Austro-Daimler in Wiener Neustadt. At the age of only 31, he was responsible for the model range of one of Europe’s largest automotive concerns. Three years later, Ferdinand’s son, later known as Ferry, was born on September 19th in Wiener Neustadt. Ferdinand then began his long love affair with car racing. In 1910, The Austro-Daimler touring car designed by Ferdinand Porsche scored a triple victory in the Prince Henry Trials. At the wheel of the winning car sat none other than Ferdinand Porsche himself. By his 48th birthday, Ferdinand became the Technical Director and a Board Member of the Daimler- TheOrigin
On September 3, 1875, Ferdinand Porsche was born in the Bohemian town of Maffersdorf. In 1889, after attending grammar school there and the Staatsgew- erbeschule (State Vocational School) in Reichenberg, he entered his father’s busi- ness as an apprentice plumber. The following year, The Lohner- Porsche electric car was presented at the World Fair in Paris. The wheel hub en- gines of the young engineer Ferdinand Porsche brought him international atten- tion. In the same year, he developed an all-wheel-drive racecar, as well as a hybrid petrol/electric vehicle — a world first. By 1906, Ferdinand Porsche had become the Technical Director at
Motoren-Gesellschaft in Stuttgart. He soon designed the legendary Mercedes Compressor Sports Car. Immediately, the two-litre racecar developed under his aegis won the Targa Florio. The Mercedes-Benz S-Type models he designed continued to dominate international motorsports through 1927. In 1931, Ferdinand Porsche opened an office for engineering and consultation on engine and vehicle design in Stutt- gart. Created for such renowned man- ufacturers as Wanderer, Zündapp and NSU are not only entire vehicles, but such trend-setting detail solutions as the Porsche torsion bar suspension.
3 7 • F I N K ’ S J E W E L E R S
Powered by FlippingBook