THE PORSCHE ICON PETER FALK
A feature that sets Porsche apart from other manufacturers is its extraordinarily extensive archive. Neither its Stuttgart neighbour, the mighty Daimler-Benz, nor even Ferrari with its celebrated competition history can boast anything comparable. And as one peruses Porsche’s vast photo album, one figure in particular seems to recur remarkably often. Peter Falk. Tall, bespectacled, often wearing a hat, his figure appears constantly in shots of the Porsche pits at Le Mans and elsewhere, either in the time of the 908s and 917s or a decade later during the reign of the 956/62. The same, serious-looking character is also to be found in numerous photos of production car testing as well as meetings of Porsche management and at celebratory occasions. The key to Peter Falk was his versatility: a man schooled in classical Greek and Latin, who had combined a two-year mechanic’s apprenticeship at Mercedes with his engineering degree, had both the intellectual curiosity of the researcher and the practical skills of the technician. He could drive too, a motorcycle racer until he obtained his car licence, then a competitive if not top-class rally driver, participating in the Liège-Sofia-Liège and Monte Carlo events as well as winning the German and Geneva rallies. At Porsche his colleagues would have faith in his advice because they knew that if he proposed, for example, an improvement to a damper,
