by rivals.

- When you're number one, you
got a target on your back.

- [Narrator] The Porsche 911.

Perhaps the most iconic
sports car ever made.

- You're not working for paid goods,

you work here because the very
special products we produce.

- [Narrator] After half
a century of success,

it's now imprisoned by its past.

- Whenever there's a new 911 generation,

there's a debate If
this car is still a 911.

(engine revving)

- [Narrator] Now the newest version

steps away from tradition
and undergoes radical change,

adding turbochargers to the full lineup

for the very first time.

- The 911 represents the brand purity.

If you screw up your iconic
vehicle, your identifier,

it challenges the whole
image of your brand.

- [Narrator] The result is a sports car

that looks like a 911

(engine roaring)

but does it act like one?

(engine roaring)

(dramatic music)

(engines revving)

(tires squealing)

(engine revving)

(tires chuffing)
(engine revving)

It goes from zero to a hundred
KPH in just 4.6 seconds.

Hits a top speed of
307 kilometers per hour

and starts at just over 82,000 euros.

This is the all new Porsche 911 Carrera S,

a machine that blends
racetrack performance

with sporty luxury

and is born into one of the
most illustrious car families

in the world.

- The 911 is is one of
the longest running names

in the sports car scene.

The brand, it would not exist
if it weren't for this car.

- [Narrator] - The machine
garners worldwide attention

but it actually comes to
life in a tiny suburb located

just outside of Stuttgart, Germany.

- The Porsche factory is
located in Zuffenhausen,

which is a suburb of Stuttgart.

- [Narrator] - Even
though the town is small,

the competition here is fierce.

- If you live in Stuttgart,

you either work for
Mercedes-Benz or Porsche.

Both are great but we in Zuffenhausen

do it just a little bit better.

(dynamic music)

- [Narrator] - Zuffenhausen
is one of the most important

automotive locations on the planet.

This is both the ancestral and
the current home of the 911.

- Definitely something that warms my heart

whenever I go there.

This is really a place
filled with history.

(grinder whirring)

- [Narrator] - The car they build

is revered by fans and factory workers.

(hammer popping)

- Every car is manufactured
here by the heart of the people.

- We are petrol heads and we
have a saying here, Porsche,

that is once Porsche ever Porsche.

(Cekin speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] As a Stuttgarter

I'm very proud to build Porsches.

It's very good.

(contemplative music)
- The pride for the car

cuts right to the core of the nation.

- The Porsche 911 is definitely
one of Germany's car icons

and most people know
this coming from Germany.

- [Narrator] The national
honor is apparent

on the factory floor
where newly painted bodies

enter every three and a half minutes.

- We decide to, to put the doors
off at the rather beginning

to ensure that you had no damage.

- [Narrator] Company
veteran Wolfgang Reiss

is the man in charge of 911 production.

- It's a a combination of
of handicraft knowledge

because the knowhow comes from doing,

you must work with the cars.

You must build them up.

From body and wide, from paint job onwards

and to the final assembly
line where we are right now.

(alarm chiming)

- [Narrator] Then it's time to stamp

the unique identification number.

(machine tapping)

(Christian speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] There's only space

to engrave the number in the allotted time

and if you don't make
it the whole line stops.

You must finish and only
then can work continue.

In that sense there's a little
time pressure but it's fine.

(roller bed rattling)

- [Narrator] Next they wire the machine.

(Christian speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] Now we're
already at station two.

This is where we install
the wiring harness.

It's uncoiled, pulled to
both sides, and clipped in.

- [Narrator] The size of the harness

is a reflection of a core belief.

At Porsche, every button
does just one job.

Just as every worker aims
to do one task perfectly.

- Yeah, there are a lot
of wires in the car.

We got, yeah, a couple of
kilometers wiring in all the car.

We just want to put out a
hundred percent quality.

(pensive music)

- [Narrator] - On this hallowed floor.

The goal is not being flawless.

It's something far greater.

- It's not perfect, it's really perfect.

- [Narrator] - The mission
to move beyond perfection

comes from a one of a
kind sports car culture.

Porsche mass produces machines
with handcrafted precision

and every year they build
just under 30,000 911s.

(Christian speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] I'm proud
to work for this company.

There's a feeling of pride

because it's still a traditional
family company in my eyes

and there are not too many
of those left in Germany.

To me it's the best company in the world.

- [Narrator] The quest for
excellence starts early.

- I can still remember the first day

my dad turned in to the garage with 911.

