Ferdinand Piëch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ferdinand Piëch
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Ferdinand Karl Piëch
17 April 1937 Vienna, Austria
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| Died | 25 August 2019 (aged 82) Rosenheim, Germany
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| Occupation | Automobile engineer, business executive |
| Known for | Chairman of Volkswagen Group until 25 April 2015 |
| Spouse(s) | Corina von Planta (before 1984) Ursula Piëch (1984–2019; his death) |
| Children | 13 |
| Relatives | Louise Porsche Piëch – mother Anton Piëch – father Ferdinand Porsche – grandfather Ferry Porsche – uncle Wolfgang Porsche – cousin Ferdinand Porsche III – cousin |
Ferdinand Karl Piëch (born April 17, 1937 – died August 25, 2019) was an important Austrian engineer and business leader. He was the chairman of the main board at Volkswagen Group from 1993 to 2002. Later, he led the supervisory board from 2002 to 2015.
Ferdinand Piëch was the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who founded the famous Porsche car company. Piëch started his career at Porsche. Later, he moved to Audi, another car company. He helped Audi grow a lot, making it a strong competitor to brands like Mercedes-Benz and BMW. He did this with new ideas like the Audi Quattro and Audi 100.
In 1993, Piëch became the head of Volkswagen Group. He helped turn it into the huge company it is today. He oversaw the purchase of luxury brands like Lamborghini and Bentley. He also helped start Bugatti Automobiles. He brought these brands together with Volkswagen, Škoda, SEAT, and Audi. Piëch had to retire from his main role at age 65 due to company rules. However, he stayed involved in important decisions until 2015.
As an engineer, Piëch helped create many famous cars. These include the Porsche 911, Audi Quattro, and the amazing Bugatti Veyron. The Bugatti Veyron was known for being one of the fastest and most powerful road cars ever made. Because of his big impact on the car world, Piëch was named the Car Executive of the Century in 1999. He was also added to the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2014.
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Early Life and Education
Ferdinand Piëch was born in Vienna, Austria. His mother was Louise Porsche, Ferdinand Porsche's daughter. His father was Anton Piëch, a lawyer. Ferdinand studied at the Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz school. He then went to ETH Zurich in Switzerland, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering in 1962. For his master's project, he wrote about designing a Formula One (F1) engine. At that time, Porsche was also involved in F1 racing.
Working at Porsche and Audi
From 1963 to 1971, Piëch worked at Porsche in Stuttgart. He helped develop race cars like the Porsche 906 and the very successful Porsche 917. In 1972, he moved to Audi in Ingolstadt. From 1975, he was in charge of engineering. He was responsible for the designs of many Audi cars in the 1970s and 1980s. These included the Audi 80, Audi 100, and the Audi V8.
In 1977, Piëch started developing a car for the World Rally Championship. This led to the creation of the four-wheel drive Audi Quattro. This car used a special turbocharged five-cylinder engine. Before joining Audi, Piëch even developed a five-cylinder diesel engine for Mercedes-Benz at his own small engineering company. He brought this idea to Audi because people wanted engines with more than four cylinders.
Leading Volkswagen Group
In 1993, Piëch became the chairman of the board at Volkswagen AG. At that time, Volkswagen was in financial trouble. Piëch played a key role in turning the company around and making it successful again. He retired from the main board in 2002. However, he continued to advise the company as chairman of the Supervisory Board. In 2000, he also became chairman of Scania AB, a truck and bus manufacturer.
As the head of Volkswagen Group, Piëch was known for expanding the company. He helped make the Volkswagen and Audi brands more luxurious and popular. Piëch also worked to acquire other car brands. He successfully bought Lamborghini for Audi. He also helped create Bugatti Automobiles SAS. His purchase of Bentley was also a big move. Even though there were some challenges with the Rolls-Royce brand, Piëch's main goal was to get Bentley, which sold more cars.
Piëch also worked to make Volkswagen popular again in North America. He helped this by deciding to make the Volkswagen New Beetle. This car was introduced in 1998 and gave Volkswagen a big boost in the US market. In 2011, Automobile Magazine named Piëch their Man of the Year because of his continued influence in the car industry.
Engineering Innovations
At Porsche, Piëch made important changes. For example, he moved the driver's seat in race cars from the left to the right. This gave an advantage on most race tracks. Porsche also took a big risk by building twenty-five powerful Porsche 917 race cars. This surprised the racing rule-makers. Piëch also started developing a 16-cylinder engine for the Can-Am racing series. This reminded many of his grandfather's famous 16-cylinder engine for Auto Union race cars in the 1930s.
Decades later, as CEO of Volkswagen Group, Piëch pushed for the very ambitious Bugatti Veyron. This car had a turbocharged W16-cylinder engine with over 1000 horsepower and a top speed of over 400 kilometers per hour. Piëch was also behind the Volkswagen Phaeton luxury car. This car was meant to compete with other German luxury cars.
Porsche Family Ownership
Piëch owned a significant share of Porsche, about 10%. To avoid disagreements among the many family members, a rule was made in 1972. This rule stated that no member of the Porsche family could be involved in the day-to-day management of the company. This rule led Piëch to move to Audi after starting his own engineering company.
Personal Life
Ferdinand Piëch reportedly had 13 children from different relationships. He was married to his second wife, Ursula Piëch, from 1984 until his death. They lived together in Salzburg, Austria. One of his sons, Toni Piëch, founded a car company called Piëch Automotive. Ferdinand Piëch himself was dyslexic. He also had a large car collection, including two Bugatti Veyrons that he and his wife often drove.
Piëch passed away suddenly on August 25, 2019, while having dinner with his wife in Germany. He was rushed to the hospital but died shortly after.
Leadership Style
Ferdinand Piëch was an engineer who was deeply involved in how cars were developed. He was also known for his strong personality. Piëch was behind the creation of many important cars, like the Porsche 911, Audi 100, Audi Quattro, and Bugatti Veyron. Experts said he was the "mad genius" behind Porsche and Audi's racing wins. He also helped Volkswagen become a huge company.
Many people in the car industry respected Piëch. Bob Lutz, another car executive, called him "one of the most successful leaders in the automotive business." Automotive News described Piëch as a "world-class eccentric" but also a very important person in car history. The Guardian newspaper said he would be remembered as an "automotive legend."
Piëch was very interested in pushing the limits of technology in cars. He believed that technology could solve all problems in the car business. He often led the development of bold vehicles or made business decisions that surprised people, but they often helped the company. For example, he pushed for the Bugatti Veyron supercar to be built, even though some executives disagreed.
Piëch was a demanding leader. He set very high and specific goals for projects. For example, when developing the Volkswagen Phaeton luxury car, he set ten strict rules it had to meet. One rule was that the car should be able to drive all day at 300 kilometers per hour in 50-degree Celsius heat, while keeping the inside temperature at 22 degrees Celsius. He often got personally involved in car development. He also liked to ride along with car journalists during test drives to get their feedback and improve Volkswagen's vehicles.
Awards and Recognition
- Named Car Executive of the Century (1999)
- Received the Wilhelm Exner Medal (2002)
- Inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame (2014)
See also
In Spanish: Ferdinand Piëch para niños
