Original Porsche 911’s designer dies at 76
Ferdinand A. Porsche, the designer of the original Porsche 911 sports car, passed away on Thursday this week at the age of 76.
Mr. Porsche, who was also known by his childhood nickname Butzi, breathed his last breath in Salzburg, Austria.
Zuffenhausen, Germany-based Porsche A. G., which was founded by Ferdinand A. Porsche’s grandfather and run by his father, announced his death, without mentioning any cause of the death.
F. A. Porsche joined his family business in 1958. To begin with, he worked in the technical design department as an apprentice, where he gained expertise in engine edifice, aerodynamics and body designing.
In 1963, he finished a complete design model for the new model that was originally called the 901, but later the designation was changed to 911 after Porsche learned that France’s Peugeot had a patent on the three-figure designations of cars with a zero amid two digits.
Speaking on car designs, F. A. Porsche once said, “Design must be functional and functionality must be translated into visual aesthetics, without any reliance on gimmicks that have to be explained.”
The Porsche 911 became a big hit, which encouraged the automaker to never replace it. The luxury automaker, instead, allowed the car to evolve over for nearly five decades.
