Porsche recently unveiled one of the earliest known automobiles that its founder Ferdinand Porsche was a part of. On Monday the 1898 Egger-Lohner electric C.2 Phaeton went on display at the Porsche museum in Stuttgart. Although many web sites are calling this “The First Porsche,” Ferdinand Porsche did not found the Porsche car company until 1931. In 1898 he was just a 22-year-old with no engineering education working for automaker Jacob Lohner.
That lack of formal training did not stop Lohner from assigning the young artisan the task of coming up with a new electric drivetrain for the vehicle. Ferdinand Porsche went to work, and produced a motor with 3 horsepower under normal conditions and 5 hp in overdrive mode. Before we scoff at those 19th century numbers it’s equally important, if not more so, to judge it in terms of reliability. The technology of automobiles was very much in its infancy, after all.
These characteristics of reliability, efficiency, speed and pragmatism would be central in all future Porsches to come, and it’s fascinating to see them hinted at such an early time.
The Phaeton has apparently been sitting in an Austrian barn for the past 116 or so years, but thanks to surviving schematics, Porsche was able to restore it to its original condition for display at the museum. Plus, if you can make it there in time, Monday and Tuesday admission is free in celebration of the museum’s 50th anniversary. Haven’t you always meant to visit Germany?
You can see several photos of this amazing car, as well as an original drawing, at The Verge. Once you’ve given it a look, tell us if you think you see other hints of Porsche design. Or, maybe you think this is a timely reminder for Porsche to return to its electric roots? Let us know in the comments. And if you have a hankering to compare classic design to the modern, stop by Leith Porsche to see how we’ve been able to improve upon Ferdinand Porsche’s first efforts.
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