Cory Richards Instagram – The curb weight of the Porsche 356, the first Porsche automobile, was 1700 – 2,296 lbs. The weight of the Porsche name is much heavier. Ferdinand ‘Ferdi’ Porsche, an architect by trade and the great grandson of the company’s founder Prof. Ferdinand Porsche, is now adding his fingerprint to the family’s rich motor-sports legacy.
At 30 yrs old, Ferdi defies all the seriousness and pomp of racing cars. He’s affable, warm, and almost boyish in his excitement. To put it bluntly, he’s ‘cool’ without effort, working hard to invite the next generation into the motorsports world.
On February 24, Ferdi’s F.A.T. International held its first ice race in Zell am See, Austria, and has followed it up in Aspen, Colorado. Over the past two days on an icy track in Carbondale, the race has included models from the @aetherapparel Half11 (half Porsche, half F1) to the Rivian R1T, to a host of various Mobil 1 cars tearing around corners, over-steering, under-steering, and generally bringing joy as they spit rooster tails of snow from their tires.
I watch as an enthusiast warm his hands in the exhaust of a loud engine. He brings them to his nose, closes his eyes and inhales deeply, letting his senses coalesce into something whole and visceral. Ferdi sits in his car nearby grinning. It’s an expression of sincere, palpable joy. As an arm drops, he accelerates onto the track. In a burst of exhaust, something old becomes new again. It’s a Herculean task and these are enormous shoes to fill, but Ferdi seems to be carrying the weight of legacy effortlessly. | Posted on 12/Feb/2024 04:19:38
