Heart of darkness

Ferdinand Porsche achieved a great deal during his three quarters of a century on earth. The man who, in 1999, was voted the greatest car engineer of the 20th century had a lot of strings to his technical bow. He invented the first hybrid petrol / electric vehicle (the 1900 Lohner-Porsche), and gave it four-wheel drive for good measure. He also came up with the magnificent supercharged Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK sports cars, and the all-conquering ‘Silver Arrows’ Auto Union Grand Prix racers of the 1930s, and was responsible for the somewhat ironically-named Maus, the largest tank ever created.

Then, in his final years, he helped his son, Ferry Porsche, conceive the Porsche 356. You get the general idea. He was talented, ingenious and versatile.

But being behind the Beetle will always be what Doctor (, to give him his the formal title awarded in 1917 by the Vienna University of Technology) Ferdinand Porsche is most famous for. It overshadows everything else,