Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, the Honorary President of the Supervisory Board and creator of the iconic Porsche 911, passed away in Salzburg Austria on 5 April at the age of 76.
Born in Stuttgart on December 11 1935, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche was born the eldest son of Ferry Porsche and spent many of his formative years in his grandfather Ferdinand Porsche’s workshops. Having attended school in Zell am See, Austria and Stuttgart, F.A. Porsche enrolled at the renowned Ulm School of design.
He joined the engineering offices of what was then Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche KG in 1958. By 1962, he had attained the position of head of the Porsche design studio and unveiled a plasticine model of his interpretation of a successor to the 356. Codenamed 901, this model formed the foundations of what we know today as the 911 range – possibly one of the most well-known and regularly standard-setting cars in the sportscar genre with a DNA footprint still evident in the current car. FA Porsche also had a hand in designing such racing icons as the Type 804 Formula 1 car and the 904 Carrera GTS – a model considered by many to be the most beautiful racing car ever conceived.
Porsche KG’s stock incorporation move in the early 1970’s saw F.A. Porsche and other family members step down from their front-line business obligations. F.A. Porsche formed the “Porsche Design Studio” in 1972 – an institution that produced numerous gentleman’s accessories such as timepieces, writing implements and eyewear, as well as a range of household and industrial goods under the “Porsche Design” label. The credo of his design work was: "Design must be functional and functionality has to be translated visually into aesthetics, without gags that have to be explained first…a coherently designed product requires no adornment; it should be enhanced by its form alone." The design's appearance should be readily comprehensible and not detract from the product and its function. His conviction was: "Good design should be honest."
Among the honours bestowed upon F.A. Porsche were the 1968 "Comité Internationale de Promotion et de Prestige" recognition for the outstanding aesthetic design of the Porsche 911 while the Industrial Forum Design Hannover (iF) voted him "Prizewinner of the Year" in 1992. In 1999, the President of Austria bestowed on him the title of Professor.
He retained a close lifelong association with Porsche AG as a partner and member of the Supervisory Board. He contributed to the design of Porsche's sports cars over many decades and repeatedly steered the company in the right direction. This was especially the case for the difficult period Porsche experienced at the beginning of the 1990s. From 1990 to 1993, F.A. Porsche served as President of the company's Supervisory Board, thus playing a major role in Porsche A.G's economic turnaround. In 2005, he stood down from his Supervisory Board role in favour of his son Oliver and assumed the mantle of Honorary President of the Supervisory Board.
Matthias Müller, President and Chief Executive Officer of Porsche AG, paid tribute to Ferdinand Alexander Porsche's services to the sports car manufacturer: "We mourn the death of our partner, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche. As the creator of the Porsche 911, he established a design culture in our company that has shaped our sports cars to this very day. His philosophy of good design is a legacy to us that we will honour for all time."