It was 30 years ago almost

and that was the day when I got fixed.

- My dad is working for
Porsche for 30 years.

I was a child and I see
the all the workers,

I see the cars and it was
a dream for me to work here

and so my dad do it.

I do it again.

- [Narrator] - Workers
aren't the only ones wowed,

the line is almost as
fast as the car itself.

- We have 118 stations,

and tech time right now about 3.7 minutes.

We are talking about a lot of complexity

and derivatives on this one assembly line.

- [Narrator] The amount
of choice is overwhelming.

They build 16 different
variants of the 911,

but it certainly didn't
start out that way.

(engine roaring)

(welder crackling)

The tale begins in 1875 with
the birth of Ferdinand Porsche.

- In 1931, he started up
his own construction office.

- [Narrator] Ferdinand's
engineering company

quickly develops into a powerhouse.

- He wants to offer his knowledge

to the whole automobile industry.

The construction office became the nucleus

of the European automobile scene.

He was working on race
cars, on compact cars,

even on on little tractors so
it was really a big spectrum

of of technologies.

In many cases,

he was the first in
the in the game in 1898

he built the first electric car,

in 1900 the first hybrid car.

He designed the Volkswagen Beetle,

which was a kind of an
important car in history.

- [Narrator] The Volkswagen Beetle

is one of the most significant
cars of the 20th century.

It widens the availability
of motorized transportation

for the masses and lays the foundation

for the Porsche brand we know today.

- There was the concept
of the rear engine.

There was the idea of a
sort of a streamlined body.

- [Narrator] The rear engine
approach begins with the Beetle

but it becomes famous thanks to the 911.

(engine revving)

- Driving a 911 hard is unique

because it's a rear engine car

and that affects the balance
of a car in interesting ways.

(engine roaring)

- [Narrator] Today the 911
has won over 30,000 races

and is known as one of the
world's preeminent sports cars.

Yet what makes it unique is
also its greatest liability.

(tires squealing)

(engine roaring)

For over 50 years, the
911 has been an icon

of the sports car world, turning
both fast laps and heads.

- Sometimes we have the chance to drive.

It's very special.

You feel it's like sitting in a rocket.

They're pushed in the seats.

(engine roaring)

- One of the most important
things about the 911 is they

haven't ever screwed up
the sports car side of it.

They never lost the edge.

It is still an amazing car to drive fast.

(engine roaring)

- [Narrator] - Today the
911 fly is on the track

and on the factory floor.

103 machines roll off the line per shift

thanks to a highly bonded
team of craftspeople.

- You are with the people here
more than with your family.

These are my friends

and after we can go in
a barn and drink a beer.

- [Narrator] When a shift ends,

some workers might enjoy
a beverage together

but at the windshield preparation station

the goal is to actually keep liquid out.

- This station we put
on the rubber sealing

for the windscreen.

We've gotta be very careful
to put the sealing in here

and nothing breaks or get loose.

Everything is running really
smooth like a a gearbox.

- [Narrator] The factory
runs like a gearbox

but it's where the engine sits in a 911

that makes it special.

(engine roaring)

- That weight balance makes this car drive

in a totally unique way.

- [Narrator] The rear engine layout

is a hallmark of the machine

and perhaps the worst way
to build a sports car.

- A Porsche engineer, if
you get 'em drunk enough,

will tell you that putting the engine

out behind the rear
axle is a terrible place

from an engineering perspective.

(engine roaring)

- You have the heaviest
components in the car

behind the rear axle

and if you think of how a pendulum works,

if you think about what happens to the car

when it starts to rotate,

where that weight wants to
take the rear end of the car.

- [Narrator] Building a car

with the heaviest in the back

creates a unique driving
experience thanks to physics.

(pensive music)

The 911 showcases exactly how the concepts

of under steer and over steer work.

- Under steer is when you
see what you're gonna hit

and overs steer is when you don't.

Under steer is when the
front wheels lose grip

and you've got the steering wheel turned

and the car's not turning.

It's gonna go straight right into

whatever is in front of you.

Oversteer is when the back
end of the car comes loose

and the car wants to spin out on you.

(tires squealing)

- [Narrator] Staying in control
is partly about the feel

and partly about the information you see.

Much of that data is relayed

on the sport-orientated dashboard.

- The dashboard assembly is
running in the same tech time,

like the main assembly line.

There's no buffer between.

