Video: A Porsche 4WD History Lesson

Last week we told you why you needed to buy a Porsche Carrera 4 to combat the crap weather we've been experiencing in the UK recently. Okay, so whilst marginally tongue-in-cheek, Porsche do have a long and award-littered history in designing and developing 'best in class' all-wheel-drive systems, the first of which was found in Porsche's 959.

The design study for this AWD twin-turbocharged supercar was first shown at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt in 1983. The car introduced futuristic new concepts such as sequential turbocharging, advanced aerodynamics and speed-dependent shock absorbers. The 4WD system was key to power delivery and the 959's system now forms the basis of any Carrera 4 model produced today.

The video above goes into more detail about the history behind the design of Porsche's current line-up and whilst the Porsche Boxster S and Cayman R with their rear-wheel-drive biases are fantastic pieces of machinery, you'd rather not take them for a spin on your snow-soaked, local B-roads.

Disclosure: this post is sponsored by The 7th Chamber