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- [00:00]
Lindsey Graham
Want to get more from business movers? Subscribe to Wondery for early access to new episodes, ad free listening and exclusive content you can't find anywhere else. Join Wondery in the Wondery app or on apple podcasts. It's October 20, 1973, at Ferry Portia's country house in Zelamsee, Austria. Now, 64 year old fairy unlocks the door and rushes to pick up the phone. But just as he gets there, it stops ringing. Ferry curses under his breath, drops the keys on a side table and then kicks off his boots. Last year, Ferry stepped back from day to day management of Porsche and moved into a role that's more advisory than operational. And that means he's free to spend long vacations in the wandering the hills around his luxurious estate. As Ferry pours himself a drink, the phone begins to ring again. And this time Ferry is quick enough to grab the receiver. Fairy Portia Here. Ferry, it's Ernst. Ernst Fuhrman is Ferry's successor as Porsche's chief executive. Oh, Ernst, you just caught me. I've been out in the hills enjoying the fresh air. I know. I've been trying to reach you all morning. Why, is there a problem? You heard the latest out of the Middle East? Two weeks ago, a coalition of Arab countries invaded Israel. Ever since, soldiers on both sides have been fighting for control of Israel's border regions. Barry takes a seat. No, I've been out since dawn. What's happened? The Arabs have announced an oil embargo. They're completely cutting off shipments to the U.S. oh, I heard that yesterday. It's only Libya though. No, not anymore. The whole Arab world has joined in. But why? Retaliation. The Americans sent aid and weapons to Israel. So the Arabs are trying to hit them where it hurts at the gas pumps. All right, well, I'll keep an eye on the situation. I think we need to do a little more than watch and wait. We need to be proactive. Our cars are famous for many things, but fuel efficiency isn't one of them. Well, it hasn't even been 24 hours. I don't think we need to send in the cavalry just yet, Ferry. I'm not so sure. Even if the Arabs back down, people are going to panic, buy, and prices are sure to rocket. If people have to pay more for gas, even for just a few days, they're going to remember it. And the next time they buy a car, they'll factor in fuel efficiency. This could have a real long term impact on us. Well, I mean, if you think. Do you have a plan? Yeah, Push the efficiency program, explore leaner mixtures. Well, we can't compromise on performance, though. That's why our customers pay a premium. That's right. But maybe our definition of performance needs adjusting speed with efficiency. Responsible sportiness. Oh, come on, Ernst. We didn't win Le Mans only to reposition ourselves as the responsible sports car. Well, Ferry, I just don't think we should underestimate the threat this oil situation is going to pose. I don't know. I mean, Porsche has weathered way worse storms than this. Trust me, the brand is strong enough. Despite Ferry Porsche's confidence, the Yom Kippur war did have a major impact on Porsche's fortunes. The Arab oil embargo continued for five months, affecting almost every aspect of daily life in America and Western Europe, including crippling the sales of Porsche's gas guzzling sports cars. Eventually, the gravity of the situation would dawn on Fairey. He'd spent almost three decades rebuilding Porsche after one war and now another conflict threaten to undo it all. Business Movers is sponsored by shokz. This is a business show and making it is my business. Which means I take audio seriously. My microphone is German, my preamplifier is English, my digital converters are high spec. Everything is chosen for quality. So that if you were to listen to this podcast on some magnificent vacuum tube stereo through gleaming tower speakers, you'd be able to say that's a good sounding podcast. But no one does that, do they? I don't either. Podcasts are not hi fi listening, even if I make them like they are. Instead, they're really great to listen to while driving, shopping, running, working out, and for that sort of listening, Shokz Open Dots 1 makes a real difference. They're lightweight, clip onto your ear securely and let you hear what's around you while still delivering amazing sound. I like that they're comfortable first and foremost, but to also deliver great sound without having a pair of three way speakers duct taped to your head, even better. Shokz is a leader in open ear headphones and Open Dots 1 is their latest innovation. Take a look at Shokz.com, s H O K Z and don't forget to use code movers for $10 off, that's s h o k z.com stay sharp, stay open With Shokz.
