The Porsche world lost one of its heroes on June 10, 2020. Hans Mezger, father of the original 911 engine and the 917, among countless other noteworthy achievements in motorsport and production engineering, passed away at the age of 90.
Over the course of more than three decades, Mezger oversaw some of the company’s most significant successes. Porsche’s first six-cylinder production engine, designed specifically for the 911, was the first of Metger’s major projects. The so-called Mezger engine would go on to see further development under his direction with turbocharging.
Metzger was also instrumental in developing the 917 race car, overseeing the overall car design as well as its twelve-cylinder engine. Later work would include developing the four-valve cylinder head and water cooling for the 935 and 936 race cars, as well as Porsche’s Indy Car engine.
Few men were as synonymous with the Porsche brand as Hans Mezger, and it’s unlikely there will be another single person responsible for so many milestones at the company in the future. His legend lives on in the timeless cars he helped create.
Hans Mezger’s Achievements – A Timeline
1956–1960 Technical calculation department in the design department. Responsible for valve control of all engines, among other things.
1960–1962 Move to the Porsche Formula 1 project team. Collaboration in engine and chassis design.
1963 Design of the 901/911 engine. Responsible for design and further development of all racing engines.
1965 Design and project management of the Ollon-Villars Spyder. Management of the newly established department for race car design.
1966–1970 Design of the 910, 907, 908, 917, 2-litre four-cylinder engine for the 914 production sports car.
1971–1973 CanAm race cars 917/10 and 917/30 with turbocharging.
1974–1976 Design, development and further development of six-cylinder turbo engines and the Type 935 and 936 race cars.
1977–1978 Development of the water cooling and four-valve concept for the Type 935 and 936 six-cylinder turbo engines.
1977–1980 Design of the four-cylinder engine for Harley-Davidson. Development of the Indy engine based on the Type 935/936. Further development of the 935/936 race cars and engines.
1981–1982 Development of a 2.65-litre engine based on the 935/936 for Group C (956/962).
1981–1987 Design, overall project management and further development of the “TAG-Turbo – made by Porsche” Formula 1 engine.
1987–1988 Design of the Type 2708 Indy 2.65-litre engine.
1990 Design of the Type 3512 12-cylinder Formula 1 engine
Recent Comments