PORSCHE
Check Engine is here to help you find your way around the hundreds of models that the German manufacturer Porsche has offered or has offered since 1931.
We also invite you to discover a page of Porsche’s history, as well as its factories in Stuttgart and Leipzig.
HISTORY
Ferdinand Porsche, a skilled technician, founded his company on 6 March 1931 in Stuttgart to develop engines and racing cars at a time when the world economy was at its lowest ebb. The Second World War also disrupted the company, which had to meet the demands of the state to avoid bankruptcy. Hitler ordered “the people’s car” (Volkswagen) from Ferdinand Porsche, who designed the “Beetle”. The government launched the construction of the KDF (Volkswagen) factories to produce this vehicle, but the war soon led Porsche and his son-in-law Anton Piech to produce military vehicles. The Nazi rout led the PORSCHE/PIECH family to take refuge in Austria, where Ferdinand PORSCHE was caught and imprisoned for 2 years for his collaboration with the Nazi regime.
Meanwhile, Ferry Porsche, his son, designed the first car to bear the PORSCHE name, the 356, in the early 50s. Many components were taken from the Beetle, but the “Porsche spirit” was still there. Ferdinand Porsche died in January 1951, while Volkswagen’s factories were working at full capacity to produce the Beetle. Ferry Porsche produced the Porsches in Germany, while his sister, Louise Piech, remained in Austria to promote the Volkswagen brand, which had been taken over by the government.
In 1972, because of family confrontations, the PORSCHEs and the PIECHs decided to withdraw from the company’s executive board and became mere shareholders. Ferry Porsche remained executive director until 1992, when the company’s difficulties prompted him to take on a talented manager, Wendelin Wiedeking.
Ferry Porsche died at his home in Austria in 1998. The company recovered beyond all hope, but the inordinate ambition or arrogance of Wendelin Wiedeking, supported by Wolfgang Porsche (Ferry’s son) led him to resign in 2009, since in the tug of war between Porsche and VW, VW seemed to win. Ferdinand PIECH (Louise PIECH’s son), VW’s No. 1, installed Mickael Macht to ensure the transition with Matthias Muller, who took over at the head of Porsche at the end of 2010. In 2012, the PIECH family won the PORSCHE / PIECH battle, as PORSCHE was finally absorbed by the VW Group… this is the story of a family who founded the 2 jewels of the German car industry!