- [04:51]
Ernst Fuhrmann
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- [05:25]
Lindsey Graham
From laundry, I'm Lindsey Graham and this is Business Movers. By the middle of the 1950s, Porsche had risen from the ashes of World War II, driven by spectacular performances on the racetrack. The company that Ferry Porsche inherited from his father was now unrecognizable from its original iteration. Ferdinand Porsche had founded a design consultancy best known for its mass market Volkswagen. But under his son Ferry, Porsche morphed into a prestigious manufacturer of sports cars. The Nimble 356 was the core of the Porsche range, with thousands of cars a year rolling out of the factory in stuttgart. But the 356 was rooted in the pre war Volkswagen design conceived by Ferdinand. Its potential for further development had reached a limit. And Porsche's rivals weren't standing still. In Britain, Jaguar and Aston Martin were producing increasingly sophisticated sports cars. In Italy, Ferrari was determined to keep its reputation as the king of the racetrack. And in America, Chevrolet's increasingly popular Corvette was poaching sales from Porsche. To maintain his company's edge, Fairey knew that Porsche needed more than just another evolution of the 356. It needed a completely new car. Soferri envisioned a successor that still retained the core principles that made the 356 so well loved. He wanted Porsche's next sports car to feature a lightweight chassis, an air cooled rear engine and exceptional handling. But he also wanted the new design to be a significant leap forward in performance and comfort. Work on this ambitious project began in 1957, but progress was slow. Held back by Ferry's exacting standards. He was only prepared to sign off on a new design if he was convinced it was a true step forward. This new project was also the beginning of a new era in the family business. Ten years earlier, Ferry's concept for the 356 had taken the company in a different direction to the one plotted by his father. And now the 356 successor would be led by Fairey's son, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, known to all as Butzie. And the design that Buzzi came up with would define the Porsche brand for decades to come. This is the fourth episode in our four part series on Porsche. The Checkered Flag. It's early 1963 in the Porsche factory in Stuttgart, West Germany. Five years after Porsche designers began to work on a Successor to the 356. In a quiet design studio, a full size clay model of a sports car sits under bright spotlights. 54 year old Fairey Porsche circles the model slowly. He runs a hand over the flank, his expression intensely focused. His 27 year old son Bozzi, the lead designer of the new car, follows close behind Fairey then stops at the rear quarter, examining the roofline as it sweeps down toward the tail. This C pillar, it looks thick. What about rearward visibility? Structures needed there to meet safety standards. But we've tested the sight lines extensively. It doesn't interfere. Fairey nods slightly, then moves to the front fender where it blends into the hood. The headlights are higher. Yeah, that's to meet regulations too. The Americans demand a minimum height, but we integrated them into the fender shape. I think you'll agree it maintains the Porsche look. Yeah, it does. But the curves are complex, more so than the 356. Are our suppliers confident they can manage this within budget? They think so. We've reviewed the molds with them and they're sure it's achievable. Fairey continues his slow walk around the clay model. It's also larger than the 356. A longer wheelbase. The new six cylinder adds weight to the rear. How's that affect stability? The balance is good. We've got a completely new rear suspension to compensate. Early tests show it handles very well, very precise, more neutral than the 356. I guess road testing will be the true judge. These rear seats. A sports car with room for four, two plus two. Really? The rear seats are for occasional use only. It's a concession to practicality. The focus remains entirely on the driver. Ferry completes his circle, standing back to take in the whole shape. He looks at the model, then at his son. Well, there seems to be an awful lot of compromise in this car. Changes to meet regulation to broaden its appeal. You know, I wouldn't call it compromise, I call it improvement. Reacting to what the modern driver wants, staying ahead of the curve, Fairy looks at his son and for the first time since entering the studio, he smiles. Bootsy has just said exactly what he wanted to hear. Well, good, because that's what Porsche is all about. Butsi, you know, when your grandfather was released from prison in 47, the first thing he did when he got home was review my design for the Cis Italia race car. And he said something I've never forgotten. He said, had I been here, I'd have gone about