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Authors: Andrea Hiott
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whatever mistakes may or may not have been made both
economically and politically, the aftermath of the First World War was a turning point: The old economic, social, and political world order had been deeply disrupted. It could not return to its prewar state; something new had to be developed now.
The First World War was a turning point for Ferdinand Porsche as well. Though he was the foremost automotive designer of Austria-Hungary, it was the war that brought him to the attention of the international community on a larger scale. In Austria, Porsche had been inundated with medals and awards. The University of Vienna, for instance, had given him an honorary doctorate, of which he was very proud, happy to finally have the weighty initials attached to his name,
letters that gave him equal footing with other engineers in his field. During the war, his designs for tanks were among the best any country produced, and he contributed solutions to problems such as how to make the first practical, four-wheel-drive vehicle. At the close of the war, one of the top English technical journals concluded that the aircraft motors that Porsche was designing at Austro-Daimler were heads above anything else coming from the central European powers at that
time.
Because the configurations of Europe itself also changed after the war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken into pieces, and Porsche found that he was now a citizen of Czechoslovakia. He was given his choice of nationality, and for both practical and professional reasons, he decided to take the nationality of his hometown: “I do not change my nationality like my shirt,” 10 he said, expressing a deep loyalty to his parents and siblings still living there. Aside from work, family and personal relationships were the center of Porsche’s life. Aloisia grounded and nurtured him. His daughter, Louise, an excellent driver in herown right, was developing an interest in art, but when it came to her father’s business and automotive concerns, she was proving to be as tough and shrewd as he.
Ferry, his son, had become Ferdinand’s constant companion, tagging along with his father nearly every chance he got, exploring the automotive factories where his father worked, and unbeknownst to his father, even driving the cars.
Ferry and Louise sitting in one of their father’s cars. Automobiles were a part of life in the Porsche home from day one.
(photo credit 8.1)
For Christmas in 1919, the war having finally come to an end, ten-year-old Ferry was given his very own handmade Porsche car to drive. It was small but solid, with an old trolley engine powering it from behind. Ferdinand, excited to finally have the chance to teach his young son how to drive, was shocked when Ferry jumped into the car, shifted its gears, and pressed just the right pedals without any instruction or help. Demanding to know who had taught the boy such
things, Ferdinand forced his son to admit that he’d taught himself when no one was watching. His father was upset, but secretly perhaps he was also proud. After all, Ferry’s sister had started driving early too.
Family was obviously important to Porsche, but by this time in his life, he now knew what was important to him on a professional level as well. One was his desire to build the ultimaterace car. Another was his dream to build a small and affordable car that could be mass produced. As Europe entered the 1920s, it was clear to him that the current state of the European automobile was far away from what the future would demand, and this excited him:
There was a whole new kind of car yet to be built. He wanted to discover the design for that car; like a sculptor who has been given a block of marble, he could already sense what was there. He just had to cut the excess stone away so the inherent shape could be revealed.
The idea of building a small car had been on Porsche’s mind since he worked for Jacob Lohner and had created a vehicle called the
economically and politically, the aftermath of the First World War was a turning point: The old economic, social, and political world order had been deeply disrupted. It could not return to its prewar state; something new had to be developed now.
The First World War was a turning point for Ferdinand Porsche as well. Though he was the foremost automotive designer of Austria-Hungary, it was the war that brought him to the attention of the international community on a larger scale. In Austria, Porsche had been inundated with medals and awards. The University of Vienna, for instance, had given him an honorary doctorate, of which he was very proud, happy to finally have the weighty initials attached to his name,
letters that gave him equal footing with other engineers in his field. During the war, his designs for tanks were among the best any country produced, and he contributed solutions to problems such as how to make the first practical, four-wheel-drive vehicle. At the close of the war, one of the top English technical journals concluded that the aircraft motors that Porsche was designing at Austro-Daimler were heads above anything else coming from the central European powers at that
time.
Because the configurations of Europe itself also changed after the war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken into pieces, and Porsche found that he was now a citizen of Czechoslovakia. He was given his choice of nationality, and for both practical and professional reasons, he decided to take the nationality of his hometown: “I do not change my nationality like my shirt,” 10 he said, expressing a deep loyalty to his parents and siblings still living there. Aside from work, family and personal relationships were the center of Porsche’s life. Aloisia grounded and nurtured him. His daughter, Louise, an excellent driver in herown right, was developing an interest in art, but when it came to her father’s business and automotive concerns, she was proving to be as tough and shrewd as he.
Ferry, his son, had become Ferdinand’s constant companion, tagging along with his father nearly every chance he got, exploring the automotive factories where his father worked, and unbeknownst to his father, even driving the cars.
Ferry and Louise sitting in one of their father’s cars. Automobiles were a part of life in the Porsche home from day one.
(photo credit 8.1)
For Christmas in 1919, the war having finally come to an end, ten-year-old Ferry was given his very own handmade Porsche car to drive. It was small but solid, with an old trolley engine powering it from behind. Ferdinand, excited to finally have the chance to teach his young son how to drive, was shocked when Ferry jumped into the car, shifted its gears, and pressed just the right pedals without any instruction or help. Demanding to know who had taught the boy such
things, Ferdinand forced his son to admit that he’d taught himself when no one was watching. His father was upset, but secretly perhaps he was also proud. After all, Ferry’s sister had started driving early too.
Family was obviously important to Porsche, but by this time in his life, he now knew what was important to him on a professional level as well. One was his desire to build the ultimaterace car. Another was his dream to build a small and affordable car that could be mass produced. As Europe entered the 1920s, it was clear to him that the current state of the European automobile was far away from what the future would demand, and this excited him:
There was a whole new kind of car yet to be built. He wanted to discover the design for that car; like a sculptor who has been given a block of marble, he could already sense what was there. He just had to cut the excess stone away so the inherent shape could be revealed.
The idea of building a small car had been on Porsche’s mind since he worked for Jacob Lohner and had created a vehicle called the
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