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Automotive Lifestyle
AUTOS: F.A. Porsche, Designer Of The 911, Dies At 76
Grandson of the famed founder of the German car company, he headed the creation of Porsche's iconic sports car in the early 1960s.
Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, shown in 1963 with the new 911, was responsible for one of the most enduring designs of the 20th Century. (Photo: Porsche)
Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, who designed Porsche's classic 911 sports car and cemented his grandfather's name into the modern psyche, died Thursday in Salzburg, Austria, at age 76, according to Porsche AG. No cause was provided.
Porsche, known as F.A. to his colleagues, was head of the Porsche design studio in the early 1960s when the company developed the 911 model that remains its brand-defining product. The car, now in its seventh version, remains recognizably the same vehicle, with its sloping roofline, long, low hood and prominent headlights.
"The creator of the Porsche 911 has founded a culture of design in our company that distinguishes our sports cars even today," said Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller.
Porsche was the son of former Porsche Chairman Ferry Porsche, who died in 1998, and the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who started the company as a design and engineering firm in the 1930s.
Born in Stuttgart on Dec. 11, 1935, F.A. Porsche was initiated into the family business while still a boy, spending time in his grandfather's workshops and design facilities. He studied at the Hochschule fuer Gestaltung in Ulm and joined the company in 1958, taking over the design studio in 1962.
In the 911, he created a larger, less-cramped replacement for the company's first model, the four-cylinder Porsche 356. The new car, with a rear-mounted, six-cylinder engine, was originally designated the 901, but the number was changed because French competitor Peugeot claimed a patent on car names formed with a zero in the middle.
Porsche left the operational part of the company with other family members in the early 1970s and in 1972 founded a design business, Porsche Design Studio, where he created eyeglasses, watches and pens.
As a designer, he had a reputation as a functionalist.
"A formally harmonious product needs no decoration; it should be elevated through pure form," he once said – a motto reflected in the lean lines of the 911.
He served as chairman of Porsche AG from 1990 to 1993 and helped steer the family firm through a crisis as sales plunged in the late 1980s under pressure from global competition and a strong German mark that hindered exports.
Under his chairmanship, the company brought in a new CEO, Wendelin Wiedeking, who is credited with turning the company around.
Porsche was to be buried in a private ceremony in the chapel at Schuettgut, the Porsche family's estate in Zell am See, Austria.
Porsche, known as F.A. to his colleagues, was head of the Porsche design studio in the early 1960s when the company developed the 911 model that remains its brand-defining product. The car, now in its seventh version, remains recognizably the same vehicle, with its sloping roofline, long, low hood and prominent headlights.
"The creator of the Porsche 911 has founded a culture of design in our company that distinguishes our sports cars even today," said Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller.
Porsche was the son of former Porsche Chairman Ferry Porsche, who died in 1998, and the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who started the company as a design and engineering firm in the 1930s.
Born in Stuttgart on Dec. 11, 1935, F.A. Porsche was initiated into the family business while still a boy, spending time in his grandfather's workshops and design facilities. He studied at the Hochschule fuer Gestaltung in Ulm and joined the company in 1958, taking over the design studio in 1962.
In the 911, he created a larger, less-cramped replacement for the company's first model, the four-cylinder Porsche 356. The new car, with a rear-mounted, six-cylinder engine, was originally designated the 901, but the number was changed because French competitor Peugeot claimed a patent on car names formed with a zero in the middle.
Porsche left the operational part of the company with other family members in the early 1970s and in 1972 founded a design business, Porsche Design Studio, where he created eyeglasses, watches and pens.
As a designer, he had a reputation as a functionalist.
"A formally harmonious product needs no decoration; it should be elevated through pure form," he once said – a motto reflected in the lean lines of the 911.
He served as chairman of Porsche AG from 1990 to 1993 and helped steer the family firm through a crisis as sales plunged in the late 1980s under pressure from global competition and a strong German mark that hindered exports.
Under his chairmanship, the company brought in a new CEO, Wendelin Wiedeking, who is credited with turning the company around.
Porsche was to be buried in a private ceremony in the chapel at Schuettgut, the Porsche family's estate in Zell am See, Austria.
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