Exactly 50 years ago, when the Porsche 901 – soon to be renamed the 911 – was first presented, one of the most impressive success stories in automotive history began. The fact that this emblem of style from Zuffenhausen remains one of the top sports cars in the world half a century later is truly a remarkable feat of engineering. RECARO Automotive Seating offers its congratulations to everyone at this center of automotive excellence in Stuttgart! But many people don’t know that the presentation of the new Porsche in 1963 was also an important milestone in the over 100-year history of RECARO. Until that year, the company Reutter Carosserie, based in Zuffenhausen near Stuttgart, served as a supplier for Porsche. As a body manufacturer of the traditional school, this long-established company, founded in 1906, possessed expertise in sheet metal processing and interior design, including automotive seat production. Reutter manufactured the bodies for the Porsche 356 as well as numerous prototypes, including what later became the 911. As production for the new model began, Porsche decided to manufacture not only the engines but also the bodies itself and bought the entire production line and factory buildings from Reutter – the nucleus of what is now the Porsche factory north of Stuttgart. The sale of the factory marked the beginning of a new era for Reutter. The company management decided to concentrate on high-quality automotive seats – as original equipment for Porsche and later for the aftermarket. At the same time, a new brand was born: the company name REutter CAROsserie was abbreviated to the catchier RECARO.
