Ferdinand Porsche- Genesis of Genius: Road, Racing and Aviation Innovation 1900 to 1933

Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car - November 2008

An excerpt from Ferdinand Porsche - Genesis of Genius published in Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car - November 2008

An excerpt from Ferdinand Porsche - Genesis of Genius published in Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car - November 2008

Porsche Panorama - November 2008

Winter Reading

Ferdinand Porsche, father of Ferry, died in January 1951, barely three years after the company returned from Gmünd to Stuttgart, transformed from a design bureau into an automobile manufacturing company. Though the elder Porsche had little to do with the day-to-day operation in Zuffenhausen in those last years of his life, the imprint of his genius was at its core. Karl Ludvigsen, whose three-volume Porsche: Excellence Was Expected is the authoritative history of the company, has now written a prequel. In Genesis of Genius, Ludvigsen explores the life and times of the senior Ferdinand Porsche. With the meticulous research that is his hallmark, Ludvigsen examines the early career of the first Porsche, subtitling his book "Road, Racing and Aviation Innovation 1900 to 1933." Weighing in at a hefty eight pounds, this is not a book for casual perusal at bedtime. But if you want to know how it all started, explore the story of the fascinating man at the beginning of the Porsche saga, it is here in every detail.

Interestingly, the project came to Ludvigsen at the behest of Ernst Piëch, the eldest grandchild of Ferdinand Porsche, who has collected and restored many examples of his grandfather"s work. There is a German edition of 300 books and Bentley Publishers has produced a limited edition of 500 English language copies.

For an excerpt from Genesis of Genius, see the July 2008 issue of PANORAMA. This one is for the serious student of Porsche history.

Review of Ferdinand Porsche - Genesis of Genius from Panorama - November 2008

911 & Porsche World - November 2008

Review of Ferdinand Porsche - Genesis of Genius from 911 & Porsche World - November 2008

The latest piece of publishing excellence from renowned automotive historian Karl Ludvigsen, and a book that could almost be considered a prologue to his three-volume blockbuster, 'Excellence Was Expected' - a book that no Porschephile should be without.

'Genesis of Genius' covers the early years of Ferdinand Porsche, as the maverick innovator applied his forward-thinking engineering skills to everything from road, race, military and even aviation. Before it became clear that petrol would be the fuel of choice, Porsche had already developed an electric-hybrid vehicle in 1900, some 100-plus years before the modern-day Porsche got round to the idea.

Beyond that, and as this lavishly illustrated and written book tells, he dedicated himself to designing the fastest and most durable vehicles in Europe for all applications There are many unpublished archive pictures, plus fold-out illustrations and reproductions of original pages from Ferdinand Porsche's handwritten notes.

It's expensive, but wonderfully presented, and would look good standing next to Ludvigsen's other masterpiece on anyone's bookshelf.

Review of Ferdinand Porsche - Genesis of Genius from 911 & Porsche World - November 2008

Porsche Panorama - July 2008

An excerpt from Ferdinand Porsche - Genesis of Genius published in Porsche Panorama - July 2008

An excerpt from Ferdinand Porsche - Genesis of Genius published in Porsche Panorama - July 2008

Rainy Day Magazine - December 17, 2014

Rainy Day Gift Guide

eBooks may be the future, but there will always be a place for physical books on our shelves. The reason is not just that a physical book doesn't need batteries, software updates, or could break when dropped. It is that swiping to turn a page on a tablet will never replace the tactile satisfaction of turning an actual page in a book. Plus, you can't (or at least really shouldn't) read an eBook in the tub...

Books for Porschephiles: The recognized expert on all things Porsche is Karl Ludvigsen. His writings on things Porsche-related are well-researched, informative, and illuminating. We have three suggestions which will sure to delight any Porschephile on your list.

• Porsche - Origin of the Species: An in-depth exploration by Ludvigsen into the specific influences and circumstances that brought forth the first Porsche-badged sports cars. Sure to appeal to all who are eager to know what events really ignited the spark from which all other Porsches evolved.
• Ferdinand Porsche - Genesis of Genius: As early as 1900, when he was just 25, Ferdinand Porsche pioneered hybrid technology to power his automobile designs. Once gasoline gained dominance (over electricity) as the power-source of choice, Porsche became relentless in his goal to design the fastest and most durable automobiles in Europe. The dynamic young innovator who helped to chart the course of the automobile through the first decades of the twentieth century is brought to life by Ludvigsen in this in-depth look. A "must have" for every Porsche admirer.
• Porsche: Excellence Was Expected: Remarkable both for its breadth of coverage and its technical depth, Porsche: Excellence Was Expected covers every Porsche road and racing car from the company's beginnings through the development of the 2009 Panamera. Adding dimension to the Porsche story is Ludvigsen's assessment of the company's designers, chief engineers and top managers over the years. This definitive work on Porsche history is the ultimate gift for the Porschephile.

