Ferdinand Porsche

Thanks to a referral Porsche landed a job with the Béla Egger Electrical company in Vienna when he turned 18. Still employed by Lohner Porsche reached the logical conclusion and in 1901 introduced the "Mixte" vehicle/transmission concept: instead of a massive battery-pack an internal combustion engine built by the German firm Daimler was fitted to a generator to drive the electric hub motors and (for vehicle reliability) a small battery pack. The need to increase productivity became an obsession for him.

In 1937 Porsche was awarded the German National Prize for Art and Science one of the rarest decorations in Nazi Germany. Additionally he helped develop and manufacture retaliatory weapons (Vergeltungswaffen) such as the V-1 flying bombs(Fi 103 flying bombs). He also made contributions in aircraft design including the Junkers Ju 88 and the Focke-Wulf Ta 152.