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Ferdinand Porche and His Descendants: Success Story

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When people think of the creation of the first motor car, names such as Karl Benz and Henry Ford should be coming across their minds. But behind the scene, there was a particular man named Ferdinand Porsche who designed the first electric/gasoline hybrid and the Lohner-Porsche electric car in the1900. Porsche had many achievements such as developing Grand Prix race cars and working in many of the most famous car-making factories of the time. Though Ferdinand Porsche was not the first man to create an automobile with a gas engine, his creation of the Porsche as portrayed in Porsche - The Man and his Cars by Richard von Frankenberg, was an incredible innovation in the history of automobiles. Ferdinand Porsche was born on September 3, …show more content…

The 356 was a four-cylinder, air-cooled, rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive car utilizing unitized pan and body construction. By March of 1951, Porsche had sold 500 of the new sports cars. Later in November 1952, Professor Porsche had suffered a stroke. He never recovered, and he passed away on January 30, 1952. After Ferdinand Porsche died, Ferry Porsche completely took over the business. Ferry Porsche was an engineer similar to his father but as both a man and a manager, he was very different. But, like his father he worked hard and he was inspirations to others. He was known for his designs and skills, and made the Porsche association very successful. The four-cylinder Type 356 became a huge success. Some of the lightweight aluminum coupes that were built constructed in Gmund, Austria were adjusted for racing around 1951. Prototype Type 550s were next in production in 1953 and by 1954, equipped with the Fuhrman four-cam Type 547 motors in them, the Spyders were winning 1500-cc class races frequently and winning overall every now and then (“Porsche History: Milestones”). The Spyders were developed throughout 1962 when the Carrera Abarth was debut, with an Italian aluminum body resembling the 356 design, but “riced out”. By 1964 Ferry’s son, Butzi Porsche, was credited for the design of both the 904 and the successor street car of the 356, the Porsche 901/911(“Ferdinand Porsche Biography”).

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