Review from and courtesy of Rainy Day Magazine - December 17, 2014

http://www.rainydaymagazine.com/RDM2014/Home/December/Week3/RDMHomeDec1714.htm#RainyDayGiftGuide_Books

Rainy Day Magazine - December 17, 2014

Rainy Day Gift Guide

eBooks may be the future, but there will always be a place for physical books on our shelves. The reason is not just that a physical book doesn't need batteries, software updates, or could break when dropped. It is that swiping to turn a page on a tablet will never replace the tactile satisfaction of turning an actual page in a book. Plus, you can't (or at least really shouldn't) read an eBook in the tub...

Books for Porschephiles: The recognized expert on all things Porsche is Karl Ludvigsen. His writings on things Porsche-related are well-researched, informative, and illuminating. We have three suggestions which will sure to delight any Porschephile on your list.

• Porsche - Origin of the Species: An in-depth exploration by Ludvigsen into the specific influences and circumstances that brought forth the first Porsche-badged sports cars. Sure to appeal to all who are eager to know what events really ignited the spark from which all other Porsches evolved.
• Ferdinand Porsche - Genesis of Genius: As early as 1900, when he was just 25, Ferdinand Porsche pioneered hybrid technology to power his automobile designs. Once gasoline gained dominance (over electricity) as the power-source of choice, Porsche became relentless in his goal to design the fastest and most durable automobiles in Europe. The dynamic young innovator who helped to chart the course of the automobile through the first decades of the twentieth century is brought to life by Ludvigsen in this in-depth look. A "must have" for every Porsche admirer.
• Porsche: Excellence Was Expected: Remarkable both for its breadth of coverage and its technical depth, Porsche: Excellence Was Expected covers every Porsche road and racing car from the company's beginnings through the development of the 2009 Panamera. Adding dimension to the Porsche story is Ludvigsen's assessment of the company's designers, chief engineers and top managers over the years. This definitive work on Porsche history is the ultimate gift for the Porschephile.

Review from and courtesy of Rainy Day Magazine - December 17, 2014

http://www.rainydaymagazine.com/RDM2014/Home/December/Week3/RDMHomeDec1714.htm#RainyDayGiftGuide_Books

Technology and Culture - October 2010, Vol. 51

In the contemporary automobile scene, few names have as much resonance as Porsche. For connoisseurs, Porsche is synonymous with superbly engineered, fast, and agile two-seaters, even if some of the mystique has been dimmed by the recent addition of vehicles that depart from this formula. Many owners and aficionados probably assume that today's Porsches are the latest in a line of cars created by the brilliant engineer who also designed the Volkswagen Beetle. In fact Ferdinand Porsche had very little to do with their creation, which was the work of his son, Ferry. Ferdinand Porsche was, however, responsible for a vast number of vehicles and engines that bear witness to one of the most creative engineering minds of the first half of the twentieth century.

Born in 1875 in a German-speaking region of what is now the Czech Republic, Ferdinand Porsche's early career closely paralleled the rise of the automobile industry. Like many automotive pioneers, his skills were largely acquired while on the job (the title Doktor was later bestowed as an honorary degree). At age eighteen, he found employment at a firm that manufactured equipment for the nascent electrical industry. His experiences at that concern served him well when, at age twenty-five, he completed an electric car sponsored by Lohner, a well-established Austrian coach builder. The car was powered by two electric motors integral witl1 the front wheels. This arrangement was subsequently used for one of the first hybrid automobiles and was followed by a line of gasoline-electric cars, buses, and trucks.

The subsequent history of Porsche touches on many of the key automotive forces of the German-speaking world. At Austro-Daimler he designed luxurious sedans and successful racing cars. These faded into the background as the outbreak of World War I had Porsche designing artillery tugs, a train that could run with or without tracks, a two-wheeled tractor, and a notable series of aero engines that continued his earlier efforts in this field. A dispute with the banker who controlled Austro-Daimler resulted in Porsche's moving on to Mercedes, where he engineered aero engines along with some legendary road and racing cars. After a falling-out with the management of the firm that had resulted from the merger of Daimler (the manufacturer of Mercedes vehicles) and Benz, he joined Steyr, an Austrian rival of his previous employer. His tenure at Steyr was cut short by the financial crash of 1929, and a new phase of his career ensued. Porsche's relationships with his employers had not always been harmonious, and his departure from Steyr provided the impetus for the founding of an independent design bureau. While working in this capacity he designed two iconic cars that occupied the extreme ends of the automotive spectrum: the supercharged sixteen-cylinder Auto Union Grand Prix racer and the "people's car," the Volkswagen.

