History of the 911

Although the Porsche 911 was introduced to the world in 1963, the pedigree of this iconic sports car dates back to 1875, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with the birth of Ferdinand Porsche. A child born into humble beginnings, the son of a blacksmith, would become one of the greatest automotive designers of the early 1900’s and create an everlasting mark on the automotive industry. Wanting to create a better future for himself, Ferdinand was heavily focused on his education until his elder brother tragically passed away and he was forced to run the family blacksmithing business.

Porsche’s passion for all things mechanical led to him to undertake challenges such as wiring the family home for electricity. Ferdinand’s father saw his passion and propensity for engineering and allowed him to enroll in the engineering program at Imperial Technical School in Reichenberg. Around the time of his graduation, the automobile began to appear around Europe and Ferdinand Porsche was entranced. He went to work for a carriage-turned-automobile company where he actually designed the first electric hub-motor, resulting in the first electric car, ever.

At the turn of the century, automobiles were not yet seen as a practical means of transportation and were mainly used for racing. Although highly innovative, the sheer weight of the batteries Porsche had to use to power his electric car made it slow. Always up for a challenge, Ferdinand combined an internal combustion engine with his electric motor, creating the first hybrid car as well. His immense skills in engineering resulted in Porsche working with multiple automobile manufacturers, including what is now Mercedes-Benz, for whom he designed the S-class of Mercedes, that is still around today.

By the late 1920’s, Ferdinand’s renown for his engineering prowess had spread throughout Europe, as had his frustration with the politics working for Mercedes. Despite the world being in the midst of the Great Depression, Ferdinand decided to leave Mercedes, and with the help of his equally talented son Ferry, founded Porsche in 1931. The father-son engineering powerhouse, along with many connections made throughout Ferdinand’s career, created and nurtured one of the most recognizable car companies in existence today.

One of the most influential, and most infamous, connections that Ferdinand made through his exceptional talents was none other than Adolph Hitler. Although Porsche didn’t share Hitler’s ideals, a strange friendship developed between the two. In 1934, Hitler desired engineers to design a car that would be accessible and affordable to all Germans. Thus, Volkswagen, which roughly translates to “people’s car” was born. This led to Ferdinand Porsche designing his first universally recognizable, and vastly successful car, the Beetle. The Beetle, along with multiple vehicles and instruments of war designed by Ferdinand, resulted in an honorary SS title in Hitler’s Third Reich.

Ferdinand’s SS title and common, but immoral, labor practices would bring about his ultimate personal demise. After WWII, both Ferdinand and Ferry were arrested by the French Government for war crimes. Ferry was released in order to raise funds to bail out his father, whose health was failing in the poor conditions of imprisonment. Ferry’s shrewd business sense steered him toward Volkswagen where he proved that it was his father that designed the Beetle and negotiated design rights and royalties for every Beetle sold. Not only did Ferry secure his father’s release, but also secured funding for Porsche to become what it is today.

Ferdinand was never able to recover his health after imprisonment, so Ferry took control of Porsche and engineered the early vehicles with performance and reliability in mind. Many early Porsche vehicles maintained similar design and repurposed Volkswagen parts, until Ferry’s son, who bore his grandfather’s name, designed the Porsche 901. The 901 model name would soon become the 911 due to a legal battle with French-owned car company Peugeot, who trademarked the naming rights containing a “0” as the middle digit.

The automotive world was enthralled by the 911 when it was introduced in 1963. It garnered the attention of car enthusiasts around the world due to its amazing performance with speed, handling, and practicality. Since its debut, the 911 has seen 8 iterations, each generation improving on the last. Join me as we take a look at the evolution of this amazing car, starting from it’s conception in 1963 to the magnificent 992 generation of today, and see what makes this car what many would argue to be the greatest sports car of all time and the benchmark that every performance vehicle strives to achieve. ^[1]

-Isaiah R Barrett