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114 911 hero: Peter Falk
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H E R O
P E T E R F A L K
An enduring engineer whose work helped develop both road and race
cars, Peter Falk’s stamp on the 911’s legacy is everlasting
Written by Jack Williams Photography courtesy Porsche Archive
Strike up a conversation with any Porsche enthusiast
about the success of its motorsport exploits, and it’s
very likely you’ll hear one enduring name: Peter Falk,
the man who played a vital role in overseeing success in
everything from Le Mans to the Paris-Dakar Rally and
even Formula 1.
Born on 27 November 1932, Falk was the son of an archaeologist
and shared his father’s enthusiasm for discovery. Rather than
searching for the secrets of the past,
however, the young Falk was more
interested in the what-ifs of the future
– faster, sharper, better. It was this
mindset that, having returned to
Germany from Athens, saw Falk turn
down the opportunity to become a
senior engineer at Mercedes at the age
of just 26 to focus on a smaller, far more
wholesome production effort in which
he saw greater racing potential.
Appointed by Porsche as a testing
engineer in 1959, Falk played a pivotal
role in the development of the 911,
boosting the car’s credentials by taking it to an unprecedented fifth
place finish in the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally, along with co-driver
Herbert Linge. The testing during this period could be intense, Falk
later said, and would sometimes require him to drive, say, 2,500km
over a couple of days. Famously in company folklore, too, Falk was
responsible for the crashes of both Porsche 908 racers that were
testing at Monza ahead of an upcoming Daytona race, forcing
Porsche to hastily assemble two more.
In the late 60s and early 70s, Falk worked on the creation of
Porsche’s legendary Le Mans racer, the 917, which showcased the
company’s intentions to move from simply being a class winner to
targeting the race series as a whole. Between 1973 and 1981, he was
also in charge of road testing for series development of three of
Porsche’s main models – the 911, 924 and 928.
It was, however, as head of racing
development, starting in 1982, that Falk
oversaw the most successful spell in
the company’s history. The Group C
956 and 962 racers were widely revered;
Porsche took seven overall Le Mans
wins and 11 world championship titles.
Porsche and Falk also picked up two
Paris-Dakar Rally wins, in 1984 and 1986.
From 1989 until his retirement in
1993, the engineer worked on projects
that would, perhaps, ring most true
with readers of this magazine. As head
of chassis development, it was Falk
who was responsible for the development of the 993 derivative of
911, then later the advanced development of the 996, as well as the
Porsche Boxster.
Yes, these iconic Falk-inspired vehicles and successes will no
doubt endure and intrigue for years to come. The son of an
archaeologist – who decided to make motoring history.