A Journey Through the History of Porsche: Why Agile Work Isn’t New to Us
Uwe Reuter, Director Resources and Innovation Chassis at Porsche, explains how Porsche has been a pioneer of agile work since they started in a garage in 1931. And why the carbuilder’s history shows a remarkable developement of new work over the decades.
Agility and customer centricity — these are characteristics that are regarded as essential cornerstones for a successful business model in today’s digitalised world. Technologies are constantly changing, innovation and product cycles are becoming shorter and shorter, while companies have to evolve constantly to survive in the long-term. In order to meet the modern requirements of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, companies must become more agile (i.e. more flexible, dynamic and interconnected). It’s therefore little wonder that the term ‘agile working’ is omnipresent in this context today. What we often overlook, however, is that we at Porsche have been driven by these principles in the past.
I am of course aware that the demands placed on work — and the ways we work — have changed immensely in recent decades. It is all the more important for me to trace our success stories from the past so we can learn from them for the future. So let’s take a look back on the long tradition of ‘New Work’ at Porsche.
A start-up mentality since 1931
The beginning for any new company is difficult. Every founder faces the challenge of producing a minimal viable product (MVP) with very scarce resources. It is only with this prototype that a start-up can show that their concept is viable and works. It’s not only Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak who knew this when they soldered the first Mac in the garage at 2066 Crist Drive, Los Altos, California.
Ferdinand Porsche had been following this path for a long time before they did. He expanded his design office in downtown Stuttgart by adding a mechanical workshop, which he quickly installed in the garage of his villa on Feuerbacher Weg. Time was of the essence, as: by 1935 he had to prove the functionality of his three Volkswagen prototype vehicles — the basic requirement for further series orders from the German Association of the Automotive Industry and the continuation of the ‘Volkswagen’ project.
From a garage to the development centre in Weissach
By today’s standards it’s almost unimaginable, but here in the narrowness of a double garage the supplied bodies with the engines and platform frames were assembled to test models for future vehicles during ongoing test operation. This was a pure start-up atmosphere.
In this way, the experience gained during extensive test drives in the higher altitudes of the Black Forest and on the emerging motorways could immediately be incorporated into the design and production of new components, thereby gradually improving the product and adapting it to the everyday requirements of operation.
After a period in Zuffenhausen, the ‘garage’ relocated to Weissach and has since evolved into a research and development facility. What has not changed at Porsche, however, is the core idea of giving employees the freedom to experiment and simply ‘do’ things.
How necessity became a virtue
“At first I looked around, but couldn’t find the car I was dreaming of. So I decided to build it myself.”
This sentence sums up everything that defines Porsche — both as a brand and as a company. Right from the start, it has been the guiding light that describes our values and shapes our vehicles. None other than the creator of the first sports car with the name Porsche formulated it: Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche — otherwise known as Ferry.
How could Ferry make his dream (the Porsche 356 “№1” Roadster) come true in the post-war period, which was marked by supply shortages? Well, he achieved this through the intelligent combination of technologies, some of which already existed, such as:
- a well-known basic vehicle concept, with a low-slung, air-cooled four-cylinder boxer engine, a 4-speed transmission, pendulum axle and torsion bar axle,
- the incorporation of parts from the Volkswagen project,
- the use of aluminium for the bodywork from aircraft construction, which was prohibited at the time,
- tubular frame design typical of race cars.
The Porsche engineering office experimented with a mid-engine placement — being acquainted with its handling advantages from the Auto-Union racing car project of the 1930s — as well as a consistently lightweight construction in order to outperform more potent competitors.
Based on this sporty technological blueprint, Ferry and his team succeeded in creating a completely new car, the Porsche 356. In order to appeal to more customers, the series production car was a 2+2 seater model with higher use value and its power unit was fitted at the back: This was an aerodynamic vehicle which, due to its sophisticated tuning with a slightly more powerful engine, showed a previously undreamt-of driving performance — and thus impressed an exclusive group of buyers.
