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N0KFQ > TODAY 08.06.16 16:26l 56 Lines 2537 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 96118_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Jun 8
Path: IW8PGT<HB9CSR<IK2XDE<DB0RES<PI8CDR<GB7YEW<N9LYA<N0KFQ
Sent: 160608/1411Z 96118@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
1948
First Porsche completed
On this day in 1948, a hand-built aluminum prototype labeled "No.
1? becomes the first vehicle to bear the name of one of the
world's leading luxury car manufacturers: Porsche.
The Austrian automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche debuted his
first design at the World's Fair in Paris in 1900. The electric
vehicle set several Austrian land-speed records, reaching more
than 35 mph and earning international acclaim for the young
engineer. He became general director of the Austro-Daimler
Company (an outpost of the German automaker) in 1916 and later
moved to Daimler headquarters in Stuttgart. Daimler merged with
the Benz firm in the 1920s, and Porsche was chiefly responsible
for designing some of the great Mercedes racing cars of that
decade.
Porsche left Daimler in 1931 and formed his own company. A few
years later, Adolf Hitler called on the engineer to aid in the
production of a small "people's car" for the German masses. With
his son, also named Ferdinand (known as Ferry), Porsche designed
the prototype for the original Volkswagen (known as the KdF:
"Kraft durch Freude," or "strength through joy") in 1936. During
World War II, the Porsches also designed military vehicles, most
notably the powerful Tiger tank.
At war's end, the French accused the elder Porsche of war crimes
and imprisoned him for more than a year. Ferry struggled to keep
the family firm afloat. He built a Grand Prix race car, the Type
360 Cisitalia, for a wealthy Italian industrialist, and used the
money to pay his father's bail. When Porsche was released from
prison, he approved of another project Ferry had undertaken: a
new sports car that would be the first to actually bear the name
Porsche. Dubbed the Type 356, the new car was in the tradition of
earlier Porsche-designed race cars such as the Cisitalia. The
engine was placed mid-chassis, ahead of the transaxle, with
modified Volkswagen drive train components.
The 356 went into production during the winter of 1947-48, and
the aluminum prototype, built entirely by hand, was completed on
June 8, 1948. The Germans subsequently hired Porsche to consult
on further development of the Volkswagen. With the proceeds,
Porsche opened new offices in Stuttgart, with plans to build up
to 500 of his company's own cars per year. Over the next two
decades, the company would build more than 78,000 vehicles.
73 - K.O., n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-Mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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