Though he and his son founded the high-performance sports car firm that bears the family name, Ferdinand Porsche Sr. (1875-1951) is also remembered as the visionary who created the Volkswagen Beetle in the 1930s. Already a renowned automotive designer, Porsche's dream was to create a small, affordable car for the European mass market. The rise of the German Nazi Party made this "people's car" a government-subsidized reality.

Ferdinand Porsche was born in the village of Maffersdorf on September 3, 1875. Later renamed Leberec when it reverted to Czechoslovakia, Maffersdorf was at the time part of Bohemia, an area heavily settled by German-speaking tradespeople and part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Porsche's father, Anton, had a metalsmithing business in Maffersdorf. When his older brother was killed in an accident, it was expected that Ferdinand begin to train for the business. Metalwork did not wholly interest the young Porsche. One day, on a...