Ferdinand Porsche (1875 - 1951) was an Austrian-born German automotive engineer and entrepreneur who founded the Porsche car company and designed the Volkswagen Beetle. [1] A largely self-taught engineer, he pioneered early hybrid and racing-car technology before creating one of the best-selling automobile designs in history. [2]
Early life and education
Ferdinand Porsche was born on 3 September 1875 in Maffersdorf, a town in the Austro-Hungarian province of Bohemia now known as Vratislavice nad Nisou in the Czech Republic. [1] The son of a tinsmith, he showed an early aptitude for machinery and electricity and was largely self-taught, attending evening classes at a technical school in nearby Reichenberg while working in the family workshop. [1] He never completed a formal university degree, though he was later granted honorary doctorates by the technical universities of Vienna and Stuttgart. [1]
Early automotive work
In the 1890s Porsche joined the Vienna coachbuilder Jacob Lohner, where he developed the Lohner-Porsche, an early electric vehicle driven by motors built into its wheel hubs; a later version paired a petrol engine with electric drive, making it one of the first hybrid automobiles. [1] He moved on to Austro-Daimler, rising to chief designer and managing director, and in the 1920s joined Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in Stuttgart, where he was responsible for the supercharged Mercedes-Benz S and SSK sports cars. [2]
Porsche and the Volkswagen
In 1931 Porsche established his own design and engineering consultancy in Stuttgart. [3] During the 1930s the firm produced the mid-engined Auto Union Grand Prix racing cars and, most influentially, designed a small, affordable "people's car" commissioned by the German government. [2] Known as the Volkswagen and later nicknamed the Beetle, the rear-engined, air-cooled vehicle went on to become one of the best-selling automobile designs in history. [2]
Wartime work and later years
During the Second World War the company turned to military production, developing vehicles such as the Kübelwagen and amphibious Schwimmwagen and contributing to heavy tank designs. [1] After the war Porsche was detained for a period by French authorities. [1] His son, Ferry Porsche, drew on the firm's expertise to build the Porsche 356, the first car to bear the family name, before Ferdinand Porsche died in Stuttgart on 30 January 1951. [1]
Legacy
Porsche's work shaped much of twentieth-century motoring, spanning mass-market transport, sports cars, and racing machines, and the company he founded grew into one of the world's most prestigious automakers. [3] In 1999 an international panel of automotive journalists named him Car Engineer of the Century. [1]
