Have Your Heard of Erwin Komenda?

Erwin Komenda (1904 – 1966)

If you've ever driven, or ridden in, a Porsche, you probably noted how solid and rattle free the car was, no matter its age. If so, you can thank Erwin Komenda for that. From 1931 to his death in 1966 he was Chief Engineer and leader of the Porsche car-body construction department.
Prior to joining Ferdinand Porsche's new company, Erwin's education and work experience gave him the know-how to create car bodies that were both light and structurally sound – the ideal recipe for any car but crucial for a sports car! His first project with Porsche was to develop the body construction of the Volkswagen Beetle. He followed that by teaming up with Josef Mickl to design the Auto Union Grand Prix car, a mid-engined V-16 monster.
In 1946, Porsche decided they were going to build and produce their own sports car. It was Erwin that both designed the look of the car and engineered how it was to be constructed. That car came to be known as the Porsche 356. His work on that car and subsequent projects, including the 550 Spyder and the Type 901 (which became the 911), can still be seen in the cars Porsche produces today.
While Komenda was essentially an automotive engineer, his creations definitely had an artistic element to them. Probably the most notable being the Porsche 356 Series which was produced from 1948 to 1965. I still think this is one of the most beautiful cars ever built! Its elegant simplicity is something many modern designers could learn from.

Above is my digital painting based on a photo I took at the staging area for the 2009 Mille Miglia in Brescia, Italy. (Click on the image to enlarge it.) This beautifully prepared car is a 1954 Pre-A Coupe, my favourite era for the 356. I specially like the bent windshield, which was shaped to fit in the same opening as the earlier cars that were fitted with a two-piece windscreen. The car's unusual green colour made me think that if it was mine, "I'd be tempted to call it Kermit." For that title to make sense, I photoshopped myself into the frame, looking directly at you the viewer – my apologies to the guy whose head I replaced with mine!