Here the book's narrative ends, with only a few pages devoted to the last two vehicles. This is an appropriate endpoint. Many books have covered the history of Porsche and his designs from the 1930s onward, but a comprehensive account in English of Porsche's earlier years has not been available. It was worth the wait. Karl Ludvigsen worked in close consultation with Porsche's eldest grandson, Ernst Piëch, whose collection of written materials, drawings, and photographs constitute a major part of the book. The inclusion of many technical drawings from this collection usually resolves the occasional difficulties in following the verbal descriptions of chassis, engines, and other components - a common problem in technical histories. One of the highlights is a set of eight beautifully rendered cutaway drawings of Porsche's designs by Wolfgang Franke. Not only are these drawings useful for comprehending technical details, they stand as works of art in their own right.

The close focus on Ferdinand Porsche and his accomplishments gives a hagiographical cast to the book and leaves it open to charges of paying insufficient attention to the contributions of Porsche's talented coworkers. More problematic is the glossing over of Porsche's political orientations. As noted above, ending the story in the early 1930s is manifestly reasonable, but it also conveniently avoids the need to delve into Porsche's substantial contributions to the German war effort (which entailed the extensive use of slave labor) in the years that followed. Finally, more contextual information about the German and Austrian automobile industries would have been useful. But Ferdinand Porsche had a long and highly productive career, and coverage of his life and work in text and pictures required nearly 500 pages. Automotive historians along with historians of twentieth-century mechanical technologies will find something of interest in virtually every one of these pages.

RUDI VOLTI

Dr. Volti is emeritus professor of sociology at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, and the author of Cars and Culture: The Life Story of a Technology (2004 ).

Review of Ferdinand Porsche - Genesis of Genius from Technology and Culture - October 2010, Vol. 51

Jalopnik.com Book Reviews - Sun Oct 4 2009

You know how a lot of marque-specific car books tend to be a bit on the lightweight side? A couple of anecdotes about the designers and then a lot of pretty pictures? Not this monster!

See, if you're serious about Porsches- and what Porsche zealot isn't?- you want a book about Ferdinand Porsche, the father of the brand, to pack some heft! You'll need a level of detail that's so overwhelmingly, in fact alarmingly, obsessive that you'll learn something new on every page.

This is such a book. Nearly 500 pages, a bonanza of Über-Geeky technical details (ever wonder how Ferdinand managed to make the connecting-rod arrangement work in a W9 aircraft engine in 1917?), and eleventy-million vintage photographs. On top of that, you get eight gorgeous, porn-grade foldout color pages with cutaway illustrations by artist Wolfgang Franke, featuring such machines as the 1922 Austro-Daimler ADS-R and the 1936 Auto Union C-Type. This thing- which weighs about as much as a manhole cover- is definitely one of the most beautiful car books I've ever seen, and it will make the other car books on your coffee table look like Go, Dog Go.

Review of Ferdinand Porsche - Genesis of Genius from
http://jalopnik.com/5368335/ferdinand-porsche-+-genesis-of-genius-by-karl-ludvigsen - Sun Oct 4 2009

Vintage Sports Car Club Bulletin - No. 265 Autumn 2009

Karl Ludvigsen is certainly in the vanguard of motoring book authors; his Porsche one make history, reviewed in the last issue, is the standard work on the marque. This book, however, is not about Porsche as a make but about Porsche the man, and what he did before he started manufacturing cars under his own name. In fact, the title almost says it all; he designed both road and racing cars, aeroplane engines and military transport for a variety of companies. At the age of 25 he was working for Lohner designing electric vehicles but he soon came up with a hybrid with petrol engines to directly power electric motors built into the front wheels and also to charge the batteries. Porsche's early years as an engineer were inextricably tied up with Ludwig Lohner and then the charismatic Emil Jellinek, who cleverly took the energetic, young engineer away from Lohner by purchasing the electric vehicle part of his business. Effectively though, those years from 1900 to 1908 were spent in the pursuit of what proved to be a dead end, the design of electric and petrol-electric vehicles. Porsche was, of course, an electrical engineer but Emil Jellinek was quick to recognise that his abilities were such that he would succeed in any branch of engineering and made him Technical Director of Austro-Daimler and set him to work on the design of petrol driven cars.

