Michael Mauer

Porsche's chief of design talks to Total 911 about the impact and legacy of his time at Weissach

Michael Mauer is celebrating 20 years as head of design at Porsche. The company has changed dramatically in that time, with the Panamera, Macan and all-electric Taycan joining its line-up of sports cars, while the workforce has swelled since Porsche’s buyout by VW. The 911 has also evolved, both in the diversification of its model range as well as its design.

As head of Style Porsche, Herr Mauer has had to lead the design office through all of this. Reflecting on his two-decade milestone at Weissach, Mauer invited Total 911 to Stuttgart to chat through his Porsche career and offer some insight into what might be to come for our beloved Elfer…

Total 911: Michael, we’re chatting here at the Porsche Brand Store ‘Driven by Dreams’ in Stuttgart. What did you dream of as a child? Was it to have a fantastic career at Porsche?

Michael Mauer: No, I didn’t have that dream when I was young. I grew up in the middle of the Black Forest in a little village. It was surrounded by nature so after school you were out in it – skiing, hiking. My father loved cars and I loved when he used to drive fast, which was still possible in the good old days. Therefore, I’ve always had a love for cars. Honestly, I wasn’t even aware that there was a profession where you could design and develop cars.

What changed to make you think you wanted to design vehicles?

My dad was worried about my future. I was thinking about becoming a ski instructor, but my father knew I loved cars and, in school, I was good at art. My father had a good friend who mentioned there was a profession of transportation designer. Off the back of that, I did an internship at Mercedes. That was the moment I was hooked. Just learning to sketch and draw cars… it was fascinating to me. As a young person, in Mercedes, and already seeing these cars that I wanted to drive one day, that was the day I knew I wanted to do this for life.