"The Grandfather"

            Throughout the 1930’s, the Nazi government in Germany extended its control over virtually all aspects of German life, to include…of all things…motorsports.  This seems strange to our modern eyes, which view racing as a world of private and corporate enterprise.  However to the German government (and other European governments as well), public funding of activities like auto racing was vital if new engineering technologies were to be developed.  The Nazi government viewed motorsports as a method of accomplishing several goals…development of high performance engines, promotion of German engineering accomplishments to the masses, and the offering of exciting sporting events to a population only just recovering from the Great Depression and its record inflation.

            One such Nazi-organized event would be the Berlin-to-Rome race…a marathon cross-country jaunt over the Alps that would push the absolute limits of man and machine and also emphasized the political bond between the two dominant Fascist states in Europe.  The race was scheduled for September 1939, a fateful decision as things would turn out.  It was also deemed critical that a variant of the newly-introduced VW Kaefer (beetle) participate in the race and thus demonstrate the mechanical superiority of the design to the German people…a Nazi take on the old racing adage “win on Sunday, sell on Monday”.  Erwin Komenda, Porsche’s chief body designer was asked to develop a new lightweight body for a racing VW that placed an emphasis on streamlining above all other considerations.  The reason for this was that engine tweaks on the humble VW 1.1 liter flat-four would yield only about 45 horsepower.  Anything more aggressive than that would seriously compromise reliability during the brutal contest ahead.  Because the Beetle was known internally as the Model 60, and this car would be the 10^th variation in body design, the car name became the VW60K10, “K” standing for “Karroserie” or “Vehicle Body”.  Charged with this assignment, Komenda and his staff put pens to paper, and soon shaped a design that would come to be known the world over as the “Porsche Form”.

            The car that resulted was astounding in appearance, especially for a time and a country not yet entirely out of the horse-drawn cart era.  Reutter Karosserie in Stuttgart was contracted to build three examples of the new design, which emerged in raw silvery aluminum, looking more like fighter planes than automobiles.  The vehicle weight was down to a mere 1200 lbs…almost half that of the first 911’s!  The 60K10 featured flush-mounted glass and fender skirts which helped immensely in the reduction of speed-killing air resistance.  Komenda’s intuitive eye and skilled hand had produced a car that leapfrogged an entire generation of automotive development!  Road tests with the new vehicles revealed them to be outstanding performers, delivering a reliable 100mph while sipping miserly amounts of gas.

           Alas, it was all not to be.  The German army stormed into Poland on September 1^st, 1939, and the world was plunged into six years of apocalyptic destruction.  Thoughts of auto races disappeared like so many other lost dreams of the era.  To their horror, the Allies discovered that German investment in their motorsports had paid off, as they found themselves outclassed by superior fighting machines in the air, on land, and at sea.  Eventually the tables would be turned, but not without an enormous effort of the kind that comes with any true fight for survival.

            Sadly, the three 60K10s became white elephants, their reason for existence now gone, although Professor Porsche happily used one throughout the war as personal transportation for his frequent trips between Stuttgart and Berlin, usually driven by his skilled chauffeur Josef Goldinger at sustained speeds well over 85mph.  The sight of this silvery meteor rocketing down the Autobahn past trundling throngs of gray-green Wehrmacht trucks, tanks, and VW Kuebelwagens can only be imagined!  One of the other 60K10’s was lost in a traffic accident, and the third survived but was soon “liberated” by American GI’s, who promptly cut the top off with a hacksaw and relentlessly flogged the helpless racer around the countryside until there was nothing left of it.  Austrian racer Otto Mathe purchased the sole surviving VW60K10 after the war, and he campaigned it for a while in local events.  He brought the car to California in 1982 for the PCA Parade and thrilled spectators with demonstration laps of Riverside raceway in the rare prototype Porsche. 

When the time came for Porsche to consider sports-car production in the late 1940’s, the VW60K10 was the blueprint that got unrolled first.  It was a proven design with the potential to become a true touring car, unlike the 356/001 roadster.  Erwin Komenda used the 60K10 as a starting point for the creation of the production 356 coupe, and a quick glance at the two designs will reveal little doubt of that.  As for the surviving VW60K10, Otto Mathe passed away several years ago, and a dedicated enthusiast in Germany now owns the car.  Some Porsche enthusiasts remark how surprising it is that the Porsche Company did not jump at the chance to buy the rare car, because after all…it’s the Porsche Grandfather!