Unfortunately the venture was not a success, slow sales and the warranty claims effectively bankrupted OAG, the sales company set up to sell Austro-Daimler's cars, and the entrepreneurial Jellinek disappeared in to near obscurity disillusioned and blaming Porsche for the failure. Perhaps, having recognised his genius, he had pushed him too far too quickly?

Porsche continued working for Austro-Daimler and quickly resolved the problems with his early design and he was a firm believer in the theory that competition is the best way to prove a new design, aside from which he enjoyed driving quickly. So the die was cast and Porsche decided to field a team of Austro-Daimlers in the 1909 Prince Heinrich Trials and, although success eluded them, he learned much and would return in 1910 with a team of much improved cars fitted with new, single overhead camshaft engines in the 1909 chassis. The three works cars were backed up by a number of privateers but the team cars were unbeatable and took the team prize by finishing first, second and third, a convincing victory which did no harm at all to Porsche's reputation. Another factor that furthered his career was the decision to build replica Prince Heinrich cars for sale to wealthy clients who wanted a very sporting road car. Porsche's status as a designer of high quality sporting cars was now assured but there was not much time for basking in the glory; the First World War was just around the corner and Austro-Daimler would turn all its efforts to the manufacture of military equipment. Porsche designed a series of vehicles for the army, including a ?road train' with a generator in the tug which powered not only its wheels but also motors powering alternate axles of its ten trailers. Aero-engines soon followed and the water-cooled, in-line Austro-Daimler became the model for its German rivals.

The author takes us through Porsche's career at Austro-Daimler in great detail until his move to Stuttgart, brought about by a disagreement with the board at Austro-Daimler, in 1923. A move to Steyr followed and the book finishes with ?our hero' at Auto Union although this is only briefly covered.

Over the last twelve months the motoring bibliophile has been treated to one book that immediately raised the bar for motoring historians to aim for, Steinhauser's work on the early career of Ettore Bugatti is quite simply his magnum opus and this book will stand comparison with that work. Originally issued in July 2008 as a collector's edition of 500 copies, which quickly sold out, this edition is very reasonably priced considering the quality and size. The original edition included a slipcase and all the photographs were sepia toned whereas now they are just black and white but that is a minor price to pay. Many of the illustrations have never been seen before including a number from the Porsche family albums and these are supplemented by seven full colour, fold out drawings of the more important cars and another drawing of the Prince Heinrich engine. There are a number of sectioned drawings of the aero-engines and chassis drawings of cars making this something of a treat for the engineers amongst readers.

To sum up, this is an exhaustive survey of the origins and work of one of the great automobile engineers of the 20th. century; as such it is an important work but it is also eminently readable, beautifully produced and illustrated with some stunning and original images. It can be highly recommended and should find its way into any serious collection of motoring books. The publication date is the 1st. of October, 2009 so reserve a copy with any good motoring bookseller.

Review of Ferdinand Porsche - Genesis of Genius from Vintage Sports Car Club Bulletin - No. 265 Autumn 2009

Review in Porsche Post - December 2008

No self-respecting publication concerning Porsche, be it about the cars or the company, is considered credible without a precis of the great man himself. Indeed, there may be some innocents who believe that the story of Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, that wonderfully inventive, radical mastermind, has been well enough chronicled that nothing more need be written. Dear reader, I must tell you that they are wrong. Until now those authors and historians who have broached the subject have barely scratched the surface, more often than not touching only on Dr. Porsche"s involvement with Auto Union, Volkswagen and his five years with Daimler-Benz, before his founding of the firm we all know and admire. Oftentimes, let it also be said, those same authors and historians have read and adapted that which was handed down, notwithstanding that by its nature the material itself is watered down, vague and often prone to contradiction.

