Very different from previous production Porsches, the 914 was an attempt by Zuffenhausen to introduce a lower cost model. Commercially it was only a moderate success, but it’s very distinct minimalist styling, though part of the idiom of the 1960s, was very much an in-house design. Almost two decades after the first Gmünd coupés, the 914 was the company’s third new … [Read more...]
Articles by: Kieron Fennelly
Porsche: The Carrera Dynasty
A Spanish noun, ‘carrera’ can mean road, track or race and since the 1970s ‘Carrera’ has been a model name synonymous with Porsche. In fact, and as the author explains, Porsche had been using the name ‘Carrera’ since 1954 to commemorate its success in the Carrera Panamericana road race, one of a gruelling and dangerous series of point-to-point competitions in central America … [Read more...]
Arno Bohn – The Porsche Outsider
Arno Bohn was managing director of Porsche from 1990-92. An outsider who came from the computer industry, he arrived at a company seared by falling sales and riven by internal division about future direction. He left a Porsche which though still weak, had a new 911, the 993, in the wings and had conceived the 986/996 platform, a strategy which would be the beginning of its … [Read more...]
Porsche and the US
America has for decades been Porsche’s biggest market, and this was important for the young and growing company. In some ways, the importance of this market even influenced the development of certain models. In this feature, Porsche and the US, we look into that all-important relationship between Porsche and the American car-mad society. One of the surprises of the 1948 … [Read more...]
The Sonderwunsch Man – Rolf Sprenger
Rolf Sprenger was a versatile engineer whose Porsche career was founded almost entirely on customer service. “If I want a trailer (caravan) with a swimming pool, Herr Sprenger will build it for me,” so said Peter Schutz to a potential client, while Sprenger looking on, would groan inwardly: yet another customer whose expectations had been over-excited would have to be brought … [Read more...]
Never a dull moment – the career of Toine Hezemans
One of the Netherlands’ most successful racers, Toine Hezemans is part of a motorsport dynasty that began with his father who raced Porsches in the 1950s. This family tradition continued with Toine who began racing 911s in the late ‘60s, but after his own career ended, his first son Mike, then picked up the baton and raced 964s in the early years of the Porsche Cup. Speaking … [Read more...]
Ernst Fuhrmann – the inspiration behind the 911 Turbo
Porsche’s first CEO is frequently maligned as the man who tried to kill off the 911. There is far more to his Porsche career than this misconception as he was the inspiration behind the 911 Turbo. Viennese Ernst Fuhrmann was one of Ferry Porsche’s first post war employees, joining the Konstructionsbüro, then based in Gmünd in 1947. The pair worked together on several … [Read more...]
Anatole Lapine
Anatole Lapine who was in charge of styling at Porsche under two disparate CEOs, Fuhrmann and Schutz, looks back on quite a CV: Chevrolet Corvette, Opel GT, Porsche 928, Porsche 964. But there is a lot more to this designer whose career spans two continents and most of the second half of the twentieth century, and who for thirty years, was close to Ferry Porsche. Son of … [Read more...]
Sports cars – it’s horses for courses
Owning a sports car is a compromise: on the one hand, it doesn’t have the space of a family estate, and for some it is slightly less practical as a daily run around. On the other hand, it has superior performance and in most cases, better looks, so, it is horses for courses. If you can live with the lack of space and the impractical nature of a sports car, then you have a … [Read more...]
Roland Kussmaul
For many years, the éminence grise of Porsche’s competition department, but now in retirement, Roland Kussmaul seems busier than ever. He left Porsche officially at the end of 2008, but our attempts to meet him were thwarted for several years by his amazingly busy schedule. More recently, we were luckier: despite a programme still just as full, he found time to meet us at his … [Read more...]
