Bob's Automotive - Baltimore

Ferdinand Porsche Made Automotive History

Before the first Porsche sports car was introduced by Ferdinand Porsche and his son in 1948, Porsche was associated with the development of three other iconic vehicles: the first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle, the Volkswagen Beetle and the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK. So, here are some interesting facts about Porsche and how he invented one of today's finest cars, brought to you by all of us at Bob's Automotive - Baltimore. We see a lot of Porsches in Baltimore, MD and are always impressed by these world-class vehicles.

Born in Maffersdorf, Austria in 1875, Porsche had an interest in technology at a young age. He was especially intrigued with electricity.
When he was 18 years old, he began working at an electrical company in Vienna—Bela Egger & Co—which was later renamed Brown Boveri. He was quickly promoted to a manager. When he wasn’t working, he attended classes part-time at the Imperial Technical University in Reichenberg.

In 1897, he built and raced an electric wheel-hub motor. That year, he began working at the Electric Car Department Hofwagenfabrik Jacob Lohner & Co. where he built the first electric car—the Egger-Lohner electric vehicle.

His wheel-hub engine was used to power the company’s non-transmission vehicle, which was called a Lohner-Porsche, at the World’s Fair in 1909.

After working almost eight years at Lohner, he took a job as the technical manager of Austro-Daimler in 1906. Porsche was the recipient of an honorary doctorate degree by the Imperial Technical University in 1917 for his accomplishments.

Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in Stuttgart hired Porsche as a technical manager in 1923. While there, he was in charge of building the Mercedes compressor car.

He founded his own company in 1931, which was named "Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH, Konstruktionen und Beratung für Motoren und Fahrzeuge." Three years later, he became involved in Adolf Hitler's "people's car" project with his son, Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche. While working together, they developed the first designs of the Volkswagen, “a people’s car.” Father and son were asked by Hitler to build a heavy tank during World War II, which reportedly did not perform well on the battlefield. In 1945, the war ended and Porsche was arrested for his Nazi affiliation and served 22 months in prison. When he was released, the father-son team continued to develop automobiles and introduced the first Porsche sports car, the Porsche 356. Named for its design project number, the original 52 cars were hand-built in a small garage. The successor to the 356 was the quintessential Porsche 911 introduced in 1963. 

Porsche died in 1951. In addition to being inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1996, he was named Car Engineer of the Century three years later.
The Porsche Museum opened in Stuttgart in 2009, where visitors today can view 80 vehicles, including the iconic 356, 550, 911 and 917, as well as exhibits from the technical achievements from visionary designer Ferdinand Porsche.

Sources: Wikipedia, Forbes and AOL