Ferdinand Porsche

Life

OBorn in 3 September 1875 and died in 30 January 1951 in Maffersdorf (Czech). Ferdinand was an automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche car company.

OHe is best known for creating the first electric vehicle (Lohner-Porsche), the Volkswagen Beetle, the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK, other important developments and Porsche automobiles.

OPorsche was an important contributor to the German war effort during World War II. He was involved in the production of advanced tanks such as the Tiger I, Tiger II, as well as other weapon systems, including flying bombs. Porsche was a member of the German Nazi party and the SS.

    In 1996 Porsche was inducted into the International     Motorsports Hall of Fame and in 1999 he won the         award of Car Engineer of the Century.

Career

OHis life as an engineer started early, at the age of 22, when he designed an electric engine. In 1900 he was hired by a carmaker of the time. He installed one of his engines on a Lohner and showed it in the Paris World Fair. The car was the show-stopper of the event, and later obtained positive results in several races.

OPorsche worked in the design of Mercedes-Benz cars until 1928, when he left because of disagreements the other chief engineer of the factory. But his last development in the factory was probably one of the most important: The curious, exotic and fast SSKL.

OAfter Porsche left Mercedes, he was soon hired to design the now extinct Austria cars, and later joined another very important German auto maker, Auto Union. In this factory he designed the famous and complex 16-cylinder race cars. While working in Auto Union, he formed with his son “Ferry” an independent factory that had their last name, Porsche, as name. Ferry worked as design head.

OIn another example of versatility and excellence, he won the contract for building the Volkswagen, a car that, according to the beliefs of Adolf Hitler, was going to put every German citizen on wheels. And it did. With help from the Nazi government, he started building the Volkswagen plant. Finally, the car hit showrooms on 1939, but the war postponed its full production until 1945.