Top 10 Amazing Facts about Ferdinand Porsche

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-2005-1017-525, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche
By Bundesarchiv Bild , Wikipedia

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Ferdinand Porsche

He was an Austrian-born automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG and he was best known for creating the first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner-Porsche), the Volkswagen Beetle, the Auto Union racing car, the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK, several other important developments, and Porsche automobiles.

An important contributor to the German war effort during World War II, Porsche was involved in the production of advanced tanks such as the VK 4501 (P), the Elefant self-propelled gun, and the Panzer VIII Maus super-heavy tank, as well as other weapon systems, including the V-1 flying bomb. Porsche was a member of the Nazi Party and an officer of the Schutzstaffel (SS). He was a recipient of the German National Prize for Art and Science, the SS-Ehrenring, and the War Merit Cross.

 Here are the other top 10 amazing facts about Ferdinand Porsche

1. He was a chief designer

In 1906,  Austro- Daimler recruited Porsche as their chief designer. Porsche is best known Austro-Daimler car that was designed for the  Prince Henry Trial in 1910. He was an automotive engineer

Austro-Daimler was an Austro-Hungarian automaker company that existed from 1899 until 1934. It was a subsidiary of the German Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft until 1909. Therefore Ferdinand Porsche took over Daimler’s place as a technical designer. Although Austro-Daimler cars were competing at races already, Porsche pioneered aerodynamic usage with two famous race cars (Mixte and Maya).

2.He was an automotive engineer

 The study of automotive engineering is to design, develop, fabricate, and test vehicles or vehicle components from the concept stage to the production stage. Production, development, and manufacturing are the three major functions in this field.

He is, therefore, best known for creating the first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle, the Volkswagen Beetle, the Auto Union Racing car, the Mercedes-Benz, several other important developments, and the Porsche automobile.

3. He was the founder of Porsche AG

Porsche AG is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs, and sedans. It is headquartered in  Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. He founded the company with Adolf Rosenberger and Anton Piech in 1931. The main office was at Kronenstraße 24 in the center of  Stuttgart. It initially offered motor vehicle development work and consulting, but did not build any cars under its name.

4. He designed the world’s first fully electric vehicle

The Lohner-Porsche Mixte Hybrid, By Unknown author – photo from 1902, Public Domain, Wikipedia

Throughout its development, the Lohner-Porsche evolved through several variations and ultimately emerged as the distant ancestor of a type of vehicle we recognize today as a “hybrid”. This new vehicle was named Lohner-Porsche Mixte Hybrid. It featured a Daimler internal combustion engine. In turn, the engine was fitted to a generator to drive the electric hub-mounted motors. That makes it the first petroleum electric hybrid vehicle (or HEV) and demonstrated unequivocally that the engineering brilliance of Ferdinand Porsche was certain. In addition to being very efficient (for its time), the Mixte Hybrid also proved to be a performance vehicle – it set a land speed record of 35 mph and won the Exelberg Rally in 1901.

5. He was an important contributor to the German war effort during world war II

Porsche was heavily involved in the production of advanced tanks such as the Tiger I tank as shown above. By Bundesarchiv, Bild, Wikipedia

World war II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, it involved the vast majority of the world’s countries. He was therefore an important contributor to the German war effort during WWII when he produced a heavy tank design in 1942, the Vk4501 also known as “Tiger (P)”. And also in  November 1945, he was asked to continue the design of the Volkswagen in France and to move the factory equipment there as part of war reparations.

6. He was a member of the Nazi Party

 In 1937, he joined the Nazi Party thus becoming member no. 5,643,287 and an officer of the Schutzstaffel (SS). By 1938, he was using the SS as security personnel and drivers at his factory, and later set up a special unit called SS Sturmwerk Volkswagen. In 1942, he reached the rank of SS-Oberführer. The Nazi Party,  officially referred to as the National Socialist German Workers’  was a political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. 

7. He developed a four-wheel-drive Formula one car

The Porsche 360 Cisitalia had 385 hp and could top 200mph but because of the owner’s lack of funding and change to the rules, the car never got to race.

8. He designed the Mercedes-Benz type 80 to be the fastest car on Earth

German Press Ball, January 1939. Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, fourth from the left, presents the Volkswagen tombola prize to Mrs. Elsa Ellinghausen, the lucky winner, by Bundesarchiv, Bild, Wikipedia

9. He was the recipient of the German National Prize for Art and Science with the SS-Ehrenring and the War Merit Cross

 During the war, he was further decorated with the SS-Ehrenring and awarded the War Merit Cross. As the war progressed his proposed solutions to new developments became more complex and he gained a reputation in certain circles as a “mad scientist”, especially with Albert. The War Merit Cross was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. 

10. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and was named Car engineer of the Century 

Adolf Hitler laying the foundation stone of the KDF-Wagen (Volkswagen) factory near Fallersleben (Wolfsburg) on 26 May 1938. Ferdinand Porsche at far right. Bundesarchiv, Bild, Wikipedia

The International Motorsports Hall of Fame (IMHOF) is a hall of fame that enshrines those who have contributed the most to motorsports either as a developer, driver, engineer, or owner. Therefore Porsche was inducted into IMHOF in 1996 and in 1999 he was named the car engineer of the century in Las Vegas after the Global Automotive Elections Foundation had overseen the election process.