Ferdinand Porsche
1875–1951
Automotive engineer · Founder of Porsche
Engineer behind the Lohner-Porsche hybrid, the Auto Union racing cars and the Volkswagen Beetle, and founder of the design office that became Porsche.
- Born
- 3 September 1875Maffersdorf, Bohemia (now Vratislavice nad Nisou, Czech Republic)
- Died
- 30 January 1951Stuttgart, Germany
- Nationality
- Austrian-born German
Biography
Ferdinand Porsche was born on 3 September 1875 in Maffersdorf, Bohemia, then part of Austria-Hungary. In 1901 he presented the Lohner-Porsche, described as the first petrol-electric hybrid on record. He became chief designer at Austro-Daimler in 1906 and its managing director in 1916, and in 1923 technical director of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in Stuttgart, where his supercharged racing cars led to the Mercedes-Benz SSK.
In 1931 he founded his own design and consultancy firm in Stuttgart. His racing-car project became the basis of the Auto Union Grand Prix cars, and in 1934 he received the contract for a 'people's car' that became the Volkswagen Beetle; the same year he took German citizenship. He joined the Nazi Party and the SS in 1937, and Volkswagen under his leadership used forced labour during the war.
On 15 December 1945 the French authorities arrested him as a suspected war criminal and imprisoned him. He died in Stuttgart on 30 January 1951, by which time his son Ferry had put the first Porsche sports cars into production. In 1999 he was posthumously named Car Engineer of the Century.
Timeline
- 1901Lohner-Porsche petrol-electric hybrid[1]
- 1906Chief designer at Austro-Daimler[1]
- 1923Technical director at Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft[1]
- 1931Founds his design office in Stuttgart[1]
- 1934Contract for the Volkswagen 'people's car'[1]
- 1937Joins the Nazi Party and the SS[1]
- 1945Arrested and imprisoned by the French authorities[1]
- 1999Named Car Engineer of the Century[1]
Cars
Volkswagen BeetleFerdinand Porsche in 1CARS stories
- Horch — August Horch's luxury cars from Zwickau, 1899 to 1958
- Auto Union — the Four-Ring Group That Became Audi
- Auto Union 1000 — the Two-Stroke that Revived the Name
- Mercedes-Benz SSK — Ferdinand Porsche’s Supercharged Roadster
- The History of Abarth: From a Bologna Workshop to Stellantis
- Twelve Engines That Changed the Motor Car, 1906 to 1999
- The Tow Truck: History and Evolution of the Breakdown Truck
- Porsche: History, Landmark Models and Today's Range
- Tatra: The Czech Maker of Streamliners and Trucks
- Volkswagen: History, Landmark Models and Ownership
Related people
Sources
- Ferdinand Porsche — Wikipedia · accessed 13 October 2026