This year many automakers are celebrating their anniversaries - like McLaren, Lamborghini and Aston Martin. Likewise for the past five decades, the Porsche 911 has been the heart of the Porsche brand. The Porsche 911 made its debut as the model 901 at the IAA International Automotive Show back in September 1963.

Over 820,000 Porsche 911s have been built, making it the most successful sports car in the world. For each of its seven generations the engineers have reinvented it, demonstrating to the world the innovative power of the Porsche to blend sportiness and everyday practicality.

In addition to its classic styling, the Porsche 911 has been distinguished by its advanced technology. Many of the ideas and technologies that made their debut in the Porsche 911 were conceived on the race track - with two thirds of the 30,000 race victories achieved by the 911.

Porsche's 50th anniversary of 911 will be celebrated by a wide variety of events, starting with the 'Retro Classics' automobile show in Stuttgart - from the 7th to 10th of March. The Porsche Museum will ring in the anniversary year with four special exhibits, namely, an early model 911 Turbo Coupe, a 911 Cabriolet study from 1981, a 1997 street legal version 911 GT1 and the pre-series Type 754 T7.

Porsche will also send an authentic 1967 model 911 on a world tour over the course of the year to places like Pebble Beach, California, China, Goodwood, Paris and Australia. The Porsche Museum is celebrating '50 years of the Porsche 911' from the 4th of June till the 29th of September 2013, with an exhibition that features the history and development of the 911. Topping off will be an anniversary book entitled '911x911' to be published in Spring by Porsche's own publishing house, Edition Porsche-Museum.