- [Narrator] The build
starts in another building

on the Zuffenhausen campus

where artisan leather
workers bring fresh cow hides

to an advanced layout table.

They scan the hide for defects

and arrange digital patterns
that maximize the leather.

Then they cut the shapes
out using an air blade.

The raw panels are sent
to a part supermarket

where another craftsperson
creates an interior kit.

Next one of the 280
specialized craftspeople

sews the interior leather panels together.

Finally, the dashboard is
glued using a massive press

- With the 911 it kind of
depends on how you define luxury.

You're getting a nice leather,
certainly nice materials,

but these aren't luxury cars.

These aren't the cars that ride

with total supple smoothness.

You feel the road.

It all comes down

to where your expectations
of the cars sit.

- [Narrator] Next to
the final assembly line

workers install the headlight switch,

the steering column, infotainment system,

iconic gauge cluster with the
tachometer front and center

and finally the idiosyncratic
left-handed starter key.

- They still have the key on the left

and it still comes to
life with a character

that's surely it's synthetic

but still sounds different
than any other sports car.

(engine roaring)

- [Narrator] Placing
the key on the left side

of the instrument panel is a
holdover from Grand Prix racing

in the fifties.

Back then, drivers dashed to their cars

at the start of a race

and fired up the engine
with their left hand

in order to keep the right
hand free for the shifter knob.

(engines roaring)

(pit crew cheering)

Halfway down the first line,

they swing the finished
dashboard into the car

and bolt it into place.

Until now, all 911 variants

have basically been the same,

but that changes at the next station.

- My work today the Targa,
they put the glass roof on it

because the roboter cannot do it.

When I adjusted tolerance
from about one millimeter

to 0.5 millimeter so
it has to be accurate,

- [Narrator] Then it's time
for the factory's only robot

to join the party.

- The robot is a special one.

He's responsible to put in the
screens in the right position

and to fix it for several
seconds with the right pressure

and he's precise.

Really when he put on
the glue on the screen,

that's like perfect.

(robot whirring)

- [Narrator] When the robot finishes,

partially built 911's
ascend downstairs on a lift.

- Downstairs they put together the motor,

transmission and the tires.

Everything.

We're just putting small stuff.

Without us, the car would not drive.

(engine roaring)

(contemplative music)

- [Narrator] - Today 911's are known

as legendary high
performance driving machines.

Thanks in large part to
Ferdinand Porsche's son, Ferry.

- Ferry Porsche.

He stepped into the company
as an intern in 1931.

He didn't went to university.

He was learning by doing

and he had the best
teachers you could imagine

because the construction
offices was a team

of the best car guys you
could find in Europe.

- [Narrator] Ferry takes control
of the engineering business

in 1948.

- It was definitely not
easy for Ferry Porsche

because his father was a genius

and invented so many
famous car technologies.

- [Narrator] The father son relationship

becomes even more complicated

when Ferry sets out to transform
the engineering outpost

into a fully fledged car company.

- It was a very big step

'cause first time the
company changed from being a

construction office into a car maker.

(contemplative music)

- [Narrator] Ferry's dream is
to build a proper sports car.

The result is the 356,

a lightweight four cylinder machine

and the very first vehicle
adorned with the Porsche name.

- This was a very risky business.

It was directly after World War II.

Nobody really needs a sports car.

People were building up Europe again,

and yeah, Ferry Porsche,

he designed a car which he
sold for 10,000 deutsche marks.

Dor this money You could have almost

three Volkswagen beetles this.

This was crazy, but he
realized very quickly

that other people shared his
dream of a perfect sports car.

That's the secret of
the success of the 356.

- [Narrator] The initial
goal is to sell 500 machines.

It's a woeful underestimation.

During machines 18 year production run,

the company sells nearly 80,000 units.

The success keeps Porsche afloat,

but by the late 50s,

Ferry knows the brand needs a new machine

if it wants to continue.

- The 1950s, the society and
the customer base of of Porsche

changed, luckily the third generation

named F.A. Porsche got into the company

and in 1959 he designed the prototype.

(contemplative music)

- [Narrator] Initially the
machinist called the 901

and when it debuts at the
1963 Frankfurt Auto Show,

it catches everyone's eye

including French automaker, Peugeot.

- Peugeot claimed to have the
legal rights for all car names

with three figures and
a zero in the middle.

They still use the system today.

Harry Porsche took a very
pragmatic solution, letters.

They were already produced
so they had the nine

that the zero and the one and so,

in the end they just exchanged
the zero by another one

and the car became the 911.