it exactly the same way. He told me that story plenty of times. Well, butsy, I'D have gone about this car in exactly the same way you have. It's a good design. It's very good. Ferry puts his hand on Butsy's shoulder. I can see that the future of this company is in good hands. Bootsy Porsche allowed himself a quiet breath of relief. Without his father's approval, the project designated as type 901 would never enter production. But Fairey's words marked more than just the acceptance of a design. It signified Fairey's confidence that the next generation would lead Porsche into a new, more modern era and had be driven there by the groundbreaking car taking shape before them. After Ferry, Porsche eventually greenlit a Successor to the 356. The new Porsche moved rapidly toward production. The next step was to create a 901 prototype, and engineers finalized the complex specifications for the entirely new chassis. It featured a longer wheelbase than the 356 for improved stability and more interior space. The suspension was also a completely new design. And central to the car was also a brand new air cooled 2.0 liter engine that produced significantly more power than the old 356. Encasing it all was a new body shape that had been crafted by Fairey's son, Buzzi. The sleek design had more pronounced fenders, a wider rear end to hold the larger engine and sharper, more muscular body lines in comparison to the Bubbleike 356. But Fairey knew that the new body panels would be more complicated to make, and that meant production costs could spiral out of control. To make sure that the new bodywork didn't drain company resources, Fairey took control of its production. Ever since Porsche had relocated back to Stuttgart in November 1950, Fairey had outsourced the building of Porsche's body panels to Reuter Metalworks, a company that shared the same factory floor. Two years later, when Porsche moved into its own purpose built factory, Fairey deliberately purchased land that neighbored Reuter for ease of assembly. Now Fairey decided to formalize the two companies close relationship by purchasing Reuter outright. Acquiring the metal works was costly, the modern equivalent of more than $12 million. But Fairey thought it was a price worth paying. Vertical integration with a key supplier safeguarded the production of what Ferry had already decided would be the 900 one's primary selling point, its iconic shape. Fairey was soon proven right. In September 1963, he unveiled the prototype Porsche at the Frankfurt Motor show. And the 901 was the biggest story of the event. Industry experts and members of the public alike raved about Porsche's modern new look. And over the next year, Porsche engineers produced more than 80 901s for road and track testing. And several of the new cars were displayed at the Paris Motor show in October of 1964. By then, the Porsche factory was ready to begin churning out its first customer cars. And the Paris Motor show marked the moment when orders would be open to the public. But thanks to a rival brand, the official launch in Paris hit a bump in the road. Fairey received a legal notice from French manufacturer Peugeot ordering Porsche to stop using the name 901. Peugeot's family cars were known as the 204 and the 404. And to protect its brand from copycats, Peugeot had the exclusive right in France to three number car names with a zero in the middle. Peugeot's stance posed a significant problem for Porsche. Its factories were about to commence production using parts branded with the 901 name. The 901 sales and marketing materials had already been designed and printed, so Fairey could ignore Peugeot's legal threats and continue production. He could launch the 901 in France with a different name to what it was known by in the rest of the world. Or Fairey could bite the bullet, write off the cost of the already printed publicity materials and rename the 901 Global. In the end, Fairey decided that the prudent thing was to give in. He knew that a legal battle with Peugeot could overshadow the launch of his new car. So he made a simple change to the new car's designation. The 0 was replaced with a 1, and the Porsche 901 became the Porsche 911. And following the now renamed 911's positive reception from industry experts, Fairey returned to Stuttgart and waited for customers to place their orders. But despite garnering plenty of headlines at the Frankfurt and Paris trade shows, initial sales were disappointing. And it had nothing to do with the car's name. The primary obstacle was price. The new 911 carried a list price that would be well over $60,000 today, around 1 third higher than the cost of the old 356. For loyal Porsche buyers who cherished the 356 partly for its relative affordability within the sports car market, the 911 price announcement came as a shock. But just as with the legal threat from Peugeot, Fairey acted quickly and decisively. Porsche