It`s hard to say exactly which is the beginning of Porsche story. It could be in 1950, when the famous Max Hoffman introduced the Porsche 356 to the United States. Or in 1948 when the first automobile to bear the name Porsche was introduced. But in order to understand Porsches heritage and its philosophy we need to go back to 1875, when, in September, at the home of a tinsmith in the Bohemian village of Haffersdorf, a son was born. His name was Ferdinand Porsche.
Since his adolescence, Ferdinand Porsche showed glimpses of technical genius: at the age of 18, he wired family’s home for electricity in 1893. Still, he didnt show many signs of disciplined engineering skills that will eventually become his trademark. Even if the Doctor is usually appended to his name, it is in essence honorary, since his only formal technical training was as a part-time engineering student in Vienna.
By the age of 25, the young Ferdinand Porsche had entered the field of automotive design. His first car design was already accepted by Lohner & Co. of Vienna. Over the next 20 years, Ferdinand Porsche, the temperamental but brilliant engineer succeeded in associating with every major automobile manufacturer in Germany. At the same time, he designed a dozen of the most technically significant cars in history.
Working for Mercedes-Benz, he helped develop the most revered Mercedes-Benz cars of all time: the SSK series. For NSU, he designed Auto Union Wanderer and the Type 32, a precursor of the Volkswagen Beetle.
After being dismissed from Mercedes for disagreeing with the firm’s staid engineering policies, Porsche decided to establish what later became Porsche A.G.: his own engineering consulting group. In a small office in Stuttgart, the senior Dr. Porsche gathered a select group of engineers to work under the dramatic name, “Doctor of Engineering Ferdinand Porsche, Inc., Construction Facility for Land, Air, and Sea Transportation.” One of his employees was his youthful son, Ferry. His primary interest was one that any young man might select: sports and racing cars
The senior Dr. Porsche and his team were kept extremely busy. The consulting firm developed for Steyr (now the utility-vehicle wing of the Steyr- Daimler-Puch combine), the Austria luxury sedan, but it did not progress beyond the prototype stage. They worked a lot for Auto Union, now Audi: the company developed the Front, the world’s first front-drive economy car. They astonished Auto Union with the mid-engine Grand Prix cars and their supercharged V-12 and V-16 engines which, together with Mercedes- Benz racers, dominated European auto racing for nearly a decade.
After that, the firm created its best-known designs for NSU and Zundapp. The pair of prototypes was characterized by Dr. Porsche’s patented torsion-bar suspension and a rear-mounted engine. Since neither company moved rapidly enough to manufacture the designs, Porsche sold the concept to the German government. Then, he oversaw the construction of a plant on Wolfsburg to manufacture the design. His drawings called the car the Type 60. The world came to know it as the Volkswagen Beetle
After the second World War, the Porsche Company started to create vehicles that beard its name, and so became knows world wide. Now, nearly a century later, Porsche became the marque and the family that created outstanding, often unique and surely lasting contributions to automotive engineering and design.
The legacy of Porsche is built on a foundation of innovation, engineering brilliance, and a relentless pursuit of automotive excellence. From Ferdinand Porsche’s early work with electric vehicles and racing prototypes to the creation of the Volkswagen Beetle and eventually the first Porsche sports cars, the brand has remained at the cutting edge of performance and design. Each milestone in Porsche’s history reflects a commitment to pushing boundaries, a philosophy that continues to define the marque today.
The Porsche 928, introduced in 1978, was yet another bold step in the company’s evolution. Unlike the rear-engine, air-cooled sports cars that defined Porsche’s early years, the 928 was designed as a front-engine V8 grand tourer—a revolutionary concept for the brand. Just as Ferdinand Porsche once defied convention to create some of the world’s most influential cars, the 928 was Porsche’s attempt to redefine high-performance luxury. While it didn’t replace the 911 as originally intended, it became an icon in its own right, embodying the same spirit of engineering excellence that has driven Porsche since its inception.
Thank you for taking the time with me to learn more about what Mr. Done Right, the Porsche 928 whisperer, can do for you.
Sincerely,
Don Fenton
(AKA) Mr. Done Right
For more information on Porsche 928 maintenance, repair, or restoration in the greater Austin area (or beyond), please contact your premier 928 mechanic, Don Fenton, AKA Mr. Done Right – Porsche 928 repairs and restoration of Austin, because Don ensures any repairs get Done Right the first time!
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