- [Narrator] The renamed 911

develops an almost fanatical following

amongst serious driving enthusiasts.

(engine roaring)

(contemplative music)

- First time I worked here I
was like, wow, it's extreme

'cause Porsche is super cool.

- Makes me proud to be one of this family

to build this supercars.

- Big emotion and I'm
happy that build a car.

It's this car all over the world.

(engine roaring)

- [Narrator] Part of the machine's appeal

comes from its iconic shape.

- If you ask a little
boy to draw a spots car,

in most cases the result
will look like a Porsche 911.

- Porsche has managed was to
keep the basic ingredients

but turn it into a car that looks modern,

but it still maintains its character.

- The design of the 911 is something

that's been carefully massaged
throughout the decades.

It's they've honed
continually over the years.

(welders crackling)

(pensive music)

- [Narrator] These days they refine

and advance the shape in the body shop

where they build a mixture of
20 911 and boxter exteriors

inside a highly compact facility.

- It is hard to see,
but behind me the robots

are assembling the front end,

the back end, and the middle.

- [Narrator] The first step

is to weld the underbody together.

(welder crackling)

They add the front and
rear crash structures.

Then the rough looking chassis is sent

upstairs to be finished.

- The station's move in a three
and a half minute tech time.

- [Narrator] 240 people work here

and another 200 robots help out.

Together they use a mixture of
materials to create the body.

- Materials used are high
alloyed steels, magnesium

and a lot of aluminum

- [Narrator] They put on the doors.

Part of the process is
manual, the rest is robotic.

- We need the accuracy of the people

and the speed of the robots.

(contemplative music)

- [Narrator] Next, they
bolt on the front fenders.

- [Andreas] After that,
the front lid is mounted.

This is very close to the end of the line.

The body have to be perfect.

(engine roaring)
(tires squealing)

- [Narrator] The iconic looks
and the pursuit of perfection

have been the brand's calling
card for well over 50 years.

- When you're building 911,
you have immense pressure.

There's certain performance
targets you have to hit,

but you also have decades of history

that you have to serve correctly.

- [Narrator] Now the
911's greatest advancement

could be just around the next bend,

but whether Porsche fans agree
with it is anyone's guess.

(engine roaring)

(engine roaring)

For over half a century

the 911 has defined the sports car world

thanks to its idiosyncratic
traits, unique powertrain layout

and high performance history.

(tires squealing)

(engine roaring)

- They found something
that worked for them

and it was unique, different
car that people really loved.

(engine revving)

- [Narrator] The affection
rockets the tiny manufacturer

to fame.

- It is defined the brand.

The 911 is Porsche, Porsche is the 911.

- [Narrator] However, the more success,

the more typecast the car becomes.

(tires squealing)

(engine roaring)

(engine rumbling)

- You can make the
argument that the 911 is

trapped by its history.

- [Narrator] By the late seventies,

the brand is determined to move on.

- They've tried over the years
to replace it with other cars

that are better in in some way
to wean people off of a 911.

- [Narrator] Since engineers
can't modernize the car,

they decide to supplant
it with a new machine

called the 928.

- The 928 was supposed to replace the 911.

It was a V-8 front engine sports
car, luxury super cruiser.

You tear down the Autobahn
a million miles an hour

and nobody bought it.

- [Narrator] In the early
80s, the brand tries again,

this time introducing the 944,

a lower priced four
cylinder front engine car.

- There was a lot of years,

especially like in the 80s

when they really wanted
to do something else,

they really wanted to
build a different car.

- [Narrator] The desire to move on

culminates in a do or die decision.

- The 911 almost ended

until there's a very
famous boardroom meeting

where one of the executives
writes 911 on the board

and says, this is what our brand is

and this is what will
continue to be a Porsche

as they know, for the end of time,

- [Narrator] The stay of
execution keeps the 911 alive,

but it doesn't stop
technology from advancing

- As decades go on we
find ways to improve cars.

Sometimes in a way that
purists don't like.

- [Narrator] To remain at the forefront.

The 911 has to evolve even if
its customers don't like it.

- There's an old quote

that you know will tell
you in business school

that the customer doesn't
know what they want

until you tell them.

(engine roaring)
(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Engineers
decide the only option is

to move on from the car's
traditional air cooled engine

and to switch to a water
cooled power plant.

The Porsche faithful freak out.

- The biggest controversy
in the history of Porsche

was going from air cooled
engines to water cooled engines.

