Ferdinand Porsche Sold the Same Idea for 45 Years Ferdinand Porsche was not an engineer. He held no degree. The “Dr. Ing.” still baked into the company’s legal name carries an “h.c.” that nobody bothers to read: honoris causa. Honorary. The “Professor” is no better earned: the Stuttgart Technical University handed him an honorary chair … Read more
Fiat 500 Topolino: the car Mussolini asked for and Hitler copied Every car has a story. This one starts with two dictators eyeing each other in 1930. Benito Mussolini calls Giovanni Agnelli to Rome and tells him — with that particular flavour of authoritarian politeness that comes when the answer isn’t optional — that Italy … Read more
Mercedes-Benz T80: The Six-Wheeled Nazi Speed Machine Porsche Designed That Never Turned a Wheel Walk into the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart and you’ll find a black car nearly 27 feet long. Three axles, six wheels, two small stubby wings, an aluminum body built by an aircraft plant. No engine in the bay. No odometer to … Read more
Volkswagen Beetle: The Käfer That Motorized the World and Survived Everything Twenty-one million five hundred thousand units. 21,529,464, to be exact. The Volkswagen Käfer, known worldwide as the Beetle or Bug, isn’t just the most produced car in history on a single platform. It’s the vehicle that defined mass motorization, survived Europe’s darkest regime, symbolized … Read more
Porsche 911: The Most Overrated Great Car Ever Made? Let’s get something out of the way immediately: the Porsche 911 is a great car. It has always been a great car. It will probably always be a great car. But is it the greatest sports car ever made? Is it the benchmark against which all … Read more
Porsche 356: The Car That Started a Religion Before the 911 became the centre of the Porsche universe, before the Turbo became a status symbol and the GT3 became a track day weapon, there was a small, rounded, Beetle-derived sports car that looked like it had been sculpted by the wind itself. The Porsche 356 … Read more
