Ferdinand Porsche And His Electric Car
Well before creating the Volkswagen Beetle and his own brand, Ferdinand Porsche unveiled the P1 model powered entirely on electricity. The year was 1898 making him only 23 years old and living in Vienna.
It was the first electric car to be built by Jacob Lohner. Despite appearances, she weighed 1.3 tons. The electric motor with 3 horsepower (up to 5 for a short period of time) allowed a top speed of 35 km/h . It was powered by a 12V battery that weighed 130 pounds. The car even had a speed controller.
Impressive for the time, the range of the P1 was 80 kilometers, or just below that offered by most modern electric cars!
Ferdinand Porsche even won a 38 kilometer race at the wheel of this exceptional car with a lead of 18 minutes over his closest competitor. Shortly thereafter, it was stored in Austria for 111 years.
In 2010, Ferdinand Porsche P1 was restored and today it can be found at the Porsche Museum.