- We were all doubting whether
this was the right way to go

and out of the sudden we
found ourselves in a crisis.

We take away from people
what they have been loving

and replace it with something
that is a different animal.

- This is a point when

there wasn't another car on the planet

that was still running
an air cooled engine.

- When the first water cooled
engine was introduced in 1997,

they said that's the end of the brand.

- [Narrator] The water
cooled car shocks fans.

Yet it also becomes the best selling 911

ever up to that point.

- If you want to get
into trouble stand still.

If you want to avoid that,
you have to move ahead.

- [Narrator] Today the brand
faces a similar challenge

thanks to a similar change

- Starting in 2016,

all 911's regardless of
trim are turbocharged.

- Now you're saying we're
going to add this turbo

to it and the turbocharger,

it changes the
characteristics of an engine,

- Significant of the changes

when they went from air
cooled to water cooled

because it significantly changes

the character of the engine,
which is so vital to the people

who love Porsche 911's.

(engine roaring)

- [Narrator] The man
who carries the burden

is chief engineer August Achleitner.

- When we develop a new 911,

we have a look into the past,

but also we have a look in the future.

The biggest detail is a
completely new powertrain.

The completely new powertrain

is like a transplantation
of the heart of the car.

(pensive music)

This step from the
naturally aspirated engine

to the turbocharge engine

is a bigger step in my
opinion than years ago,

the step from the air cooled engine

to the water cooled engine.

- [Narrator] The turbochargers
deliver more power

and better fuel economy,

yet the danger is they
can also add turbo lag.

(tires chuffing)

- This was a challenge to
have a turbocharge engine

but not to feel you have
a turbo charge engine,

so was a challenge we're here to take.

- [Narrator] The new
turbocharged flat-six engines

are born one bolt at a time

inside another building on
the Zuffenhausen campus.

- This assembly line builds all B motors

for the sports cars.

- [Narrator] The process begins in an area

they call the supermarket.

(dramatic music)

- Here we are at the beginning.

We take the paper and start

to pick the the parts for this engine.

- [Narrator] Each crafts
person collects over 300 parts

before taking them to the line

where every shift they build 250 engines.

- Here we are at the beginning

of the production of the assembly.

Here you see the crank case, the camshaft,

we see the connecting
rods, we see pistons.

The the basic of the engine.

We produce mainly with
with automatic stations

because we need a precise process.

- [Narrator] Workers
scan every single part

that goes into the engine.

- We ensure that we have the right parts

with our barcode reader.

- [Narrator] Part by part

the scanning system builds up
a database for each engine.

It's a mechanical medical record.

Should anything fail, the team
can go back and find out why.

- During the production process,

we have round about a thousand
data, about one engine.

If something goes wrong,
I can go into the data

and can look is set something wrong.

- [Narrator] Keeping
track of all the parts

is a crucial tool

when you build a variety of power plants.

- We have designed the different variants,

the GT3, the turbocharged engine,

the former naturally aspired engines,

so we have one module design.

- [Narrator] Over 20 different versions

of the flat-six engine are built here,

yet the basic layout is identical.

Porsche calls it a boxer.

- At the boxer motor.

The pistons lie,

it's 180 degrees between
the angle of of the pistons

and they work like, like a boxer.

- [Narrator] The unique size
and shape of the boxer motor

is a result of where
it sits in the vehicle.

- What you see here is
how flat the engine is.

If you remember the shape of the 911

can imagine how that
engine goes into the back.

(engine rumbling)

- [Narrator] When workers
finish putting together the guts

of the motor, they send
it to another line.

- At the main line we've
got about 75 stations.

Each station has about 2.73 minutes,

- [Narrator] 130 crafts people
work on this part of the line

alongside a handful of high-tech robots.

- We've got automatic stations with robots

for things we have to do very often,

but a lot of things we have to do in

our assembly line are very
complicated and complex

and there we let our workers do it.

So here we are.

It's the point where the cylinder head

meets the main engine.

- [Narrator] At the end of the main line,

the engines make a U-turn and flip around.

- [Christian] What you see is

it's a mainly man-driven assembling pod.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] New engines are now ready

for the most important station.

This is where the controversial
turbochargers are installed.

- This is a turbocharger.

This is, this is special.

This is the new design,
the new part of our engine.

- [Narrator] Porsche's radical decision

to put turbochargers on every
engine in the 911 lineup

breaks with tradition,

but it's not the first time
they've turbocharged the car.

