He was born on September 3, 1875 in Liberec, Czech Republic, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. From an early age he showed an aptitude for screws and screwdrivers, working in his father's machine shop while attending night school. He never received any higher education, but at the age of 23 he presented his first model, with a top speed of 56 km.
In 1902 he was called up for military service. He became a driver for the heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination in Sarajevo in 1914 triggered the outbreak of World War I.
His reputation as a skilled engineer quickly made the rounds of Central Europe, and in 1906 he began working with Daimler (forerunner of Mercedes) as chief designer and later technical director. At the same time, he designed racing cars that made a splash in rallies. In 1917 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Vienna Technical University.
Porsche's dream was to build a small, lightweight car, accessible to most people. Mercedes rejected his plan and he left the company in 1929. He is hired by Steyer, which will quickly collapse financially due to the financial crisis. Porsche is left unemployed.
He decides to take his fate into his own hands and in 1931 he founds his own company, with his surname as its title. He concentrates on designing a family car, attracting the interest of Adolf Hitler, who aspires for every German to have his own car and tractor.
In 1934 he receives approval and presents the first version of the well-known "Beetle", the most successful model in the history of motoring. The "people's car", as it was called (Volkswagen in German), marked the creation of the famous "Volkswagen" car company in 1937.
Porsche received further contracts from the Third Reich for the design and construction of the Tiger and Elephant tanks. At the same time, it designed racing cars that competed against their Mercedes counterparts in rallies that made pre-war history. In 1937 he was awarded the National Prize for Art and Science by the Nazi regime.
After the fall of the Third Reich, Porsche was arrested by the Allies as a war criminal (15 December 1945) and spent 20 months in prison. His father's business is taken over by his son Ferrie, who concentrates on the design of very expensive sports cars, starting with the 911 model. Hot money flowed into Porsche, because Volkswagen granted Ferdinand Porsche royalties on every scarab he built.
Ferdinand Porsche suffered a severe stroke in late 1950 and died on 30 January 1951, at the age of 76. In 1999 he was posthumously proclaimed "Engineer of the Century" by the motor racing community.
Source: sansimera.gr
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