A tribute to a man and a legend: Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, designer of the 911 dies at 76

MANILA, Philippines - There are only a few shapes in the automotive world that remain timelessly elegant despite the passage of time. One such shape is the Porsche 911, a design that has evolved so little since its introduction to the world at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show. Credit this to Ferdinand Alexander Porsche—grandson of Ferdinand Porsche who has sadly passed away last April 5 at the age of 76. Despite having retired in 2005, his passing is being mourned by no less than Matthias Muller, Porsche AG President and Chief Executive Officer. “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 honor for all time.”

Indeed, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche’s childhood was shaped by cars, spending much of his time in the engineering offices and development workshops of his grandfather, Ferdinand Porsche. In 1958, at the age of 23, F.A. Porsche, as he was known by his colleagues, joined the engineering office of what was then Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche KG. He soon proved his great talent for design by sculpting the first model of a successor to the 356 model line. In 1962, he took over as the head of Porsche design studio and just a year later created a worldwide furor with the Porsche 901 (or 911). With the Porsche 911, F.A. Porsche created a sports car icon whose timeless and classical form survives to this very day in what is now the seventh 911 generation.

In addition to passenger cars, F.A. Porsche also concerned himself with designing the sports cars of the 1960’s. His best-known designs include the Type 804 Formula One racing car and the Porsche 904 Carrera GTS, now considered to be one of the most beautiful racing cars ever.

After stepping down from the company’s front-line business operations in 1972, F.A. Porsche founded “Porsche Design Studio” and turned his attention to designing smaller items of daily use: sunglasses, watches, pens, among many others. In parallel, with his team, he designed numerous industrial products, household appliances and consumer durables under the brand “Design by F.A. Porsche”.

But whatever F.A. Porsche designed, a strong and clear design concept typifies all of his creations: “Design must be functional and functionality has to be translated visually into aesthetics without gags that have to be explained first.” As F.A. Porsche himself said: “A coherent designed product requires no adornment; it should be enhanced by its form alone.”

This basic principle allowed for the very relaxed quality to Porsche’s designs: a 911 for instance could be loaded up with spoilers if it would help win a race, and that was perfectly fine. However, when the 911 is pared down to its most basic form, it becomes the most desirably design on four wheels. Every 911 is an icon, a long-lasting form that has become an icon the world over.