Legendary Porsche Icon Passes On. Hans Mezger - 1929 - 2020

The signature sound of the air-cooled flat-six engine is always telling of something very special coming down the road. The Porsche 911 is arguably the most recognisable body shape in the world, and the man behind its engine development, Hans Mezger, leaves behind a legacy like no other.

OneShift Editorial Team

12 Jun 2020

Hans began his journey with Porsche in 1956, with the brand offering him a role in diesel engine development. His first involvement in developing a performance engine was when he found himself involved in the development of the complex and advanced for the period, Type 547 air-cooled flat-four engine, alongside Ernst Fuhrman, who went on to become the chairman of Porsche AG. The Type 547 saw action in the Porsche 550A, and was updated and fitted into the 550 Spyder, which became infamous with actor James Dean’s death.

Quickly, Hans became part of Porsche’s first Formula 1 programme in 1960, and was involved in the development of their 1.5 litre flat-eight Type 753 engine, which was fitted to their 804 Formula One car.

The 917 which dominated at Le Mans and in the World Sportscar Championship in 1970 and 1971, was built with Hans at the helm of its development. The obsession of flat engines, meant that the championship winning car was powered by a flat-12. The Can-Am version of this car was able to hit 100km/h in just 2.9 seconds, while a longtail variant registered a top speed of 362km/h.

The McLaren racing team in 1981, approached Hans to develop the TAG Turbo Formula One engine; a 1.5 litre V6 which developed in excess of 1,000hp. Formula 1 A-listers like Niki Lauda and Alan Prost became world champions with it. The TAG Turbo went on to win 25 races in all, and two Constructors’ World Championships in 1984 and 1985.

To the end, Hans was always deeply connected to the brand. Even after retirement, he made himself available to journalists, technicians and interested fans as a discussion partner.

“The news of his death represents a very sad loss for us. Our thoughts are with his family,” says Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board, Research and Development. “We thank Hans Mezger for his extraordinary engineering achievements, which he has done for motorsport in general and for Porsche in particular. His innovations for our series sports cars will remain unforgotten forever.”