Porsche and VW: One Happy Family?

Written by Mark Landler
STUTTGART, Germany

WOLFGANG PORSCHE still chafes at the memory of being told, as a 7-year-old, that he could not attend the 75th birthday party of Ferdinand Porsche, his grandfather and the family patriarch.

It was a glittering affair, celebrating the man who designed the forerunner of the Volkswagen Beetle and laid the groundwork for one of Germany’s mightiest industrial empires. For young Wolfgang, it would have been a precious chance to see a beloved but often absent figure. Four months after the party, in January 1951, Ferdinand was dead.

Now, nearly six decades later, Wolfgang Porsche is the one making family history: he stands on the brink of uniting Volkswagen with Porsche, the elite sports-car maker founded by his grandfather and built by his father, Ferry Porsche.

Read More...