Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, designer of Porsche 911, dies age 76
The Porsche 911, declared the 2012 Performance Car of the Year, in on display during the second day of press previews at the New York International Automobile Show on April 5, 2012 in New York.
Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, designer of the first 911 sports car, died Thursday in Salzburg, Austria aged 76.
Porsche — also known as F.A. — was the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, the man who founded the Stuttgart-based car maker and developed the Volkswagen Beetle under a contract with the Nazis in the 1930s, and also tanks used by the Germans in World War II.
Porsche A.G., headquartered in Zuffenhausen, near Stuttgart, Germany, announced the death in a statement without giving a cause, according to the New York Times.
Porsche joined the family company in 1956, working in the technical design department before he was made manager of the design studios in 1962, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported.
The following year, he debuted the Porsche 901 — with a rear-mounted engine — later renamed the 911.
The Porsche could accelerate from 0-62 miles per hour in 9.1 seconds and reach a top speed of 131 miles an hour.
The seventh-generation Porsche 911 was named the 2012 World Performance Car at the 2012 New York International Auto Show, according to PRNewswire.
Porsche quit the company in 1972 but stayed on as member of Porsche’s supervisory board, according to Driving.ca.
Porsche, or "Butzi" as he was known to his family, was born in Stuttgart, the eldest son of Dorothea and Ferry Porsche.
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