49 Facts About Ferry Porsche

Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche, mainly known as Ferry Porsche, was an Austrian-German technical automobile designer and automaker-entrepreneur.

Ferry Porsche's life was intimately connected with that of his father, Ferdinand Porsche Sr.

Ferry Porsche's designs were focused on compact street cars and race cars.

The day Ferry Porsche was born, his father was competing with one of his race cars at Semmering, finishing first in his class.

Ferry Porsche found out about his son's birth by telegram.

Ferry Porsche had an older sister, Louise Piech, who was five years his senior.

Ferry Porsche was baptized Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche, with the name Ferdinand after his father, the name Anton after his grandfather, and the name Ernst after his uncle on his mother's side.

For example, on Christmas Eve of 1920, Ferry Porsche was originally misled by his parents, who first presented him with a miniature coach pulled by a goat, while his real present was a petrol-driven miniature car with a four-stroke, two-cylinder engine specially designed by his father.

Ferry Porsche learned to drive when he was only 10 years old.

Ferry Porsche attended school at Wiener Neustadt and Stuttgart, concentrating on mathematics.

Ferry Porsche joined the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft at Stuttgart-Unterturkheim.

Meanwhile, Ferry Porsche received consent from the company to stay at the plant together with his father because of his increasing interest in design issues.

Ferdinand Ferry Porsche senior enjoyed success particularly with his racing cars which excelled at the race tracks.

Ferry Porsche worked temporarily as the technical director of Steyr AG in Austria; nonetheless, he soon decided to open a consulting office of automobile design, again at Stuttgart.

When Porsche senior opened his offices in April 1931, his son Ferry was by his side.

Ferry Porsche GmbH was founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Ferry Porsche, Dr Anton Piech and Adolf Rosenberger.

Nevertheless, Ferry Porsche soon obtained contracts from important German automotive firms, such as Wanderer, Auto Union, Zwickau, Zundapp and, starting in 1933, the new German National Socialist regime.

In 1935, Ferry Porsche married Dorothea Reitz, whom he had first met in the corridors of Daimler-Benz, years before.

In 1938, when his father moved to the new Volkswagen plant at Wolfsburg, Ferry Porsche became deputy manager of the Stuttgart bureau and relocated the design departments to Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.

Therefore, Ferry Porsche had complete access to help his father, intervening on important parts of the project.

In 1939, when the Volkswagen factory opened in Wolfsburg, Ferry Porsche senior became its general manager.

In 1932, Ferdinand Ferry Porsche met with Adolf Hitler personally and their bid was accepted.

Ferry Porsche took part in the conception and construction of those race cars, and was responsible for the general organization of the workshop and the testing of units.

In 1934, Wanderer and others merged to form Auto Union, and the senior Ferry Porsche became the chief designer of their race cars.

In 1938, Ferdinand Ferry Porsche senior left the Auto Union racing team when his contract expired.

Ferry Porsche volunteered to join the SS on December 17,1938, later claiming, falsely, that he had been conscripted by Himmler to design the Schwimmwagen.

Ferry Porsche would continue to deny having volunteered until his death.

Meanwhile, Ferry Porsche senior continued on at Wolfsburg, working for the Germans until the end of the war.

Ferry Porsche's father was taken instead to prison at Dijon.

Together, with his sister Louise, Ferry Porsche took over the management of the company.

In 1947, the junior Ferdinand Ferry Porsche gathered the amount of the stipulated bail, immediately after receiving the early fees for his new designs.

Ferry Porsche's father was then released on 1 August 1947, along with Anton Piech.

Once in Austria, the senior F Porsche reviewed the designs of his son for both projects; the 360 Cisitalia and the 356.

Ferry Porsche consented with the plans and aided the projects which were in progress.

Ferry Porsche commented daily to their employees that he "would have done the same designs as Ferry".

In November 1950, senior Ferdinand Ferry Porsche suffered a stroke which disabled him until his death, on 30 January 1951, aged 75.

Also by this agreement, junior Ferdinand Ferry Porsche would become the only dealer of Volkswagen for all Austria.

In view of this new stabilized situation, junior Ferdinand Ferry Porsche decided to reestablish the headquarters of the Ferry Porsche at Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.

Ferry Porsche brought most of his employees and opened on September 1949.

Ferdinand Ferry Porsche's motto was to produce automobiles which had to be reliable and of high-quality sports cars, of a high utilitarian value.

Later, in 1959, Ferry Porsche won for first time an event of the World Sportscar Championship, at Targa Florio, while a Ferry Porsche 917 would achieve the first Le Mans win finally in 1970.

Additionally, Ferdinand Ferry Porsche stepped down from the chairmanship and became honorary chairman of the supervisory board.

Ferry Porsche remained in that position until his death In 1998.

In 1989, Ferdinand Ferry Porsche retired definitively from involvement with the company he created, returning to his cherished Austrian farm at Zell am See.

Ferry Porsche assisted in the large celebration of the 30 years of the Porsche 911 which took place at Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg.

Ferry Porsche supported himself with a cane and was wearing a straw hat.

Ferdinand Ferry Porsche died 74 days short of the 50th anniversary of the company, at the age of 88, on 27 March 1998, at the farm in Zell am See, Austria.

Ferry Porsche was buried there at the Schuttgut church, beside his parents, his wife Dorothea and Anton Piech.

Ferry Porsche AG conducted a memorial service soon after in Stuttgart.