WHEN ASKED to pick a favourite car, there are many who’ll instantly answer Porsche 911.
Yet its original designer Ferdinand “Butzi” Porsche, who died last week aged 76, didn’t rank it as one of his favourite cars.
While still in his mid-20s, Ferdinand penned the 911 and launched it at the Frankfurt motor show of 1963. But why was the evergreen 911 not the favourite of its creator? Apparently, Ferdinand felt that too many others had a hand in meddling and fiddling with his early designs and concepts for the 911, and while he is credited as the car’s father, he felt it not enough of his own work. His personal favourite was the 904 race car, a car that went so swiftly from sketch to construction that no-one else was able to alter it.
You can read more on Ferdinand Porsche and his motoring life on our blog at irishtimes.com/motors