“I wanted to take home the left-overs from the BBQ, but someone else foiled my plans.”
Ferdinand PorscheBorn 3 Sep 1875; died 30 Jan 1951 at age 75.Austrian automotive engineer who designed the popular Volkswagen car. In 1900, as a young engineer and test driver, Porsche had devised the wheel hub motors on the Lohner-Porsche Electric Car exhibited at the Paris Exposition, making the name Porsche famous worldwide. In 1935, the brainchild of Adolph Hitler - the VW Beetle - was designed by Porsche. Hitler wanted a car built for the masses. By 1938 the first Beetle was completed - just before the outbreak of World War II. The car offered innovative technology, including an air-cooled motor, an atypical shape, no front grill and a rear motor. It was not until 1946 that the Volkswagen (which name means "people's car") went into series production. His son, Ferdinand, continued the business. |
