Cruisin' At 70

As Porsche celebrates seven decades of its sports cars, the brand’s India Director, Pavan Shetty, speaks to BlackBook about how they get customers excited, and plans to introduce electric vehicles in 2020

- Riddhi Doshi

Back in 1893, the Porsche household in Maffersdorf, then part of Bohemia, was the first to get an electric light in the village. A single visit to a nearby electricity plant is all it took the 15-year-old genius to design it. The same teenager grew up to become the founder of one of the most desired car brands in the world—Porsche.

Ferdinand Porsche (1875 – 1951) designed several automobile engines and cars in his lifetime, including a special one for himself and his family while in Austria, around 1909. Porsche’s successor and son, Ferdinand Jr (1909 – 1998) or Ferry, too inherited his father’s passion and designed a miniature version when he was just 10 years old. Growing up, he is also known to have designed and created his own sports car, for not being able to find the right one for himself. In 1948, Ferry forayed into making sports cars commercially. Since then, Porsche has been one of the most sought-after luxury sports car brands in the world.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of Porsche manufacturing sports cars, a brand that’s still breaking boundaries, and looking to carve out a special niche in the Indian market.

While in midst of preparing for the celebrations, Porsche India Director Pavan Shetty tells BlackBook about the brand’s growth story, its legacy and future plans in the country. To kick off the festivities, the brand hosted community drives at its six dealerships in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Kochi and Kolkata, from June 8 to 10. 

The idea, says Shetty, is to get more people to experience the sports cars.