Porsche - Product Development Process

Product Development Process

With our experience from the world of sports car series production, we can support you at every stage of the entire product development process: from the concept phase to series production. Whether you are developing a component or a complete vehicle, we can cover everything from sub-processes to complete developments – goal-focused work of the highest quality. We do this for passenger vehicles as well as commercial vehicles and developments for other industries.

Concept, Styling and Package

The starting point for every new development is the concept. This is where the outlines and framework conditions for the vehicle segments, markets, technology, deadlines, costs and pricing are determined and defined. From a technical perspective, the drafting of a vehicle concept involves creating a package and safety concept, conducting a potential analysis, developing a body-in-white structure concept and aerodynamics values and defining the production technology. Styling designs are created based on an ideation process. To ensure the success of the product, technology comparisons with competitors are conducted and benchmarks defined.

Construction Design

After the theory comes the practice. In the construction design phase of the product development process, our engineers turn concepts into reality. Common CAD systems are used to create detailed designs which are used as templates for the production of initial prototypes and models. Along the way, Porsche Engineering can manufacture every component from the smallest screw to body prototypes. Product cost optimization also plays a central role in the construction design phase. Our engineers tinker for as long as it takes to get the optimal solution for the customer from both the technical and economic perspectives.

Calculation and Simulation

During the calculation and simulation phase, our engineers gain insights into the vehicle characteristics and technical outlines before the actual test phase begins. The developments are put through a variety of scenarios virtually. This enables our calculation and simulation experts to optimize a variety of component and system developments early in the process and thus generate a cost-optimized and fully functional solution.

Testing

In the development process, absolutely nothing can be left to chance. Every development step, every component, be it the body, electrics/electronics, chassis, engine or the complete vehicle, is tested and optimized under realistic conditions. Individual components and entire vehicles are tested for durability and must withstand the toughest conditions. Whether on the test bench in Weissach or on the testing grounds in Nardò, our engineers are only satisfied when the absolute optimum result has been extracted from the developments.

Industrialization

In the final phase of the product development process, we transfer the developments to series production. With our experience from the world of sports car series production, we make sure to take the series production capability of each component into account during development and to implement relevant considerations. Among other services, we support our customers in the areas of assembly and production planning, equipment planning, production launch support, supplier integration, quality planning and quality assurance, quality methods, virtual installation and removal trials, assembly instructions and technical illustrations.