Page 6 - Porsche Decades sample pages

Preface
Why another Porsche book?
In my volunteer role as Historian for the Pacific NW Region of the Porsche Club of America, I began teaching a class on basic Porsche history in 2019. Doing the research and preparation for the class re-energized my own interest in the arc of the Porsche story. This history now dates back nearly 150 years. As we approached the 75th anniversary of Porsche as an automobile manufacturer, I thought it might be a service to the Porsche community to attempt to write an introduction to Porsche history, not unlike a textbook, if there was such a class at the local college. Another part of the inspiration was a sense that in two hours, I could not present the level of detail that I desired for a group of interested Porsche Club members.
As a result, this book was written with club members in mind. However, it is intended for anyone who may be new to Porsche ownership or to learning about the history of the company, its origins and its achievements. In this way, it is the opposite of my first book, Gulf 917. That was a deep dive into a very narrow (but exciting) slice of Porsche’s racing history. This book is meant as a very broad overview and jumping-off point for further exploration.
For example, readers who are new to Porsche’s history may decide to learn much more about diverse topics such as World War II vehicles, Porsche’s racing history, personalities like Ferry Porsche, Ferdinand Piëch or Norbert Singer, or specific Porsche production models. The goal of Decades is to open the door to a fascinating and ongoing story while also grounding students of Porsche in the basics. Hopefully, even the more experienced and knowledgeable Porsche enthusiasts will find new and interesting aspects of the story as we travel through time. The detail in the bibliography is meant to assist the reader in finding resources for deeper exploration into areas of personal interest.
Decades is an arbitrary division of time and history. It was suggested in part by some significant events in Porsche’s history that fell at or near the beginning of a decade. In 1930, Ferdinand Porsche went independent and started his own company. In 1950, production of Porsche sports cars moved from Austria back to Stuttgart. In 1970, Porsche won the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall for the first time. Looking at the decades also allows for a manageable perspective on the Porsche story – a story that is incredibly rich in its full detail.
The reader should recognize that in most cases I am vastly oversimplifying complex engineering efforts made by the many thousands of skilled designers and engineers working with Dr. Porsche and for the Porsche company over the decades. As noted above, a large amount of detail is available in the reference sources listed in the bibliography. Much of this material is fascinating if the reader takes an interest in specific eras or vehicles.
The use of sidebars allows the reader to step out or pause the main narrative for important background or details. For example, if the reader is not familiar with great races like the Targa Florio or the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a minimal sense of these events is important to understanding the Porsche story. In addition, please note that the text will generally refer to Ferdinand Porsche (born in 1875) as ‘Dr. Porsche’ after the period when he was granted an honorary doctorate. His son, ‘Ferry’ Porsche (whose real name was also Ferdinand, born in 1909) is referred to by his nickname throughout the text (even though he was also granted honorary doctorate status). Ferry’s son, Ferdinand (born in 1937) is generally referred to by his nickname, ‘Butzi’.
Also, let the internet and a favorite search engine be the reader’s friend. In this volume, there is not enough space to explain
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Preface PORSCHE DECADES
(Dean Holbrook)