Page 9 - Sample pages "Forty Six: The Birth of Porsche Motorsport"

FORTY SIX 53 The Birth of Porsche Motorsport
CHAPTER 2
THE INFLUENCERS AND THE PITCH
the exhibition, but this show was one of the first opportunities for the French public to see the new Porsche cars.
That Porsche’s cars were at the Paris Salon at all was essentially the work of two men: Porsche’s new French distributor, Auguste Veuillet and Charles Faroux. Faroux was the longtime friend of Piero Dusio and had been a collaborator in delivering Dusio’s 1,000,000-franc ransom to the French government to pay for the release of Ferdinand Porsche and Anton Piëch.
During discussions at the Paris Salon, Veuillet asked Ferdinand to consider sending a car to Le Mans for the 24-hour race in June 1951. Veuillet, who had raced a Delage D6-3L in 1949 with his friend Edmond Mouche and had run well – if dramatically – until the 23rd hour when a connecting rod failed, recounted his experiences to Ferdinand. “The old professor asked him what maximum and average speeds one would have to
[OPPOSITE] The meetings and contacts
that occurred during Porsche’s presence at the Paris 37th Salon de l’Automobile et du Cycle in October had a profound impact on the company’s future. The connection with Max Hoffman led
to the opening of the North American market and the meeting with Charles Faroux steered the company’s first appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and The Birth of Porsche Motorsport.
[LEFT] The October 1950 37th Salon de l’Automobile et du Cycle marked Ferdinand Porsche’s last public appearance. Within a month he would suffer a crippling stroke and died on January 30, 1951.
© DALTON WATSON FINE B
© DALTON WATSON FINE BOOKS © DALTON WATSON FINE BOOKS DALTON WATSON FINE BOOKS TON WATSON FINE B