Among the handful of car designers with creative genius, as opposed to a mere talent for engineering, Ferdinand Porsche’s reputation is secure. Bugatti’s artistic flair, Royce’s “infinite capacity for taking pains”, even Colin Chapman’s prolific inventiveness with Lotus are overshadowed by a man who not only gave his name to one of the world’s most coveted cars, but also made him a sort of automotive Leonardo da Vinc
Read MoreVorsprung durch Auto Union
I always wanted an Auto Union. My favourite Dinky Toy was an Auto Union record car. I can still feel its fins and spats with a five-year-old’s fingers. Dinky only made it from 1936 to 1940. This is a later one rebuilt and shown at Geneva in 2009. It was in my teens, as what Laurence Pomeroy liked to call a student of motor racing, that I realised how important 1930s Auto Unions had been.
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