couldn't afford for its new flagship model to fail. But slashing the 911's price wasn't feasible either. Instead, Fairey came up with a radical solution. A bridging model. In April 1965, only six months after the 911 launched at the at the Paris Motor Show, Porsche unveiled another new car. The 912 was essentially a combination of the 911 and the old 356. Externally, it was almost identical to the 911. It featured the same modern, desirable body shape and advanced chassis. But under the hood, the 912 contained the well proven, less complex and significantly cheaper 1.6 liter engine from the 356. And that allowed Porsche to offer the 912 at a price point much closer to that of the old 356. It was a delicate balancing act. Fairey wanted to win over buyers who couldn't afford the 911, but without cannibalizing sales that would otherwise have gone to the more expensive model. And when the sales figures came in, Fairey breathed a sigh of relief. In 1966, the first full year of production, sales of the 912 were double those of the 911. But despite introducing the cheaper 912, sales of the 911 continued to grow at a steady rate. The 912 had not stolen many customers who'd otherwise have bought a 911. It attracted new buyers to the Porsche brand for the first time. So with the success of the 912, Fairey decided to further widen the range. In 1966, Porsche launched the High Performance 911S. With a 158 horsepower engine. And with more power behind it, the 911S is scored two overall victories in the prestigious Monte Carlo Rally. In 1967, Porsche added the option of a 911 convertible with a built in stainless steel roll bar to protect the occupants. And in 1968, the 2 liter 911T succeeded the 912 as a cheaper entry level model to the 911 range. Together, these derivatives of the 911 expanded the car's reach by appealing to wider markets. And the results spoke for themselves. By the end of 1968, annual sales of the 911 range breached $10,000 for the first time. And soon Fairey spotted yet another opportunity to push them even higher. For years, Porsche had leaned on motorsport success as part of its marketing strategy. But at the end of the 1960s, motorsport regulations changed. Previously, the top classes in endurance races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans required a manufacturer to produce at least 50 copies of a car to be able to race it. But now they reduced the production requirement to just 25 vehicles. That drastically lowered the cost of developing a super high performance race car that would compete for the checkered flag at the most prestigious races. And for Porsche, the timing of these new rules was perfect. Over the past four years, Ferry Porsche had introduced a new flagship model, leading his company into a new era with an expanded range. But now that the 911 was firmly established as Porsche's core product, Fairey could indulge his passion for speed once again. His attention would shift from the road to the racetrack in a quest to claim the grandest title in Motorsport. The 24 Hours of Le Mans Business Movers is sponsored by Prizepix. Alright, let's check in on my most sports obsessed employee, James and how the hockey season is going for him on Prize Picks. He'll always be a Blackhawks fan, but he's also been watching longtime Colorado Avalanche star Miko Rantanen's performance as a newly minted Dallas star. James had predicted there'd be a bit of a learning curve before Rantanen found his groove, but a natural hat trick against his old teammates? The same feat again against the Winnipeg Jets. James predicted a lot of shots on Prize picks, but he may have underestimated. 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You'll hear their name in the credits of this episode, even because their work deserves to be called out. So I know with Upwork you can find specialized freelancers and development, design, podcast editing. Who knows experts who are ready to help you take your business to the next level. And posting my job on Upwork was easy with no cost. Just register, then browse freelancer profiles, get Help drafting a job post, maybe even book a consultation. From there, find, connect and hire freelancers that get you. Upwork makes the entire process easier, simpler and more affordable with industry low fees. So post a job today and hire tomorrow with Upwork. Visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free. That's Upwork.com to post. Post your job for free and connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. Upwork.com it's spring 1969 at the Porsche test track in Weissach, West Germany, six years after the debut of the 911 ferry. Porsche stands stone faced at the edge of the tarmac as a race car slows to a stop, its path weaving as it decelerates. The flat body has been designed to cut through the air with minimum resistance. And under the hood there's a 4.5 liter engine, double the