The History

1875:On September 3, Ferdinand Porsche is born in the Bohemian town of Maffersdorf. In 1889, after attending grammar school there and the Staatsgewerbeschule (State Vocational School) in Reichenberg, he entershis father’s business as an apprentice plumber.



1900:
The Lohner-Porsche electric car is presented at the World Fair in Paris. The wheel hub engines of the young engineer Ferdinand Porsche bring him international attention. In the same year, he develops an all-wheel-drive racecar, as well as a hybrid petrol/electric vehicle – a world first.

1906:
Ferdinand Porsche becomes Technical Director at Austro-Daimler in Wiener Neustadt. At the age of only 31, he is responsible for the model range of one of Europe’s largest automotive concerns.

1909:
Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche, later known as ‘Ferry’, is born on September 19 in Wiener Neustadt.

1910:
The Austro-Daimler touring car designed by Ferdinand Porsche scores a triple victory in the Prince Henry Trials. At the wheel of the winning car sits none other than Ferdinand Porsche himself.

1923:
As Technical Director and Board Member of the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in Stuttgart, Ferdinand Porsche designs the legendary Mercedes Compressor Sports Car. The following year, the 2-litre racecar developed under his aegis wins the Targa Florio. The Mercedes-Benz S-Type models dominate international motorsport from 1927.

1931:
Crowning his career, Ferdinand Porsche opens an office for ‘engineering and consultation on engine and vehicle design’ in Stuttgart on April 25. Created for such renowned manufacturers as Wanderer, Zündapp and NSU are not only entire vehicles, but such trend-setting detail solutions as the Porsche torsion bar suspension.

1933:
For Auto Union, Porsche develops a Grand Prix racecar with a 16-cylinder engine in mid-ship configuration. The rear-engine vehicle concept designed for the compact car (Type 32) developed for NSU is ultimately incorporated in the Volkswagen Beetle.

1934:
The company Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche KG receives an official order for the design and construction of a German Volkswagen. Only one year later, the VW prototype is test driven. The ‘Ur Beetle’ is assembled in the garage of the Porsche villa in Stuttgart.

1935:
Ferdinand Alexander Porsche is born on December 11 in Stuttgart as the eldest son of Ferry Porsche.

1936:Parallel to road trials of the Type 60, production facilities are erected under the direction of Ferdinand Porsche for the Volkswagen renamed the ‘KdF-Wagen’.

1939:Under the designation Type 64, three racing coupés are developed at Porsche in Zuffenhausen. Built for long-distance endurance competition, the ‘Berlin–Rom-Wagen’ are considered the forefathers of all later Porsche sports cars.

1944:
Owing to wartime conditions, the Porsche KG engineering office moves to Gmünd in the Austrian province of Carinthia.

1946:
Under the direction of Ferdinand Porsche’s son Ferry, design of an all-wheeldrive Grand Prix racecar – the ‘Cisitalia’ (Type 360) – is begun for Italian industrialist Piero Dusio.

1948:The 356 is the first sports car to bear the Porsche name. ‘No. 1’ is roadcertified in June. Only one month later, the lightweight mid-engine roadster wins its first class victory at the Innsbruck Stadtrennen.

Source taken from porsche.com,supercars.net