Porsche Celebrates 100th Anniversary of Key Motorsports Win

Century of Excellence

Porsche has a long and illustrious history of creating lightweight, high-performing machines, both for the road and the track. In fact, we can trace this history all the way back this very vehicle - the Austro-Daimler ADS R, which won the Targa Florio exactly 100 years ago. The product of Ferdinand Porsche, then Head of Development and Production at Austro-Daimler, this special machine is one of the first to focus on power-to-weight ratio, and now, Porsche is celebrating its connections to the brand and the Porsche Museum and Heritage department's recent restoration of the car.

Photos: Porsche

Small Cars for the Masses

Back in 1921, Ferdinand Porsche met Count Alexander Joseph von Kolowrat-Krakowsky - an industrial tycoon and film producer - and the two quickly began discussing something they had wanted to pursue for some time - creating a small car built in large quantities at a low price. Selling that idea to the executives at Austro-Daimler would prove to be a challenge, but it's one that Porsche figured he could accomplish by winning races in something that followed that philosophy.

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Racing Version

The ADS R was precisely that - a racing version of the planned production car with a small 1100cc powerplant, one that Kolowrat financed and also shared his nickname of Sascha. The lightweight, two-seat, racing version of the planned series four-seater weighed just 598 kilograms (1,318 pounds) and is powered by a water-cooled, 1.1-liter, inline four-cylinder engine with two overhead camshafts.

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Last Second

With the engine set way back in the chassis, the ADS R offered up a 53 percent front and 47 percent rear weight distribution, but filling its two fuel tanks and adding a driver and a mechanic evened that out perfectly. A total of four prototypes were built just before the race, and in fact, each was painted on the train as the team was en route. 

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Headliner

While it didn't claim an overall victory, the ADS R's class win accomplished its goal - it drew the attention of the Italian press - as well as the rest of the world. “Many strutted their stuff with big engines at the Targa Florio but the 598-kg Sascha was a nimble fellow with its 50 PS at 4500 rpm,” said Achim Stejskal, Director of Heritage and Porsche Museum. “At the end of the race, its average speed was just 8 km/h less than that of the fastest cars with engines four or five times more powerful.”

Photos: Porsche

Moving On

Sascha went on to secure 42 victories in 52 races, but the board ultimately rejected Porsche's proposal once and for all, citing financial reasons, inflation, and the fact that Austria was too small to offer a suitable market. They believed their focus should be on big, six-cylinder models instead. The board’s decision and a conflict with Castiglioni led Porsche to leave Austro-Daimler and move to the parent company in Stuttgart. In 1924, Porsche took part in the Targa Florio with Daimler and received, among other things, the honorary doctorate title - the title that still features in the company name today.

Photos: Porsche

Fitting Tribute

As for this very special machine, it's been at the Porsche Museum for several years now, but only recently underwent restoration for the first time since 1975, just in time for its 100th birthday. Now, it arguably looks better than ever, and it's still the oldest vehicle present in the museum, fitting for a car that set the tone for more than 70 years of automotive excellence that followed.

Photos: Porsche

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