HISTORIC VEHICLE ASSOCIATION
UPDATE |
historicvehicle.org
Today’s “green” movement has nothing on the century-old hybrid offering from Porsche, still zipping along after all these years.
THE GREAT NOT-SO- NEW IDEA
Rare 1900 Lohner-Porsche—the world’s first front-wheel-drive hybrid car—completes London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
Any fan of historic automobiles knows that where automobile technology is concerned there’s little new under the sun. Take alter- native-fuel vehicles: A good argument could be made that today’s buying public has even fewer choices than they did 112 years ago when the Lohner-Porsche “Mixte” first made its debut.
Back then, automakers offered an array of vehicles powered by steam, gas or electric- ity. Te German-made “Mixte” was unique because it was powered by a “mix” of elec- tricity and gas, and while you couldn’t plug it into an electrical socket, the technology was not very different from what automak- ers offer today.
Last November, this 19th century in-
vention (conceived and built by Ferdinand Porsche while working for Vienna coach- builder Jacob Lohner) was one of the more
Tan 500 pre-1905 motor cars participating in the 115th anniversary of the London to Brigh- ton Veteran Car Run, the world’s longest-run- ning motoring event. Ernst Piech, Ferdinand Porsche’s grandson, and Andreas Lohner, of the coachbuilder’s fam- ily, were at the controls for the 60-mile route.
Porsche’s hybrid featured electric motors in the wheels, a gasoline engine to generate elec- tricity and a bank of onboard storage batter- ies. To see the car, check out YouTube (search words “Lohner-Porsche Mixte”) for a short video clip of the world’s first electric hybrid crossing the finish line.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MOTION WORKS MANAGEMENT LIMITED
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