Ferry Porsche 2
| Approximately 28,000 racing victories in 60 years ... |
Ferdinand Porsche designed everything, except a Porsche. The Auto Union Type C was the first project in which Ferry Porsche was significantly involved. You wouldn't have thought of it from this car, but its technology
anticipated many things from the Beetle and thus also from the first Porsche. It was not only here that the future head of Porsche learned to appreciate the advantages of lightweight construction.
The development of the VW Beetle, which began a year later, played an important role in Ferry Porsche's life. He became the test manager within the company because his father went from being a designer to being a
factory director by 1937 at the latest. While he was looking after the new Volkswagen factory in Fallersleben, his son slowly grew into the role of test manager.
Ferry Porsche and his sister Luise were ultimately alone with his decisions when, after a short period of imprisonment after the war, he found himself back in his hometown of Gmünd with a few good employees. They kept
themselves afloat with all kinds of orders, not just in the metal sector. Many Beetle components and all the design plans were available. A lucrative Formula 1 order from Cisitalia also provided employment, although the
money was used up for the bail to buy his father and brother-in-law out.
The 356 was also created out of a certain distress. Obtaining missing parts was the big problem. The aluminum for the first 50 Porsches came from Switzerland. An excellent bodywork maker was available, although not
particularly reliable. So the first Porsche was less about the already more powerful engine than about the low weight and aerodynamics.
The very first of the 50 hand-built 356s was even a mid-engine project. But apart from this, the other 356 had almost unchanged Beetle technology, apart from a few chassis peculiarities. The design and construction,
which differed from the Beetle, came from Ferry Porsche and of course from the pre-war employees. His father was not allowed to go to Gmünd even after his imprisonment, so everything depends on the son, including the
logistics problems.
Wind tunnels had been known for a long time, but did not exist at the time. So the test car was pasted up with wool threads and photographed while driving from a bridge, tests in which Ferdinand Porsche took part too and
which did not take place in Gmünd. Anyone who compares the performance with that of the Beetle must attest to the aerodynamic qualities of the body.
The sales of the cars must have been even more unusual. A contract with Heinrich Nordhoff and thus the VW factory was helpful, guaranteeing Porsche a certain amount of income for each Beetle produced, the possibility
of selling its own products through VW dealers, taking over the general agency for Austria and, for decades, a close working partnership for VW on development issues.
| The contract with Nordhoff was one of Ferry Porsche’s greatest achievements for the brand.
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The car was only shown to a few VW dealers in the largest cities and they also had to buy an annual production and sometimes pay for it directly. Ferry Porsche thought he would be able to sell 500 units, but in the end he
sold more than 82,000. Incidentally, the costs would have been lower if production had been designed for such margins. But who knows in advance ...
Over the course of these 80,000 units, the car underwent an incredible development. Just looking at the displacement expansion from 1.1 to 2 liters doesn't go far enough. The carburettor and oil supply were the first
significant modifications. This also involved changes to the channels and of course the compression, which in turn required a different crankshaft drive, often with roller bearings. The list would be incomplete without
mentioning the famous Fuhrmann DOHC engine.
The first racing successes came early on. The associated vehicles almost stole the show from the original Porsche. A 550 like this, especially with its mid-engine, can still shine at any design fair today. Then there are the
myths. James Dean, a young and promising actor, had a fatal accident in the Speedster in 1955. His former passenger described the accident as the carelessness of an oncoming left-turner.
Nevertheless, the event was linked to the power of the accident car.
Ferry Porsche described the 911, which was built in 1962/63, as 'his' car. For the first time, he had the full opportunity to define the design features of a car. Meanwhile, the next generation, in the form of his eldest son
Ferdinand Alexander (died 2012), was also in the factory and played a key role in the design. The 911 was both mastery (interior) and foresight (engine design). Interestingly, the new one initially had no more power than
the most powerful old one, although the performance development was different.
Who could have guessed that this engine would one day have four times the power in series trim? And that the 911 would still be, or once again, the backbone of the company after 40 years? Yes, there were actually
attempts from a technical point of view, for example to implement the transaxle principle, but this failed due to the emotions of the customers and finally had to give up. Perhaps this is also due to the factory's extreme
dependence on the USA.
However, the engineers at Porsche have infiltrated the customer signals. Because apart from the transaxle, you can now buy everything with the Porsche emblem: liquid cooling, all-wheel drive, front engine, more than six
cylinders and four full seats. With complete reluctance, the diesel engine was also added in view of the financial crisis of 2008/2009.
The brand has not always been successful. The oil price crises could still be managed, but the lack of success of the 924/928 series was almost impossible. But by then the family business had long since developed into
a stock corporation with a holding company due to disputes. Ferry Porsche himself also drew the consequences by handing over the management of the company in 1974.
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