Since the Goodwood Revival, where I staggered home weighted down with a personalised copy of Karl Ludvigsen"s Ferdinand Porsche - Genesis of Genius, (subtitled Road, Racing and Aviation Innovation 1900 to 1933), I"ve become a willing history buff, my nose stuck into this most amazing book comprising almost 500 pages of riveting material. It is, in simple terms, the immensely satisfying story of Dr. Ferdinand Porsche"s early life, together with close scrutiny of his engineering genius in what were pioneering times, and his considerable success behind the wheel as an intrepid race driver. Part of this book"s charm is that the story unfolds in such an exciting style that it reads like a good thriller. It"s a real page-turner. Indeed, writing of an age of which we know very little, it becomes clear that Ferdinand Porsche was a man streets ahead of is generation, thus his early creative achievements are eminently noteworthy and, in the context of such times, even more spectacular than one might ever dare imagine. We are talking of a man who in 1900, at age 24, designed and built the radical Löhner-Porsche electric car. Now the idea is touted as something new. We learn also of his success a decade later in developing the Austro-Daimler, and of his vital part in bringing home the silverware in the 1910 Prince Heinrich competition. Austro Daimler"s Type 22/86 was rightly considered the forerunner of what we now think of as a "sports car." While busy taking overall charge of Austro-Daimler, Porsche was at the same time building engines for dirigibles and aircraft. It was new-age stuff; his in-line six and V12 engines were so influential that to this day experts credit them with a deep and lasting effect. A powerful lesson taught by Ferdinand Porsche is that he believed wholeheartedly in subjecting any new design to the rigours of competition, indeed in one form or another he would put them all to the test in a race, rally, sprint or hillclimb. Small or large, if it could be tested against its rivals on road or track, Porsche would do so.

So, the man who had such influence on our abiding passion is brought vividly to life, thanks in no small part to the huge amount of new material that Karl Ludvigsen has so painstakingly unearthed through sheer hard slog and weighty research. It should be noted also that this volume carries the blessing of Ferdinand Porsche"s eldest grandchild, Ernst Piëch, whose great interest in the history of his family ancestry, the accumulation of archive material and acquisition of restored examples of his grandfather"s work, made this book, which is in-depth in the ture meaning of the words, possible.

Sometimes, history can be dry as dust, though in the hands of a master wordsmith, it can leap out of the written page and come to life. This book meets all the criteria of written greatness and is without parallel. Of course there are very many glorious, evocative photographs of this romantic age included, plus seven specially commissioned full colour, foldout drawings by Swiss automotive artist Wolfgang Franke. There are also many previously unpublished photos from the Porsche family archives, and, as one might expect, many more from the Ludvigsen Photo Library.

Book reviews by their very nature can at best provide only an appetiser. For the full five courses and champagne, I urge readers to splash out. Don"t just think of the cost, which equates roughly to the price of a full tank at today"s tax-burdened prices, but regard it as an investment in historic genius. There"s something also about the smell of a really fine book, which in this case might be compared to, say, the whiff of Castrol R burning sweetly in a vintage Moto Guzzi. It"s to do with the extra care taken in fine binding, the glue used, indeed I suspect even the printing ink is of a superior quality. Like a rare and precious wine, this limited edition of just 500 copies is a tome to savour and to care for in a proper manner, treasured as an heirloom. Thank you, Ferdinand Porsche, for all the good that you achieved, and thank you, karl Ludvigsen, for yet another production of epic proportion.

Review of Ferdinand Porsche - Genesis of Genius from Porsche Post - December 2008

All Torque - October 2008

This exquisite limited edition book, in a run of only 500, covers the early years of Ferdinand Porsche's career in minute detail, from the early Lohner-Porsche first revealed to the world at the 1900 Paris Expo to the Grand Prix cars of the early to mid 1930s. All models are covered, with technical spec, cut-away diagrams, early technical drawings and contemporary photographs, many showing the cars and their creators.

This exquisite limited edition book, in a run of only 500, covers the early years of Ferdinand Porsche's career in minute detail, from the early Lohner-Porsche first revealed to the world at the 1900 Paris Expo to the Grand Prix cars of the early to mid 1930s. All models are covered, with technical spec, cut-away diagrams, early technical drawings and contemporary photographs, many showing the cars and their creators.

This in-depth journey details the development of Porsche cars through many different iterations, various systems of propulsion, world records and hand built coachwork. This is the story not only of Ferdinand Porsche, but the early years of all motor car development and a fascinating, albeit technical read for the true fanatic.

Review of Ferdinand Porsche - Genesis of Genius from All Torque - October 2008

PurelyPorsche.com Book Reviews

Subtitled 'Road, Racing and Aviation Innovation' the genius of Ferdinand Porsche leaps out even before this massive book is opened!

Written by the prolific Karl Ludvigsen (see our review of Excellence Was Expected below) this charts the ambition, determination and genius of Porsche in shaping the transportation industries and starting a dynasty still at the forefront of automotive brilliance.

Review of Ferdinand Porsche - Genesis of Genius from
http://www.porschearchive.com/render.cfm?source=47500~Books%20(by%20Porsche%20and%20about%20Porsche)~1950-2009