Porsche 911 designer dies

Car lovers the world over are mourning the death of Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, the famed designer of the Porsche 911.

"As creator of the Porsche 911, he established a design culture in our company that still leaves its mark on our sports cars," the head of Porsche's supervisory board, Matthias Müller, said.

Porsche died on Thursday in Salzburg, Austria, at age 76. He was the third generation of Ferdinand Porsches to design cars. His grandfather founded the well-known sports car company based in Stuttgart.

In the early 1960s, Porsche was head of the company's design studio, when the firm developed the 911 model whose style has become an icon of wealth, luxury and class. The car is currently in its seventh generation, but it still recognizably harks back to the original design, with its sloping roofline, prominent headlights and long, low hood.

"His philosophy of good design was his heritage to us," Müller continued.

In his genes

Porsche was born on December 11, 1935, and was quickly introduced to his grandfather's workshops and design facilities. He studied at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm and joined the car unit's design office in Stuttgart in 1958. He unveiled the aerodynamic 911 in 1961.

In the early 1970s, when Porsche became a public company, he and his relatives withdrew from the business. He went on to launch the independent Porsche Design Studio, where he created luxury products such as watches, eyeglasses and pens.

Honest design

As a designer, he was considered a functionalist, meaning that he preferred a product to be purpose built without extra adornments.

"A formally harmonious product needs no decoration, it should be elevated through pure form," he once said.

The 911's aerodynamic design and lean lines are a testament to his design philosophy.

Porsche's cause of death has not been announced. He will be buried in a private ceremony in the chapel at Schüttgut, the Porsche family estate in Zell am See, Austria.

tm/pfd (AP, AFP, dpa)