size of anything that Porsche has made before. Fairey is hoping that this Porsche 917 will lead the way at the 24 hours of Le Mans, but judging by its performance today, that is still a long way off. The race car's gullwing door opens and Yeo Siffert climbs out. Yeo's renowned for his speed and bravery on the racetrack, but even his knuckles are white as he hops out of the car. Yeo takes off his helmet and Ferry holds up a stopwatch point. One of a second faster over those laps. Yeo. Well, getting better then. Still not quick enough. If we're going to challenge at Le Mans, we need to be five seconds quicker. Well, that's not going to happen with this car. Is the grip still bad? It's terrifying. The engine pulls like a train and has incredible power. But the car wants to fly at high speed, not drive, fly. Well, describe it for me. Does the front end go light? Is it a gradual lift or does it like snap? Does it happen before the rear moves? We need detail for the engineers. Well, it wanders first. The steering loses all connection. It feels like driving on ice. And then you hit a seam in the track, even a small gust of wind, and it darts. I'm fighting it constantly sawing at the wheel just to keep it pointed relatively straight. There's no finesse to it. What about under braking? What's it like for maximum speed into the S's? That's a lottery. Sometimes it squats and breaks. True, if the surface is perfect. Other times it weaves and threatens to spin out. I have to be so good on the pedal, have to brake earlier than I need to. Really Because I don't trust what it'll do next. I just don't feel like I can push any harder. Ferrari and Ford don't have these issues. Their drivers attack the circuit. Yeah, I know, they look stable, they're predictable. Driving a Porsche, man, it's like wrestling a monster. Fairey stares hard at the 917. This isn't acceptable. Yo. We didn't invest 30 million to build a car that frightens our best driver. I think it needs fundamental changes to the aerodynamics, much more downward force, something to pin it to the road. Well, then we'll find it. There's no point in having 12 cylinders of power if the man behind the wheel can't unleash it. Fairey Porsche remained trackside long after Jo Siffert had left. The test driver's blunt assessment laid bare the enormous challenge ahead. Fairey had envisioned the 917 as the car that would win Le Mans and seal Porsche's reputation as one of the world's premier car brands. But if he was to stand any chance of claiming motorsport's greatest prize, the 917 required urgent and extensive work. Over the last nine years, Porsche cars had finished top of their class 14 times at Le Mans. But Porsche was a long way off of finishing first. Overall, the race for the checkered flag had been dominated by just two other manufacturers. And Ferrari and Ford had no intention of allowing Porsche to muscle in on the their action. But after underwhelming initial tests on the 917, it seemed that Ferrari and Ford bosses had no reason to be worried about Porsche's new race car. Under Ferry Porsche's direction, his specialist engineers had designed a car built around an air cooled flat 12 engine. This power plant was essentially two engines from the 911 bolted together. It had initially displaced four and a half liters and produced more than 500 horsepower. And it was was all housed in an advanced ultralight space frame chassis that used expensive materials like magnesium and titanium to save every possible ounce, no matter the cost. But the 917 was the first time the Porsche engineers had designed such a powerful race car. And it soon became clear that there were severe flaws in its design. The 917 suffered from terrific aerodynamic instability when speeds approached 200mph. Experienced test drivers like Formula One veteran Jos Siffert, reported that it felt too light and wandered unpredictably on the track. It was dangerously susceptible to crosswinds or bumps on the track surface. And it demanded immense skill just to keep pointing straight. But despite these fundamental problems, in the 917's design, Porsche went ahead and debuted the new car. At the 196924 Hours of Le Mans, the Porsche team entered two 917s, and British racing driver John Wolff entered privately using a 917 he'd purchased from the factory. But none of these three 917s finished the race. The two official cars suffered mechanical malfunctions brought on by the 917's unstable handling. But that was nothing compared to the fate of the independent entry. At the race's traditional standing start, competitors ran to their vehicles, jumped in and raced away from the line while simultaneously buckling their seatbelts. But John Wolff failed to fasten the restraints of his 917 correctly as he aggressively raced for position. On the first lap and just minutes into the race, Wolff lost control of his car and crashed into the barriers. His seatbelts