That honor goes to a
machine code named the 930.

- In 1973, Porsche presented
the very first 911 Turbo

and this was a big, big surprise
for the automobile world

because it was the first time

that there was a turbocharged engine

installed in a production car,

which was actually really working.

(engine roaring)

- [Narrator] The high
powered hot-rodded engines

introduction coincides with
a worldwide oil crisis.

- In Germany it was not
allowed to drive on Sundays,

they introduced speed
limits on the auto bands.

- Everybody actually went
down with engine outputs

and power figures and
Porsche had the guts to say,

we've been very successful in racing,

like we know what we do here,

so why not trying to do the
same thing for a road car.

- [Narrator] The turbos help
the 930 create 260 horsepower

and reach a top speed
246 kilometers per hour.

(pensive music)

The high speed necessitates a
bold change to the exterior.

Engineers are forced to
add a large rear wing,

nicknamed the whale tail

to keep the car glued to the ground.

- They knew they need
downforce at the rear,

which the original shape
of the 911 never had.

- [Narrator] The whale tail
isn't the only catchy name

for the car.

- The 930 had a nickname
and not a good one.

They, it was known as the widow maker.

Those things were like light
switches, nothing's happening,

nothing's happening, and all of a sudden

they come on a whole lot of people

who didn't what they were getting into,

they go spinning off into a tree.

- [Narrator] Today's turbochargers

don't spin you off the road,

but they do spin up to
190,000 revolutions a minute.

Yet it only takes a crafts
person seconds to install them.

- We need the knowledge of our people

and that is the next
thing that is different.

I think here at Porsche,

- [Narrator] Every three
hours a finished engine

comes off the line,

but it still has one more stop.

- This is the final test.

It is a dry test.

We don't fire the engine,

but it is more precise
than running the engine.

We check 500 parameters here

and if one parameter is not in the range,

the engine doesn't go on
with a assembling process.

(scanner chiming)

- [Narrator] When an
engine passes its test,

it's time to send it across the street

to the final assembly hall

where each new power plant
will meet its matching body,

right in sequence and just in time

thanks to an American
idea and a Japanese trick.

(tires squealing)
(dramatic music)

(engine revving)

Since 1964, Porsche has
built over 800,000 911s

in the exact same location,

Zuffenhausen.

- It's the most modern
facility you could imagine

and every chance they have
to make it more efficient.

They go for it and by doing
so, they save this car.

- [Narrator] Today they manufacture

nearly 16 different versions of the car.

- When you're looking to buy 911,

you have dozens of trims to consider.

Then choose your level of power.

Do you want rear drive all wheel drive?

Do you want a big sunroof, no sunroof?

You want it to be track special.

Do you want it to be street focused?

What do you want the car to do?

- You think about the the
911 from your base car

up to your top shelf 911,
that's a 80, 90,000 price swing

from a standard six
cylinder turbocharged basic

right up to a 911 turbo

with a hundred and plus more horsepower,

150 more horsepower.

There's a wide variety.

- [Narrator] The incredible variety is due

to some heady engineering solutions

and the worst financial
crisis the company ever faced.

- In the late 80s, Porsche
was in big financial troubles.

All the cars were made by hand

and was not very profitable.

- [Narrator] Just as
the car has to advance

to stay relevant,

the downturn forces the
factory to modernize.

- We had a tremendous loss at that time

and therefore we changed everything

in our manufacturing world.

(pensive music)

- [Narrator] The company's
salvation literally

lies on the other side of the world.

- In the early 90s by it,

by the automobile industry in Japan,

we introduced processes
of lean production.

(worker speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] Lean manufacturing

is a just-in-time inventory system

that reduces the number of
parts waiting to be installed.

- Throughout the history of
automobile manufacturing,

you have a couple key innovation.

First was definitely Ford
creating the assembly line,

then the Japanese brand take
that concept and fine it.

Then Porsches makes it work

in a way that allows 'em to service

so many different variations of a car.

- [Narrator] When the
system is implemented,

the factory houses more than
a month's worth of parts.

Today they hold just one and
a half days worth of stock.

- There's so many different variations

and so many different customizations

on one standard type of body

and that's really difficult for something

that's produced in
numbers as large as this.

- [Narrator] The drastic
change reinvigorates the brand

and jumpstarts a renaissance
that continues to this day.

- Today, Porsche is not only
well known for its cars,

it's also well known for its processes,

for its production methods.

