July - September

Six awards for product designs at "red dot awards"Porsche Studios in Weissach and Zell am See impress with innovative design

Stuttgart. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, impressively demonstrated its expertise in matters of innovative design at this year's Design Zentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen "red dot award for product design". In total, the sports car manufacturer's two design studios in Weissach and Zell am See won the highest accolade "red dot: best of the best for highest design quality" three times and a "red dot for high design quality" three times as well. The awards were presented today in Essen.

For Michael Mauer, Head of the Design Studio in the Weissach Development Center, the range of products for which Porsche received awards is particularly remarkable: "It says something about the expertise of our studio when a sports car, a lift truck and an organ console all win a prize for their design at the same time." The classic 911 sports car presented in 2004 was awarded the coveted "red dot: best of the best", as was a lift truck dreamt up by Porsche designers for Linde AG. A "red dot" was also bestowed on the design of the console and manuals of the Ladegast organ in Leipzig. This is another example of work for which Porsche was contracted by a third-party customer - the St. Nikolai Church in Leipzig and the organ maker Eule in Bautzen.

On the occasion of the awards ceremony in Essen, Mauer emphasized the importance of successful design for the Company's success: "The design of our sports cars is distinguished by clarity, tension and the utmost precision in its execution. Manufacturers in other sectors that want to develop a brand with systematic, high quality design can profit from this core competence." At its Development Center in Weissach, Porsche offers traditional engineering services for other companies, which also includes the Design area with a special focus on "Transportation".

Alternately, the Design Studio in Zell am See, founded by Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche and majority-owned by Porsche AG since 2003, focuses on designing men's accessories under the Porsche Design brand, as well as industrial products, household appliances and consumer goods for external clients. In this year's contest, the P`8404 sunglasses from the Porsche Design Eyewear Collection with screwless lens mounting won the "red dot: best of the best", while the P`1026 model, the main features of which are the distinctive upper line and the innovative lens mounting, received a "red dot award". In addition, the "Solitair" compact toaster, designed at the Design Studio in Zell am See for Robert Bosch Hausgeräte GmbH, also received the award.

With around 4,000 registrations from more than 40 countries, the "red dot award for product design" is one of the world's largest and most respected design competitions.

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Note: Photos of the award winning Porsche products are available to accredited journalists on the Porsche Press database at http://presse.porsche.de .

06.07.2005