9781422279618

INTRODUCTION

Porsche was a noted race car

designer during the 1930s. Here, an Auto Union grand prix car, with a monstrous V-16 engine located in the rear, is shown in-flight at Britain’s Donington Park race course in 1937.

by then as Daimler-Benz, and one of Dr. Porsche’s Mercedes designs brought fame to the factory when it won the Targa Florio race in 1924. Later that decade Porsche designed some of the most incredible automobiles ever created—the Mercedes-Benz S series. Coveted by gentlemen and sports- men seeking speed and comfort, the great S, SS, and SSK models graced roads on both sides of the Atlantic. They were particularly popular with Hollywood celebrities, such as Zeppo Marx, who owned one of the thirty-one rare, super- charged SSK roadsters that were produced. But a breach between Porsche and the Daimler-Benz board of directors soon developed. Porsche wanted to engineer a Mercedes-Benz for the common man, mass produced and affordable. Then, as now, conscious of its image as a maker of prestigious transportation, Daimler-Benz turned the request down; Porsche, frustrated by the company’s conservatism, quit. “My father found that when he signed a contract with a firm, they could live another ten years on his designs, but he couldn’t,” said Ferry Porsche, the son and successor of Dr. Ferdinand, many years later.

Displacement of the 911’s base engine had been raised to 3.0 liters by 1973. Such an engine pow- ers this 1976 Carrera Targa. FOLLOWING PAGE:

7

Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online