California Central Coast - Porsche Club of America

gotten to its place in the sports car hall of fame without
Ferdinand “Butzi” Porsche, the grandson of Dr. F.
Porsche who was the clan patriarch and founding force
of the Porsche enterprise. Butzi Porsche, only 28 at the
unveiling of the 911, had joined the Porsche Design
Department only a few years before. He was put under
the leadership of Irvin Komenda who had been with
Dr. F Porsche since the early 1930s. As the design team
struggled with solidifying a viable concept of their new
Porsche, irresolvable conflicts eventually arose between
the old ideas (Komenda) and the new (Butzi). The generational
and design differences became so divisive that
Ferry Porsche, head of Porsche AG and son of Der Alte,
made a crucial decision to give his young son a greater
role in the evolution of the new car. And not because
of any nepotistic impulse, but because Ferry Porsche
saw that Butzi’s ideas were leading the team in the right
direction.
Through all the design and technical arguments, and
all the emotional turmoil (the design team was under
great pressure—the company’s future was at stake)
Butzi emerged as the design and concept leader and, in
the end, brought together the right mixture of designers,
modelers, engineers, technicians, and management
skills to force the right design at the right time by sheer
force of will and personality. Butzi continued to demonstrate
the same design and leadership skills at Porsche
for the next 50 years. He died last year at age 71. His
personality and design imprint will shadow this year’s
celebration of half century of the 911.
A
few years ago Porsche AG had designated 2013 as
the 50th Anniversary Year for the 911, not 50 years
after the first production models went into the show
rooms. This was partially in honor of those nervous
designers and engineers who were present when the first
911 was shown to the public. Their job was over; it now
up to the production and sales departments to make the
car a commercial success and recoup the heavy investment
made over the past decade.
Although a half century has gone by since that fall
day in 1963 when the yellow 911 sat on the display
podium, one can still buy a new 911 today that
has the same rear engine configuration and has the
The Coastalaire April 2013
same silhouette: it is in many ways the same car, but its
creature comforts and internal gear are vastly changed,
improved, and made more reliable—albeit much more
complex. The new 911 is safer, quieter, and has more
room, and it has an array of electronic controls and
gadgets that would have been almost impossible to
imagine in 1963. There is a downside to all this incredible
technology: the new Porsche 911s, to some, may
have also traded away the directness, the close personal
feel the owner experienced driving a simpler Porsche;
maybe this is also just nostalgia talking. The new 991
version of the 911 is also 10 times more expensive than
that first one, even taking 50 years of inflation into consideration;
however, there seems to be no lack of buyers
for the 50th Anniversary models—there is currently a
waiting list at most dealers for 2013 models.
The CCCR and the Coastalaire will join the worldwide
celebration of this masterpiece of technology,
performance, style, and design longevity. The Coastalaire,
with input from all those who own or who have
once owed a 911, will feature articles and stories about
the 911 for the remaining months of 2013.
Coastalaire would like to hear from any
present or past 911 owners who have an
early, special, or unusual 911, e.g., a 911
with very high mileage, or an all original
car, or has an unusual history—bought
in Germany, shipped to South Africa, and
driven throughout the USA, for example. Or
interesting family trips in 911’s. Send your
stories, vignettes, anecdotes, and recollections,
with any photos, either hard copy (we
promise to return them in good condition) or
better, digital jpg files to:
Kit Kitamura at:
coastalaireeditor@gmail.com
or Milt Worthy at:
miltworthy@mac.com
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