Ever since the first 356s began to roll out of the Porsche factory in the late 1940s, the Stuttgart brand has seemed destined for success on not just the roads, but the circuits, stages and sometimes even sand dunes, too.

Porsche boasts a motor racing history like no other brand. Its constant search for perfection, both in terms of its performance engineering and reliability, has brought the company success after success. We should have guessed as soon as the very first 356 road car took a breakthrough race win in a minor race at Innsbruck in Austria in 1948.

Fast forward seven and a half decades, and Porsche has grown into a global sporting phenomenon. With 19 wins (and counting) at the Le Mans 24 Hours it stands six clear of Audi in the all-time pecking order. At Daytona it’s top, too, holding 18 outright wins – a thumping eight clear of the next-most successful entrant, Riley. Add in a further 18 wins in the Sebring 12 Hours, 13 at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, eight at Spa, more world titles than you can shake a flat-six stick at and even a Formula 1 Grand Prix victory and the sense of scale of its achievements escalate. Reckon a 911 couldn’t get the job done in the desert? Wrong. Porsche won the Dakar Rally twice, too.