failed, Wolff was flung from the wreckage and he died before he reached the hospital. This tragic event forced Ferry to realize the Porsche was too inexperienced. It was out of its depth, competing against the more established names in motorsport. But he wasn't about to write off the modern equivalent of $70 million that he'd spent developing the 917. Instead, Fairey decided to spend more buying the experience that Porsche was lacking. By late 1969, Ferry had reached out to John Wyer, a British racing engineer. Under Weyer's guidance, ford had won four consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans races, including the tragic 1969 race. But wire saw a spark of potential in Porsche's new design. And for the 1970 season, he agreed that his team would switch to the 917. Over the following winter, Weyer and his team worked non stop with Porsche engineers. They ran the 917 in a cutting edge wind tunnel that Fairey had built at Porsche's test track in Weissach. There, Weier's expertise and high speed aerodynamics helped the Porsche engineers to understand and respond to the readouts from the wind tunnel and to refine the design to improve the car's handling at high speed. With Weier's expert feedback, Porsche's engineers revised the 917 design to better suit the racetrack. And the result? The 917K was 28 inches shorter than the initial version and featured a shorter upstream swept tail. These changes sacrificed a fraction of the car's top speed, but the payoff was significantly greater downforce and a more stable drive. So after months of long days and late nights, Porsche was ready to unveil the redeveloped 917 at the 197024 Hours of Le Mans. Following the fatal crash of the previous year's opening lap, the race began with all drivers already strapped into their cars on the grid. And the honor of waving the green flag was given to fairey to mark 20 years since Porsche's first entry. And when he got the race started, the cars got off without incident. And at the end of the first lap, Fairey was delighted to see that the first three cars were all Porsche 917s. Over the next 24 hours, the drivers and their cars had to navigate the eight mile circuit amid heavy rain and treacherous, treacherous driving conditions. It was the worst kind of weather for a vehicle that was unstable at high speed. But thanks to the hard work of Porsche engineers and John Wyer, the 917 was now one of the best handling cars in the race, even in the wet. Throughout the night and into the next morning, the 917 streaked ahead of the field. And at 4pm, when the checkered flag fell, the 917, driven by Hans Herman and Richard Atwood, took the win. Another 917 finished second, and the nearest Ferrari was 30 laps back. It had taken 20 years of effort, but Porsche had finally won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. For Ferry, watching from the pits, it was the realization of a long held dream. And it cemented his company's place among the legends of motorsport. But Fairey didn't just want to win at Le Mans for the glory. Ever since Porsche had first entered the famous 24 hour race, Ferry had used motorsport as a marketing tool. He knew that success on the racetrack translated into greater sales of Porsche's road cars. And he was confident that taking first overall at Le Mans would give Porsche its biggest boost yet. He was right. Sales of the 911 range rose from 28,000 in 1970 to 32,071. And helped by a second successive Le Mans victory that same year. 911 sales increased again to more than 38,000 in 1972. By the end of that year, Ferry felt he had little more to achieve. He'd steered Porsche onto the road to prosperity with the enormously successful 911 sports car range. He put Porsche's name in the record books with a spectacular duo of victories at Le Mans. And now, at the age of 63, Ferry decided to step back from the business in a large scale restructuring. Ferry became chairman of a newly created supervisory board. Taking Ferry's place as chief executive was former Porsche engineer Ernst Furman. But he soon faced a baptism of fire, because in October 1973 a coalition of Arab nations invaded Israel. Although the Yom Kippur war was over within three weeks, the fallout lasted much longer. The Arab states put pressure on Israel's allies by announcing an oil embargo cargo to any country that had backed Israel in the war. And among the nations affected was Porsche's home country, West Germany, and its biggest export market, the usa. Ernst Furman had taken over a thriving company with a successful core product line and popular brand, but no business was immune to outside events. Porsche had been taken to the brink of destruction in World War II, and now, less than three decades later, war in the Middle east would bring Porsche's growth to a sudden halt. When that happened, Fairy Porsche would find it harder than he expected to relinquish the driver's seat.
