Skip to content
PP PorschePrototype

Porsche history, checked against the record

The 911’s history is well told and often retold wrong. These records go back to the documents: court rulings, factory archives, and the contemporary press.

  1. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche: the designer of the 911 Ferdinand Alexander “Butzi” Porsche (1935–2012): the T7 study, the 911 and 904, founding Porsche Design in 1972, and the 911 authorship dispute.
  2. Ferdinand Porsche and Hitler: what the historical record shows Ferdinand Porsche’s documented ties to Hitler: the Volkswagen contract, Nazi Party and SS membership, forced labour, his 1945 arrest, Tatra and Josef Ganz.
  3. Ferdinand Porsche: the engineer behind the Beetle and the Porsche name Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951): the Lohner-Porsche hybrid, Mercedes and Auto Union, the Volkswagen, his Nazi record, imprisonment, family and death.
  4. Porsche and Dieselgate: the police raids, arrests and fine How Dieselgate reached Porsche: the Cayenne V6 diesel, the 2018 police raids, the arrests of Wolfgang Hatz and Jörg Kerner, and the €535 million fine.
  5. Porsche Sonderwunsch: the special wishes program from 1955 to today Porsche Sonderwunsch explained: the 1955 Krupp request, the 1978 department, factory slant noses, the 2021 revival, one-offs, and how pricing works.
  6. The first Porsche 911s: chassis 300001 to 300235 explained What the first Porsche 911s of 1964 really were: chassis 300001–300235, the 82 cars badged 901, and how that range became a “secret 235 3000 series” myth.
  7. Who designed the Porsche 911? Butzi Porsche, Erwin Komenda and the lawsuit Porsche credits Ferdinand Alexander “Butzi” Porsche with the 911; Erwin Komenda’s heirs argued in court he shaped it. The design history and rulings.
  8. Why is it called the Porsche 911? The Porsche 911 was called 901 until Peugeot objected in 1964. Why Porsche chose 901, Peugeot’s claim to middle-zero names, and the 82 cars built as 901.