Responding flexibly to customer needs
At Porsche, we understood early on how important it is to react flexibly and specifically to customer needs that go beyond the possibilities of series production. As early as 1978, Porsche founded the special request department — today’s Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur.
This is where the wishes of Porsche customers, including those of ambitious sports drivers, become reality, by giving their roadworthy Porsche 911 more of a racing look. In 1976/78, Porsche and our motorsport customers achieved many racing successes in the Group 5 class with the Type 935 — a car with a lowered aerodynamic front and striking headlights in the front apron. The Exclusive range took this trend into account. On request and with an additional charge, Porsche offered a ‘low-profile version’ of the 911 and 911 Turbo beginning in 1981.
Agile decisions in the course of the project
In the traditional world of vehicle planning, the project result is precisely described in performance specifications, schedules and budgets, and is meticulously adhered to by various controlling measures. But how were things done at the beginning of the 1970s?
In 1972 VW commissioned Porsche with the EA 425 development project. The successor to the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia was to be a 2+2-seater sports car with Volkswagen and Audi technology. But then the Volkswagen management board cancelled the project and EA 425 was on the brink of collapse. Without further ado, Porsche decided to develop, produce and market the ‘agile’ model as the Porsche 924 itself — a courageous decision that later led to a great success for the transaxle Porsche models 924, 944 and 968, especially in the USA.
Innovation made in Flacht
At Porsche, we rely on the everyday practicality of sports cars such as the Porsche 911 Carrera and the usefulness of SUV series such as the Macan and Cayenne. Nevertheless, we also regularly pursue lighthouse projects in the super sports car segment such as the Porsche 959, Porsche 911 GT1, Carrera GT or most recently the Porsche 918 Spyder.
These super sports cars are often developed with the aim of providing a competitive homologation basis for motorsport use. Examples are the Porsche 911 GT 1997 and its successor the Porsche GT1 1998. After all, the Porsche 911 GT was developed at no other place than the cradle of racing, in our Motorsport Centre in Flacht. In favour of sportiness, our engineers not only dispensed with unnecessary comfort features, but also went as far in the modification as is necessary for everyday use and in particular for maintaining road approval. Just ‘made in Flacht’.
The 918 Spyder project impressively demonstrated that our teams at the Motorsport Centre can successfully launch production vehicles that are also economically very successful — despite, or precisely because of, the complex technologies installed such as hybrid drive, electric driving modes, a high degree of networking, use of carbon fibre, electronic operating and display concept, etc. With the know-how of the series development departments and the production in Zuffenhausen, the team created a fully customer-compatible vehicle.
Our engineers made countless motorsport transmissions, which, beginning with the Porsche 918 concept in 2010, can be summarized as the Porsche Intelligent Performance. The hybrid drivetrain was first transferred to the Cayenne S Hybrid, with main functions such as recuperation,e-drive operation, sailing and charging the battery using the combustion engine.
The future of mobility
Examples like these show us the long history of agile work at Porsche. We must preserve the pioneering spirit, passion and creativity that have been firmly anchored in our company since 1931. I am very happy about the big hype about New Work, the public debate on the necessary cultural change and especially the fact that it has arrived at Porsche.
I’m a big New Work fan and glad to see how various colleagues in all areas are driving change at Porsche. Even though it is difficult to fundamentally change a traditional manufacturing company like Porsche, we are firmly convinced that this is the only way to successfully shape the future of mobility.
Uwe Reuter is Director Resources and Innovation Chassis at Porsche.
About this publication: Where innovation meets tradition. There’s more to Porsche than sports cars — we’re tackling new challenges, develop digital products and think digital with focus on the customer. On our Medium blog, we tell these stories. It´s about our #nextvisions, smart technologies and the people that drive our digital journey. Please follow us on Twitter (Porsche Digital, Next Visions), Instagram (Porsche Digital, Next Visions, Porsche Newsroom) and LinkedIn (Porsche AG, Porsche Digital) for more.
