RIP Butzi Porsche

[Avro707C]

http://www.caradvice.com.au/167202/p...er-dies-at-76/
http://www.porsche.com/australia/abo...=2012-04-05-03
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012...d-sports-cars/

RIP Butzi Porsche - aged 76. The 904 and original 911 designer has passed away. He was in poor health in recent years.

The following quote from the Porsche media release says it all:

The credo of his design work was: Design must be functional and functionality has to be translated visually into aesthetics, without gags that have to be explained first. A coherently designed product requires no adornment; it should be enhanced by its form alone. The design’s appearance should be readily comprehensible and not detract from the product and its function. Good design should be honest.

That describes his designs very well:


PORSCHE 911 R by rapido356, on Flickr


PORSCHE 911 R by rapido356, on Flickr

That innocent looking car is a 911R, a very light rallying 911 with at least 210hp - though some were said to have even more than that.

And the original 911:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Classic911.jpg

A 1968 model.

[Frank N. O.]

Interesting timing, a new all-Porsche sim game has just been announced. It's not by EA though, but exactly who is yet unknown however some think it's Slightly Mad Studios due to a familiar HUD seen in the video.

I wonder though if Porsche can still claim to live by Butzi's design philosophy.

Frank

[Avro707C]

Frank: Unfortunately Ferry and Butzi are no longer around. Wolfgang Porsche is still around, he was the youngest son of Ferry Porsche.

The difference back that is that all the key players had engineering/design backgrounds. When I say key-players, I meant he managers - the people high up in the company.

Here are some good photos of the earlier years of Porsche:
http://stuttcars.com/about-porsche/butzi-porsche/

Even now, the early 911 models still look attractive and clean. Functional design.

Some more good historical stuff here too:
http://stuttcars.com/about-porsche/ferry-porsche/

Ferry Porsche says it all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...v=-UuqKklIPPE#!