Ferdinand Alexander Porsche: Automotive Pioneer

Early this month, the automotive world was dealt a big blow with the death of one of the greatest industrial designers ever known, Ferdinand Porsche, in Salzburg, Austria. He was 76. Ferdinand Porsche is best remembered as the man responsible for the creation of the iconic 911 sports car.

Porsche had a very clear concept of how his automobile designs were to be put together, “Design must be functional and functionality has to be translated visually into aesthetics, without gags that have to be explained first,” he said. “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.” Matthias Müller, President and Chief Executive Officer of Porsche AG, paying tribute to Ferdinand Alexander Porsche’s services to the sports car manufacturer said, “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.”

The oldest son of Dorothea and Ferry Porsche,c Ferdinand Alexander Porsche was born in Stuttgart on December 11, 1935. During his childhood, he was surrounded by cars and he spent much of his time engineering in offices and development workshops that belonged to his grandfather Ferdinand Porsche, which is where his passion to design practical products started.

Founding the Porsche Design Studio in 1972 at Stuttgart, in the decades that followed he also designed numerous classic gentlemen’s accessories such as watches, spectacles and writing implements that achieved global recognition under the ’Porsche Design‘ brand. Parallel to his team, he designed a plethora of industrial products, household appliances and consumer durables for internationally renowned clients under the brand ’Design by FA Porsche‘.

Ferdinand Porsche received numerous honours and awards, both for his work as a designer as well as for individual designs, during his lifespan. For example, in 1968 the Comité Internationale de Promotion et de Prestige honoured him for the outstanding aesthetic design for the Porsche 911, while the Industrial Forum Design, Hannover voted him ’Prizewinner of the Year‘ in 1992. The icing on the cake was when in 1999, the President of Austria bestowed on him the title of Professor.

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche was buried in the family grave at Schüttgut in Zell am See, attended by his immediate family. He will be missed.