BBC News, 28
January 2014
 |
| This is the first Porsche-designed vehicle, which had been stored in an Austrian garage since 1902 |
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Luxury
automaker Porsche has revealed the first car designed by its founder was
electric, in a show at its museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Germany.
Ferdinand
Porsche's design was dubbed the Egger-Lohner electric vehicle C.2 Phaeton
model, or the P1 for short.
The car,
made in 1898, was recently unearthed in an Austrian garage, where it had been
stored since 1902.
The
22-year-old Ferdinand Porsche, who would start Porsche in 1931, designed the P1
for carmaker Jacob Lohner.
After a
trip to the US, Ludwig Lohner, the owner of that firm, became convinced that
the age of the horse and carriage was ending, and he asked Ferdinand Porsche to
come up with an electric drive train.
 |
| The first Porsche featured a rear-mounted electrical engine which could reach speeds of 21 miles per hour |
Ferdinand
Porsche designed an "octagonal electric motor" that was powered by
electric batteries and suspended amidst shock absorbers in the rear of the
vehicle.
Using a
complicated series of gears, the car was driven using a 12-speed controller,
which had six forward gears, two reverse gears and four gears with which to
brake the car.
The P1 took
to the streets of Vienna, Austria, on 26 June 1898.
The P1
could reach speeds of up to 21mph (34km/h) and travel up to 49 miles on a
single charge.
The car
could be styled as an open-air chassis or a coupe.
 |
| The first Porsche was the most energy-efficient car in an 1899 Berlin road race |
The young
Mr Porsche eventually entered the P1 in a Berlin road race, which took place on
28 September 1899.
Competitors
had to travel a total of 24 miles with four passengers (including the driver).
The P1 beat
out the other competitors handily, crossing the finish line a full 18 minutes
before the next car.
In a detail
that seems almost too good to be true, the P1 won another accolade: least
amount of energy consumed.
The car is
on display as part of an exhibition at the Porsche museum in
Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Germany.
 |
| Mr Porsche was working for car builder Jacob Lohner, who asked him to design an electric drive train |
 |
| At the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Germany, the plastic placeholders show the original design |
 |
| Ferdinand Porsche stamped each part of the vehicle with P1, to differentiate it from other models |
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