Porsche Invented the Series Hybrid
At the turn of the century, cars were a brand new thing. Karl Benz had only patented the automobile a few years prior in 1886 before upstart engineer Ferdinand Porsche stepped on the scene. The young engineer started work at the Lohner company in1898, where he helped build cars for Emporer Franz Joseph of Austria. That’s where it gets intresting.
The first car he built was called the “System Lohner-Porsche” and it was an electric car. The electric hubs it used to move were actually designed by Porsche 5 years earlier. His technology worked awesomely, and the car went on to break all kinds of speed records. Crazy right?
Well, the second car that he built was Lohner-Porsche Electromobil. Like the System, it was electric. However, it had a gasoline engine hooked up to a generator that charged the batteries while it drove. Sound familiar? Ferdinand Porsche invented the hybrid car in 1901. The series hybrid system allowed them to use fewer batteries, and break Austrian speed records like nothing.
When you think of all this, the 918 suddenly seems lees like heresey and more like the natural progression of things.