- [Narrator] More than
560 different suppliers

deliver components to
the Zuffenhausen factory

often just hours before
they're needed on the line.

- Today though, the
production is extremely

process orientated.

All the parts come just in time.

It's extremely well-managed

(scanner chiming)

- [Narrator] Every 225 seconds

a partially built machine
enters the lower floor

of the final assembly hall.

A giant sea hook raises and lowers the car

so that workers can access every
nook and cranny underneath.

They install sound, deadening material,

oil, fuel and water lines.

(mallet tapping)

Fuel cells are delivered
to the line and installed.

The intercoolers are bolted in place

and headlights are slid
into the front fenders.

- Not so easy, yes.

The headlight has many things.

You can chip the paint, yes.

- [Narrator] In another
part of the factory

workers begin building up the drivetrain.

Brembo disc brakes arrive
from a sub-supplier.

(machine whirring)

Shock absorbers are fitted
and bolts are tightened.

- You have a lot of
really cool tech features

on the new 911's.

Both the Carrera and the
Carrera S now come with PASM,

which is their active damper system,

which allows you to adjust
between a softer setting

for road use and a sports setting.

- [Narrator] On another line,

power plants arrive from the engine hall.

(driving music)

- We fix the engine and
the gearbox together.

Mount the exhaust system

- The manual comes standard,

but you also have a
dual clutch transmission

that allows you to get
extremely fast upshifts

and it's certainly the
fastest accelerating

variant of any 911.

- [Narrator] Finally, all
the drivetrain sub assemblies

meet on a moving jig and
they add the drive shaft.

- We take the chassis and the brakes

and the enjoin all the parts are come here

in this part together.

It's simple, but it's a lot of parts

and we put it all together.

I'm very proud to work in
this part of Porsche, yeah.

- [Narrator] A new 911

is ready for its famed flat-six engine.

- The engine, and goes up
to the rest of the car.

It's the most challenging time.

You have to look that all fits in, so

this special thing you.

- The marriage is one of
the heart of each plant.

There we have three big logistic issues.

One is the car of course,

which is preassembled at that time.

The other one is the
power train, the engine

and transmission, which is linked

and the third logistic part is the axles,

the front and the rear axle.

(dramatic music)

- The nuptials happen fast

thanks to some high tech help.

- It's more than 50 bolts

and some bolts are done automatically.

And very important is to ensure

that each screw has the right torque.

And they're the response for the people

working in that area gets from the screen.

It's green or red.

(pensive music)

- [Narrator] When the screen turns green,

the car is good to go.

Even though the tools are modern,

it's the fellowship
that gets the job done.

- Without teamwork,

you can do nothing here on this part here.

- [Narrator] After the engine
is fitted, they install hoses

that help the power plant breathe.

- After the marriage, we
put the bumpers in the rear

and in the front on the car.

- We put the air filter on the engine,

also put the spoiler on the, on the car.

- [Narrator] Then it's time for
the iconic Porsche nameplate

and some fluids.

- We do plugs from the
engine and we fill the fuels.

- [Narrator] As the car
moves down the line,

parts continue to arrive just
in time and just in sequence.

- This is the, we call it
Bertha, it brings new parts

to the worker on the right place.

This part comes on this Bertha

for this car.

- [Narrator] Bertha is a high tech way

to ensure parts arrive on schedule,

but it's the old timers who
safeguard the Porsche way.

- The older men teach me how I must work

and I teach the younger
how they must work.

I'm very proud

and it's a good feeling,
very good feeling.

- [Narrator] The machine
is almost ready to rumble,

but first it needs a set of wheels.

- It's a very special
manufacturing station

because we put on the tire.

And that process is on
the left side of the car

and on the right car, and we
had a lot of different wheels.

(contemplative music)
(machines whirring)

(worker speaking in foreign language)

(machines whirring)

And then afterwards it's
nearly ready to run.

- [Narrator] At this point,

the majority of the mechanical
parts have been installed,

so the team turns its attention
to the luxury interior.

They install the center console.

(machine whirring)

A craftsperson fits stereo
speakers into the cabin panels

(screwdriver whirring)

and they add the
communicative steering wheel.

- The steering wheel is
more than 170 variants

and therefore if you had the combination

of all possibilities,

it's like in mathematic...

(Wolfgang speaking in foreign language)

It's not possible to count.

- The steering is wonderfully responsive.

It turns into a corner perfectly.

The car's very well balanced.