- [31:35]
Ferry Porsche
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Hypothetical animals and Hypothetical me. Visit carecredit.com to apply and find a location near you. Subject to credit approval. It's April 1974 at the Porsche Research Facility in Weissach, West Germany, six months after a global oil crisis began. An air cooled engine from a Porsche 911 idles on a dynamometer. Engineers and coveralls monitor it closely, noting down numbers on clipboards. Peering over their shoulders is Fairey Porsche, now supervisory chairman of the company. Today he's been called into the research labs by Ernst Furman, Ferry's successor as chief executive. Fair returns to Ernst with a wide smile on his face. Well, would you listen to that best sounding the world. All six cylinders working in unison. You know, I agree. I'm an engine man myself. But Fairy, we can't allow our emotions override common sense. Ferry turns to Ernst, his brow furrowed. What do you mean? Ernst places a piece of paper on a nearby console. Well, these are the latest projections. We're up against it, especially in America. Gas prices? Partly. Gas prices are stabilizing. But the new officials efficiency standards aren't going away. I thought the engineers had a solution. They do, but it adds weight, complexity and cost. It saps performance. We're fighting against the fundamental nature of the design. Now Fairy, maybe it's time to pull the plug, move on to a new model. You want to cancel the 911? Well, I think we should consider it, yeah. Fairey shakes his head vigorously. No, no, no. Customers still want it. But for how much longer? I mean look, look at the investment curve. The resources we're going to have to pour into keeping the 911 viable. Could be better used developing something new. We even have a successor waiting in the wings. What, the front engine car? Yeah, the front engine. I don't know what you have against it. It's been engineered from the start to be more fuel efficient. It's the logical evolution of the Porsche brand. No, no, the 911 is the Porsche brand. We can't drop it. I think we have to. The longer we cling on to the 91111 the more it'll become a millstone around our neck. It'll drag us right down. We need to get something in its place. A clean break. A car for the modern world and modern regulations. You know, I think you need to stop obsessing over the regulations. You forget what this company is, you forget its history. I respectfully disagree. Porsche has always been about building cars for the world as it is, not as it was. You knew that with the 356 it carried the Porsche brand for years. But when the time came, you replaced the 356 with the 911. I'm wondering what's different this time. Ferry raises his chin defiantly. I'm not having this discussion because the 911 is going to stay. Find the engineering solutions, make it compliant, make it better. Because we're not going to cut out the heart of Porsche. Fairey Porsche overruled his chief executive and kept the 911 alive for the moment. But the fight to save the car he believed embodied Porsche's soul was far from over. Ever since it was founded, Porsche had been on the cutting edge of the automotive industry. But now Ferry had staked the company's identity on sticking with a tried and tested favorite. And this choice would set the stage for years of internal debate. During the five months that oil producing countries in the Middle east restricted exports, America and its allies struggled to cope. Gas stations often ran dry, and when word got around that they'd been restocked, long lines formed at the pumps. In the US national speed limits were restricted to 55 mph to improve fuel efficiency. And in West Germany, Italy and Switzerland, civilians were banned from driving on Sundays. The oil crisis inevitably dented confidence in the auto industry, and it had a major impact on Porsche's bottom line too. Sales dropped nearly 25% in 1974, and they didn't bounce back in 75. With a surplus of stock on hand, Porsche slashed production and the factory lay silent for days at a time. In contrast, the design department, though, remained busier than ever. Ernst Furman had Porsche's engineers work overtime to adapt the 911's air cooled engine to meet tightening global emissions and noise regulations. But despite Fairey's strongly held opinion that the 911 would ride out the oil crisis, Ernst wasn't willing to stake everything on the continued success of the 911 range. So while work did continue to make the 911 more fuel efficient, Ernst ordered a second set of engineers to create a new range of vehicles. The first car in Porsche's new range launched two years later in 1976. And it was a radical departure departure from the past. The 924 was an entry level sports car with a more efficient water cooled 2 liter engine. And unlike any Porsche developed before, it had its engine mounted at the front of the chassis. Not everyone was a fan of the new design, but during its first full year of production, Porsche sold three times more 924s than they did 911s. And the