Porsche - Origin of the Species is the latest Porsche heritage book by renowned automotive historian Karl Ludvigsen, author of the award-winning Porsche: Excellence Was Expected and Ferdinand Porsche Genesis of Genius.
Within Jerry Seinfeld's renowned Porsche collection resides an unassuming yet extraordinary piece of Porsche history: Porsche Gm nd coupe 356/2-040. Captured exclusively for this book in a series of evocative portraits by acclaimed automotive photographer Michael Furman, 040s unsullied originality conveys with startling immediacy the combination of artistry, innovation and determination that went into its improbable creation.
The saga that emerges encompasses mechanical revelations, human drama and the turmoil of world war. Porsche - Origin of the Species will appeal to all car enthusiasts who are eager to know what events really ignited the spark from which all other Porsches evolved.
Contents: The Species Porsche ● Sidebar: Freeman Thomas "The Legacy of Erwin Komenda".
Automaking Ambitions ● The Porsche Firm"s early years in Zuffenhausen ● The Type 64: A "VW-Sport" ● Sports Racing Aerodynamic Trends ● The Type 114: Imagining a Pure Porsche Sports Car ● Advanced Aerodynamic Bodywork for the F-wagen ● Type 60K10: The Berlin-Rome Volkswagen ● Sidebar: 1939 Porsche Org Chart ● Sidebar: The Auto Union Sports Car
Turbulent War Years ● Wartime Improvements to the VW Engine ● Shifting from Racing Cars to Tanks ● New Quarters in Austrian Farm Country ● Engineering Work Commences at Gmünd ● Ferry Porsche in Charge at Gmünd ● Sidebar: Gmünd in Carinthia ● Sidebar: Petermax Müller"s Opportunistic Racers
Sawmill Survival ● Questioning by British and American Allied Forces ● The French Intervene ● Roles of Louise Piëch and Ghislaine Kaes ● Struggling to Survive in Gmünd ● A Plenitude of Products and Ideas ● Protecting Porsche"s Assets ● Uncertain Relations With Volkswagen ● Sidebar: Ghislaine Kaes and his Diaries
Italy to the Rescue ● Radical Space Frames for the First Cisitalias ● Cisitalia Goes Grand Prix Racing ● Porsche Contracted by Cisitalia ● The Cisitalia Grand Prix Car ● Designing the Type 370, an Ambitious Sports Car ● Karl Rabe Travels to Turin ● Sidebar: Miles Collier "The Art of Restoration"
A Volkswagen Sports Car ● Beginnings with the Type 352 ● The Type 356 Roadster Chassis ● Simplicity: The 356 Roadster Body ● Road Testing the 356 Roadster ● Sidebar: The Private Life of 356-001 ● Sidebar: Robert Cumberford "Thoughts on the First Porsche 356"
Miracle of Production ● Creating a Coupe Chassis: The Type 356/2 ● Scavenging Parts for Production ● The Iconic Porsche Takes Shape ● Marketing the Porsche Cars ● Growing Pains in Gmünd ● Sidebar: Type 356 Sports Leicht
Saga of a Gmünd Porsche ● 356/2-040 Provenance ● The Nuts and Bolts of Preserving 356/2-040 ● West Coast Tune-Up ● Sidebar: Alex Finigan "My Experience with 356/2-040" ● Sidebar: Adrian Gand "Appreciating the Missing Link" ● Sidebar: The Otto Mathé Story
Why Porsche? ● Returning to Stuttgart ● Saying Farewell to Gmünd and to the Porsche Patriarch ● Other Postwar VW-Based Sports Cars ● Sidebar: Grant Larson "The Gmünd Porsches" ● Sidebar: Tony Hatter "Thoughts on Porsche Design"
Origin of the Species ● The Porsche Formsprache ● Evolution of the Essential Genus Porsche ● Sidebar: Peter W. Schutz "The Power of Porsche"s DNA"
Appendix 1: Factory Documentation for Porsche 356/2-040
