It`s hard to say exactly which is the beginning of Porsche story. It could be in 1950, when the famous Max Hoffman introduced the Porsche 356 to the United States. Or in 1948 when the first automobile to bear the name Porsche was introduced. But in order to understand Porsches heritage and its philosophy we need to go back to 1875, when, in September, at the home of a tinsmith in the Bohemian village of Haffersdorf, a son was born. His name was Ferdinand Porsche.
Since his adolescence, Ferdinand Porsche showed glimpses of technical genius: at the age of 18, he wired family’s home for electricity in 1893. Still, he didnt show many signs of disciplined engineering skills that will eventually become his trademark. Even if the Doctor is usually appended to his name, it is in essence honorary, since his only formal technical training was as a part-time engineering student in Vienna.
By the age of 25, the young Ferdinand Porsche had entered the field of automotive design. His first car design was already accepted by Lohner & Co. of Vienna. Over the next 20 years, Ferdinand Porsche, the temperamental but brilliant engineer succeeded in associating with every...