LetsRoll

Stuttgart is mourning. We all are mourning. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche died April 5, 2012 in Salzburg, Germany. F.A., as he was affectionately called, was a young 76. Matthias Müller, President and Chief Executive Officer of Porsche AG, paid tribute to Professor Porsche, the longtime Honorary President of the Supervisory Board, for his services to the sports car manufacturer:

“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.”

In 1958, F.A., the oldest son of Ferry Porsche and grandson of the company founder, 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. In 1962, he took over as head of the Porsche design studio, creating a worldwide furore one year later with his design of 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 launched this spring as the 991. In addition to passenger cars, F.A. Porsche also concerned himself with designing the sports cars of the 1960s. 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.

In 1972, F.A. founded the “Porsche Design Studio” in Stuttgart, the head office of which was relocated to Zell am See in Austria in 1974. In the decades that followed, he designed numerous classic gentlemen’s accessories such as watches, spectacles, and writing implements that achieved global recognition under the “Porsche Design” brand. In parallel, with his team, he designed a plethora of industrial products, household appliances and consumer durables. The credo of his design work was:

“Design must be functional and functionality has to be translated visually into aesthetics, without gags that have to be explained first.” F.A. Porsche: “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.”

So, with the news of the passing of the “father of the 911,” PCA members will honor F.A. Porsche by displaying a black ribbon across the Porsche crest. You are asked to maintain this display until the 2012 Porsche Parade in July.

information liberally taken without permission from Porsche.com/USA and PCA@multibriefs.com

Please plan to join me for cocktails and the rest us for a hearty meal at our next Members Dinner Meeting at the Clarion Bellé on May 9th when we will be guided by our own Nick Dunlop, Chairman – DE Event Committee, through the process of driver registration. Prepare to be entertained and enlightened to the expectations for all things Driver’s Ed at Thunderbolt. For those of you not yet quite convinced that the track needs your competitive involvement to provide all others with their best high speed Porsche car experience, be prepared to have Nick reel you in with his special ability to persuade. All skill levels will benefit from the knowledge that will be shared ... I look forward to seeing you there. Sign me up, Nick!

Remember, click the EVENTS/SOCIAL tab and find the CALENDAR to join us in any and all coming events throughout the year. Chat with others from our region and beyond about all things Porsche, and get answers to those confounding head-scratchers. Check out Member Classifieds under the COMMUNICATE tab to post your need-no-mores and find some always-wanted-thats for your runner. More and more friends are posting items about things to do, places to go, and stuff to have.

As always, you are encouraged to share your ideas and interests with the rest of us. Remember, you can easily initiate the fun! Simply send us an email with your inspirations at social@DelawarePCA.org and we’ll make it happen!

Keep the shiny side up. And, let’s roll !