They've been working for years to sort out

the chassis of this car

to mitigate the fact that
the engine's in the back

and make it handle as
neutrally as possible.

You don't have to be an
expert anymore to drive a 911.

(dynamic music)

- [Narrator] Further down the line,

bigger pieces are bolted on.

- In this area we built
the, the seats, the doors,

and we, we make the structure of the doors

and on the windows, the back seats,

and yes, it's the magic job here.

- [Narrator] The car is almost done,

but it still needs a jolt of juice

and a little bit of fuel
before it can hit the road.

Finally, after 30 hours,

a brand new 911 is ready to hit the track.

- The 911's always been a special car

because it's the one that
doesn't make any sense, right?

They put the engine in the back

and it's this little funny bug shaped car,

but from the start, it wasn't
just a historical oddity,

it was always really fun to drive.

(pensive music)
(engine rumbling)

(engine roaring)

- [Narrator] The driving
pleasure starts in 1963

and it continues today,

thanks to a dedicated staff of engineers

who repeatedly have fought off physics

to help the car advance.

- History and technology,
they're sometimes at odds

and that's how 911 can feel
limited by its history.

- It's probably the hardest
job in the automotive world

is designing a new 911 because
it has to look like a 911,

but it also has to look new

and no matter what you do,
everyone's gonna be mad at you.

On the other hand,

it's kind of a good
problem to have, right?

Your, your customers
love your product so much

that they want the newest
and greatest version of it.

- [Narrator] Purists might fight change,

but for the team at Porsche,

it's a time honored way to do business.

- I think it's a very
pragmatic form of function.

A little bit, the
character of the Swabians,

you know, the part of Germany,
this car is being built at.

A very pragmatic and rational people.

They say the goal is it's gotta go fast.

The goal is it's gotta go
fast around a racing track.

(engine revving)

The goal is it has to be
very economical on fuel,

so they sit down together

and they come up with a car like a 911.

- [Narrator] The newest version
offers turbocharged engines

in every model.

(engine roaring)

- It gets confusing when it
comes to turbocharged 911's

because you've always had a
Porsche 930, Porsche Turbo.

Now all the models of
turbocharged, how does that work?

- On the outside, they're going to say,

this is for performance.

Turbochargers make more
power, you can go faster.

But what's really driving this

is that turbocharged cars perform better

on government fuel efficiencies tests.

- Porsche sees a lot of
strength in the 911 Turbo.

In fact, the, the turbo model itself

outsells every single other 911.

It's an extremely popular car,

so they'd be insane to
get rid of that brand.

(dramatic music)
- Not that long ago,

people both inside and outside the company

clamored for the 911 to fade away.

(engine roaring)

- When you look at why
the 911 is what it is,

trace it back to the roots.

There's some handling quirks.

Throughout the years though,
Porsche's found a way

to make those handling quirks work

and the modern version of the car

is an extremely good handling machine.

- [Narrator] Thanks to a
strong sense of national pride,

some daring engineering solutions,

and an unquestionable amount of passion,

the 911 has continued to
be a true driver's machine.

- When you hop in a 911,

you have a very good view in front of you

because there's no engine.

You have a really nice
agreeable shifter in your hand.

In front of you, you have a
nice giant center mounted tach,

which is so nice in a sports cart.

In the case of the manual cars,

you have these pedals that
are positioned near perfectly

for heel-toe downshifting
and upshifts and all that.

- The incredible thing about the 911

is that every time we think
that it's gone too far,

that it's gotten too soft,
that it's become overrated,

that it's a victim of its own success,

they come out with a version of it

that's still an amazing sports car.

I know there's a lot of
people who are really

hardcore 911 enthusiasts
that will say that

60s, 70s, 80s, the best 911's,

they were the purest
expression of the 911.

But if you're not a
super Porsche enthusiast,

even if you're just a
general car enthusiast,

or even if you're not a
car enthusiast at all,

this new one is
unquestionably the pinnacle.

I think objectively that the new 911

is the best 911 they've ever built,

it is the most comfortable 911
there's ever been to drive.

It is the richest and most refined.

- [Narrator] It's a machine
trapped by its own history

and yet continually
capable of evolving it.

The Porsche 911, a German symbol,

a high performance rocket,

and perhaps the most iconic
sports car ever made.

- Mr. Porsche came up
with a lot of great quotes

during his lifetime and maybe
the most important one was

"I looked around and I couldn't
find the car that I wanted,

so I decided to build it myself."

(dramatic music)

(engine revving)

(horn honking)