F.A. ‘Butzi’ Porsche, the eldest son of Ferry and Dorothea Porsche, joined the family business in 1958 having shown great interest in the field of industrial design. Working under the direction of Erwin Komenda, F.A. Porsche set about learning the business from the inside, and was soon given the task of ‘working’ on the new shape of the 718 racer for the ’61 season. Showing an … [Read more...]
Working for Porsche in Stuttgart in the 1960s Part I
For two years in the early 1960s, South African André Loubser had the time of his life, working not just for Porsche in Stuttgart, but for Huschke von Hanstein, one of the most colourful figures in the company's history. Von Hanstein’s death, in early 1996, prompted Loubser to recall those far-off days and to write this remarkable account of his time at Zuffenhausen, … [Read more...]
Grossmutter 718 W-RS Spyder – one of a kind
The word unique is a much-overused word today, as it is applied, it seems, to just about anything that is produced in small numbers, or even just to enhance a claim about something unusual. In fact, the word unique should really only be applied to something when it is: the only one of its kind; unlike anything else; existing as the only one or as the sole example. So, when we … [Read more...]
Mike de ‘Udy and the Carrera Six
The Carrera Six, as Porsche officially called the 906, was a radically different car from its predecessor, the 904 GTS. The 904 was a sleek glass fibre bodied racer penned by Butzi Porsche, and it took over as Porsche’s competition model following such illustrious forebears as the RS 718 and RS 61 which brought the Stuttgart manufacturer so many victories in the early sixties. … [Read more...]
Jürgen Barth – A Profile
More books have been written about Porsche than any other car company so the publication in English of another tome is hardly headline news until you realise that the author, exceptionally, is a Porsche insider, but not just any insider. Jürgen Barth was at the epicentre of Porsche’s racing activity from the time he joined the Zuffenhausen payroll in 1966 until he retired four … [Read more...]
