Ferdinand Porsche
| Ferdinand Porsche | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
3 September 1875 Maffersdorf, Bohemia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (current Vratislavice nad Nisou, Czech Republic) |
| Died | 30 January 1951 (aged 75) Stuttgart, West Germany |
| Citizenship |
Austria-Hungary (birth–1918), Czechoslovakia (1918–1934), Germany (1934–death) |
| Children | Ferry Porsche and Louisa Porsche |
| Engineering career | |
| Projects | Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK, Tiger I, Tiger II, the Elefant, and the Volkswagen Beetle |
| Awards |
German National Prize for Art and Science (1938) SS-Ehrenring War Merit Cross Wilhelm Exner Medal, 1936 |
Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche car company. He is best known for creating the first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner-Porsche), the Volkswagen Beetle, the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK, several other important developments and Porsche automobiles. In addition, Porsche designed the 1923 Benz Tropfenwagen, which was the first racing car with a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout.
Porsche was an important contributor to the German war effort during World War II. He was involved in the production of advanced tanks such as the VK 4501 (P), Tiger I, Tiger II, Elefant, and Panzer VIII Maus, as well as other weapon systems, including the V-1 flying bomb. Porsche was a member of the German Nazi party and allegedly the SS (see below). He was a recipient of the German National Prize for Art and Science, the SS-Ehrenring and the War Merit Cross. He was called the Great German Engineer by Nazi propaganda.
In 1996 Porsche was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and in 1999 posthumously won the award of Car Engineer of the Century.
Ferdinand Porsche was born to German-speaking parents in Maffersdorf (Czech: Vratislavice nad Nisou), northern Bohemia, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at that time, and today part of the Czech Republic. Porsche was his parents' third child. His father, Anton Porsche, was a master panel-beater.
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