The first major post-war initiative was the establishment
of the
Porsche
Company in Gmund in 1948. Of real significance was the 356
sports car, on which
Porsche collaborated with his son Ferry and Erwin Komenda, who created the distinctive streamlined fastback shape. It went
into production in 1950, the company having relocated to Stuttgart, and soon
established a corporate reputation for high-quality production and
innovative engineering. The 356 remained in production in various guises for
sixteen years, and established a strong reputation in racing and rallying.
The next model, the distinctive 911, was designed by Komenda and Ferdinand
‘Butzi’
Porsche, the founder's grandson, and attracted considerable critical
and public acclaim at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show. A classic design, it
remained in production for more than three decades. Collaboration with
Volkswagen was initiated in 1969, although models such as the 924 (1969)
failed to capture the public imagination. In 1996 the company produced the Boxter, designed by Haarm M. Laagay in charge of design from 1989.
In 1930
Ferdinand Porsche set up his own
engineering consultancy in Stuttgart and amongst the projects on which he
worked were prototypes for economic mass-produced cars for the NSU and
Zundapp motor companies. He also made a proposal to the German Ministry of
Finance for the production of an economic people's car in 1932. This evolved
into the rear-engine
Volkswagen, prototyped in 1935, the distinctive
streamlined shape of which was designed by Erwin Komenda, with whom
Porsche
developed a productive working relationship. A special factory for
mass-producing this car—dubbed the ‘Beetle’ by the New York Times—was built
at Wolfsburg and the car shown to the public in Berlin in 1939. However, the
car did not go into mass production until after the end of the Second World
War.
