Porsche’s Engine Evolution: From VW Flat-Fours to Flat-Six Powerhouses
The power behind Porsche’s early racing success was its innovative, efficient boxer engines. Lawrence Butcher examines how a VW Beetle engine evolved into the flat-12 at the heart of its monstrous Le Mans-winning 917
Porsche The 550 Spyder pioneered the use of the flat-four Boxer engine in racing before its heart evolved into the monstrous flat-12 found in the likes of the 917
Ferdinand Porsche may be famed for many things, but for most the name is more commonly associated with just one engine type, the flat-six. From the 911 to the 962 Group C cars, flat sixes are synonymous with Porsche. It would, however, be remiss to ignore the 4, 8, and 12-cylinder variants that secured much of the company’s early racing success. Of course, the boxer layout isn’t unique to Porsche; Ferrari, Chevrolet, Subaru and Tatra, to name a few, have all used the layout, and it is the last of these names that holds the key to the Porsche design’s murky beginnings.
When sketching out the KdF Wagen – AKA the Beetle – back in the early ’30s, Ferdinand Porsche could not help but notice the work being undertaken by Czech designer Hans Ledwinka on the Tatra V570, which featured a lightweight, rear-mounted, air-cooled flat four. Porsche had his then engine designer Joseph Kales draw up a similar motor, which would later be refined by Franz Xaver Reimspiess when the KdF-Wagen was adopted as Hitler’s favoured ‘Peoples’ Car’. Tatra took exception to this and started legal proceedings against Volkswagen in 1937. These were curtailed when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia and took over the factory; post-war VW would end up paying damages to Tatra.
Briton Attwood and Herrmann’s Salzburg-entered 917K beat the elements to score Porsche’s first Le Mans win in 1970