Ferdinand PORSCHE, an exceptional engineer, founded his company on 6 March 1931 in Stuttgart to develop engines and racing vehicles, at a time when the world economy was at its lowest point. The Second World War also affected the company, which, in order not to go bankrupt, had to meet the demands of the State. Hitler commissioned Ferdinand PORSCHE to design the “people’s car” (Volkswagen), from which the “Beetle” emerged. The government began building the KDF factories (Volkswagen) to produce this vehicle, but the war soon forced PORSCHE and his son-in-law Anton PIECH to build military vehicles. The defeat of the Nazis forced the PORSCHE/PIECH family to flee to Austria, where Ferdinand PORSCHE was arrested and imprisoned for two years for his collaboration with the Nazi regime.

Meanwhile, Ferry Porsche, his son, designed in the early 1950s the first car to bear the PORSCHE name, the 356. Many components came from the Beetle, but the “Porsche spirit” could clearly be felt. Ferdinand Porsche died in January 1951, while the Volkswagen factories were running at full capacity to produce the Beetle. Ferry PORSCHE thus built Porsches in Germany, while his sister, Louise PIECH, remained in Austria to promote the Volkswagen brand, which the government had taken over.

In 1972, owing to family disputes, the PORSCHE and PIECH families decided to withdraw from the management of the company and became mere shareholders. Ferry PORSCHE remained managing director until 1992, when the company’s difficulties forced him to hire a talented executive, Wendelin Wiedeking. Ferry Porsche died in 1998 at his home in Austria. The company recovered beyond all expectations, but the excessive ambitions or arrogance of Wendelin Wiedeking, supported by Wolfgang Porsche (Ferry’s son), led to his resignation in 2009, as in the power struggle between Porsche and VW it seemed that VW was going to prevail. Ferdinand PIECH (son of Louise PIECH), the number 1 at VW, installed Mickael Macht to ensure the transition to Matthias Müller, who took over the management of Porsche at the end of 2010. In 2012, the PIECH family won the PORSCHE / PIECH battle, as PORSCHE was finally absorbed by the VW group. Thus ends the story of a family that founded the two flagships of the German automotive industry!