following year, the next car in the new range was ready. In May 1977, the Porsche 928 entered production. Like the 924, the 928 had a water cooled engine mounted at the front. But unlike the 924, the 928 was powered by a high performance 4.5 liter V8. It was by no means a fuel efficient vehicle. Instead, it was aimed at the same luxury sports car market as the 911. And this competition between the 928 and 911 sparked a battle over the future direction of the company. On one side, chief executive Ernst Furman pushed for the 911 to be phased out. On the other side, Supervisory Chairman Fairey felt that the 928 was a change. For change's sake. He argued that the iconic 911 should be retained as the heart of the Porsche brand. So with Ernst and Fairey at a deadlock, the deciding vote was cast by Porsche's customers. And they quickly made their feelings feelings clear. Despite rising gas prices and new fuel efficiency regulations, demand for the 911 recovered. Sales increased 10% a year between 1978 and 1981. But the other car, in comparison, failed to achieve its targets. The 928 was outsold by the 911 by a factor of two to one. So with the 928 failing to prove a hit and criticism being leveled at Porsche's long term strategy, Ernst Fuhrmann resigned as chief executive. And his successor immediately quashed any remaining debate over the future of the 911. He declared that the 911 is the company, a belief that Fairey had stood by all along. Today, the Porsche 911 remains in production more than 60 years after its debut and more than 1 million have been sold around the globe. Its greatest champion, Ferry Porsche Porsche, died in 1998 at the age of 88. A year later, the 911 was ranked the fifth most important car of the 20th century by industry experts. But Porsche also had a hand in the car that finished one place higher, the Volkswagen Beetle. Back in the 1930s, Ferry's father, Ferdinand, was an engineering genius who fell into the orbit of the brutal and murderous Nazi regime. And aside from Ferdinand, the company's early fate was guided by by many hands, its talented engineers and designers, its Jewish co founder Adolf Rosenberger, and the thousands of forced laborers who were compelled to work for Porsche and Volkswagen during the war. And by 1945, Porsche was tainted by association to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. But one man did more than any other to ensure that it survived and thrived in the post war world. Fairey Porsche took the wheel at a time of crisis and steered Porsche down a new path, building it into one of the most coveted and adored car brands in the world. But there was one common thread between Ferry's sports car and Ferdinand's mass market people's car. An uncompromising commitment to excellence. From Wondery. This is episode four of Rehabilitating Porsche for Business Movers. On the next episode, journalist and author David Died Yong explores the impact of the Nazi regime on German businesses and how Fairy Porsche resurrected his father's legacy from the shame and ruins of German defeat. If you like Business Movers, you can unlock exclusive episodes found nowhere else on Wondery and access new episodes early and ad free. Join Wondery in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts Prime. Members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a survey@wondery.com if you'd like to learn more about Porsche, we recommend the man and His Cars by Richard von Frankenberg Nazi Billionaires by David de Jong and we at Porsche by Ferry Porsche A quick note about our dramatizations in most cases, we can't know everything that happened, but all our reenactments are based on historical research. Business Movers is hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham for Airship Audio editing by Mohammed Shahzib sound design by Molly Bach. Our supervising sound designer is Matthew Filler. Music by Thrum. This episode is written and researched by Cody Hoffman, senior producer Scott Reeves. Executive producers are William Simpson for Airship and Aaron o' Flaherty, Jenny Lauer Beckman and Marshall Louie for Wondery.
- [42:18]
Ernst Fuhrmann
Today is the worst day of Abby's life. The 17 year old cradles her newborn son in her arms.
- [42:25]
Lindsey Graham
They all saw how much I loved him. They didn't have to take him from me.
- [42:29]
Ernst Fuhrmann
Between 1945 and the early 1970s, families shipped their pregnant teenage daughters to maternity homes and forced them to secretly place their babies for adoption in hidden corners across America. It's still happening. My parents had me locked up in the godparent home against my will. They worked with them to manipulate me and to steal my son away from me. The godparent home is the brainchild of controversial preacher Jerry Falwell, the father of the modern Evangelical Rite and the founder of Liberty University, where powerful men, emboldened by their faith, determine who can gets to be a parent and who must give their child away. Follow Liberty Lost on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.