Ferdinand Porsche and the First Hybrid Vehicle

Most people think that gas-electric hybrid vehicles are a recent innovation. In fact, the first hybrid car was created by automotive legend Ferdinand Porsche in 1901.

Lohner-Porsche

At the time when he developed the gas-electric hybrid system, Porsche was a 23-year-old engineer working for Jacob Lohner, a Viennese coach builder. Lohner was Europe's premiere carriage builder, hand-making horse-drawn vehicles for royalty including the Austrian Emperor.

Most horseless carriages (as they were then known) were gas powered, smelly, and noisy. To solve this problem, Lohner tasked Porsche to build a quiet electric car. In 1898, the young engineer complied and constructed the Elektromobil, which consisted of an electric motor inserted in each wheel-hub of the two front wheels. Porsche actually invented the electric wheel-hub motor in 1896 when he was only 21.

On the outside, the Elektromobil looked like a typical horseless carriage of the period. It could travel 38 miles powered by electricity alone. It was introduced at the Paris Exposition of 1900. The first customer to place an order for the automobile was one E.W. Hart, a resident of Luton, a small English town. Hart, however, requested electric motors in all four wheels. Porsche complied and one of the first four-wheel drive vehicles was born.

Mixt

In 1901, Porsche introduced his "Mixt" hybrid system, replacing Lohner-Porsche's 44-cell, 80-volt, two-ton lead-acid batteries with a 2.5-horsepower Daimler internal combustion engine that powered by two wheel-hub electric motors. His revolutionary system eliminated the need for chain and belt drives, and was the precursor of the hybrid vehicle.

Until 1906, only 330 Porsche Elektromobils were built.

Legacy

In 1906, Ferdinand Porsche was hired as chief designer for Daimler-Benz, where he went on to become best known for creating the Volkswagen. This was a mixed legacy because, shortly after Hitler became Germany's leader, he met with Porsche and requested that he adapt the VW's design to the average working man. During World War II, the Volkswagen factory had its own concentration camp from which it drew slave labor. After the war, Porsche and his son were imprisoned by the allies for only a few years.

Ferdinand Porsche Sr. died in 1952 in Stuttgart.

His son Ferdinand designed the sports car that bears the family name.

The Elektromobil was gone, but it wasn't forgotten. Its design has inspired alternative vehicles like the Chevy Volt. In particular, NASA used the Lohner-Porsche Elektromobil design as a strong influence for the 1971 Apollo 15 mission's Lunar Rover.