Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, who conceived one of the world’s most recognizable sports cars, died Thursday in Salzburg, Austria, at age 76. The cause of death was not disclosed by Porsche, which issued a statement on Thursday, but he was known to have been ill in recent months.
Mr. Porsche was the son of Ferry Porsche and the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, the engineer credited with the design of the Volkswagen Beetle and the founder of the sports-car company that bears his name, reported The New York Times.
Best known simply as F.A. or, informally, Butzi, he studied at the Hochschule für Gestaltung, or school of design, in Ulm, then joined Porsche in 1958. He assumed control over the design studio in 1962.
Mr. Porsche was credited with the design for the 911, which made its debut in 1963 as the successor to Porsche’s original car, the 356. He departed the company in 1972 after an acrimonious family dispute involving his cousin and rival, Ferdinand Piëch, currently chairman of the supervisory board of the Volkswagen Group.
That same year he founded the Porsche Design Studio in Stuttgart, which relocated to Zell am See in Austria in 1974. Products bearing the Porsche name would go on to appear on shopping streets around the world. The “Design by F. A. Porsche” label can be seen on watches, shoes, pens, glasses, computer equipment, power drills and light-rail cars.
“A coherently designed product requires no adornment; it should be enhanced by its form alone,” he once said. Like teachings of the Bauhaus and the school of Ulm, that credo stands as a touchstone of German design thinking, its influence evident in many German cars — not just those carrying the Porsche nameplate. It is also reflected in the minimally adorned electronics of Apple and Samsung.
For years, the design company and the car company kept their distance, but in recent years there was a rapprochement.
On Thursday at the Porsche Design store on West Broadway in SoHo, employees set out a book of condolences and a panel reading, “We mourn the loss of our founder, our idol and our inspiration.” Dennis Newsham, Porsche Design’s regional manager, said the staff collectively devised the panel’s inscription. The panel was in an area of the store with milestone designs by Professor Porsche. The company said it planned to release an official press statement on Friday.
A testament to the enduring influence of the original 911 was on display at the New York auto show. The 2012 Porsche 911 is the latest example of a car whose fundamental silhouette has remained unchanged for half a century and over seven generations.
“The creator of the Porsche 911 has founded a culture of design in our company that distinguishes our sports cars even today,” Porsche’s chief executive, Matthias Mueller, said in a statement.
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