Porsche in a single-seater: a dotted adventure

At a time when the Stuttgart firm, titled last weekend in Shanghai, is preparing to leave LM P1 in the WEC to join Formula e from 2019, this is the opportunity to recall that it has already developed single-seaters both in F1 and for the Indy 500.

Published on 09/11/2017 à 20:27

⁰ View comments)

Porsche in a single-seater: a dotted adventure

The interest of Porsche pour des monoplaces n’a rien de surprenant de la part d’un concepteur qui s’est toujours passionné pour la recherche de la performance. Car c’est bien dans le travail de Ferdinand Porsche qu’il faut aller chercher les gênes de celle qui sera la première Porsche F1.

At the end of the Second World War, Ferdinand Porsche, whose company based in Gmünd, Austria, in 1944, is known for having developed tank projects for the Wehrmacht, found himself a prisoner of the French army. Despite his situation, he was contacted by another Austrian, based in Italy, Carlo Abarth, known for his ability to magnify “small” Fiats.

Abarth, married to the former secretary of Anton Piëch, Ferdinand's son-in-law, contacts his father-in-law to develop a set of projects including a racing car which will be the workhorse of Cisitalia (Consorzio Industriale Sportive Italia. Editor’s note), brand then very little known. A program financed by Piero Dusio, Turin businessman thanks to whom Cisitalia 246 was born, car derived from a Fiat 500 and which distinguished itself in Italian national events, in the hands of Tazio Nuvolari…

Discover the complete Porsche single-seater adventure in AUTO issue 2139weeklyo, available now in digital version on all platforms and on kiosks.