This year has been rough for Porsche designers. Last month Ferdinand Porsche, designer of the 911, passed away; and now Tony Lapine (second from left), former chief designer at Porsche passed away at the age of 81 on Sunday, April 29.

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Remember how fast we thought the Lamborghini Countach, BMW M1, and Porsche 928 GTS were? Remember hanging posters on our walls, idolizing the wedge-shaped awesomeness and iconic styling of the DeTomaso Pantera or the Ferrari 308? How can we forget?

After all, every time we see a Countach out in the wild, we drop what we are doing, watch, and listen to it go by, remembering those posters. But one thing we may have forgotten is how fast they actually went? Or, more importantly, how slow they are by today’s standards. Yes, it’s been 30 years and cars have come a long way. But we still think of a Countach as a fast car, right? Not when you consider the fact that a 2011 base, V6 Mustang will outperform it in most areas.

Jalopnik was nice enough to dig up a 1981 issue of Popular Mechanics, where legendary racers Phil Hill and Stirling Moss put 16 of the wildest 1981 production cars through their paces on the track to find out who was the performance king, with somewhat surprising results. Because we’re awesome, we’ve included the results table for you, but check out the entire article via Google Books. For the record, Dragtimes reports the 2011 V6 Mustang as running a 13.7 @ 102 mph.

[Source: Popular Mechanics via Google Books Page 112]

Porsche has just announced the opening of a new $100 million museum on Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen to celebrate the history of the famous German sportscar maker. This 60,250 sq.-ft. building was designed by Viennese architects Delugan Meissl and houses displays with 80 important models.

The museum collection, however, totals 400 vehicles and the 80 shown at any given time will change frequently. Porsche is proud of its driving heritage and so vehicles will regularly be taken out of exhibits and driven or even raced.

Along with the exhibits, Porsche intends to use the museum as a location to hold events and the building also houses a restaurant and even a cigar lounge. Automotive journalists, authors and historians will appreciate the fact that the museum includes an archives which will be made available to them.

Among the most significant exhibits at the new museum, Porsche lists the following:

A 1939 Type 64. Known as the original Porsche, this 33hp vehicle was built by (and raced by) Ferdinand Porsche in the Berlin-Rome long-distance race.

A 1950 VW Beetle. With 21.5 million units sold this original Beetle represents the original People’s Car, which Ferdinand Porsche presented in 1934. With an air-cooled four-cylinder mounted int he rear – creating enough room for four people, this is easily one of the most historic vehicles of all time.

1948 Porsche 356 “No. 1” Roadster. This 35hp model was the  first Porsche to bear the Porsche name.

1953 Porsche 356 America Roadster. With 70hp, this roadster was built specifically for the American market and was much lighter than other models of its time.

1956 Porsche 550 A Spyder. Knick-named “Little Bastard” by James Deam, this is the same model the actor was driving when he died on his way to the racetrack in 1955.

1960 356 B 2000 GS Carrera GT. Featuring 175hp and many innovations this is the first Porsche to bear the Carrera name.

1964 Porsche 911 2.0 Coupé. The successor to the 356, the 911 was original named the 901 but Peugot had legal rights to all three numbered car names with a zero in the middle.

1973 Porsche 917/30 Spyder. Featuring a turbocharged 12-cylinder boxer engine this race car boasted 1200 hp and a top speed of 239 mph.

1973 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Coupé. Known as the fasted production car of its time, the ducktail rear spoiler characterized this vehicle. It made 210hp and was capable of hitting a top speed of 149 mph.

1976 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 Coupé. The first Porsche to use an exhaust gas turbocharger.

1988 Porsche 959. One of just 292 vehicles ever built the 450hp 959 displayed advanced technology in a street car.

2003 Carrera GT. Yes, all 612hp of V10 goodness. This was the first street car from Porsche to feature an all carbon fiber body.

Official release INCLUDING MORE INFO ON EVEN MORE PORSCHES after the jump:

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