Life and Times of a True Porsche Trailblazer
9:11 Magazine profiles distinguished career of Porsche pioneer who broke ground as a racer, mechanic, and innovative manager.Â
You may not know who Herbert Linge is, but he is a man that was a pivotal part of the Porsche team. He began his career with Porsche over 75 years ago, where he started as an apprentice mechanic. Over the years, his passion for Porsche took him from the garage to the race track, as well as many other aspects of the company including Operations Manager.
Porsche sat down and chatted with Linge in their latest video for 9:11 Magazine.
“I was born in 1928,” says Linge. “And I always dreamed of doing an apprenticeship as an auto mechanic.” That dream came true when he was hired at Porsche in 1943.
‘The old Professor Porsche, both father and son, naturally came to the company every day. They never once walked by the apprentices’ workshop without personally greeting us.’
He recalled the experience working with Ferdinand Porsche and his son Ferry Porsche. “The old Professor Porsche, both father and son, naturally came to the company every day. They never once walked by the apprentices’ workshop without personally greeting us.”
Linge’s career started to take off as he was chosen to test drive cars, which led to his time working for Porsche Racing. Among his projects was the Porsche 356.
As driver and mechanic, he went on to race in the Carrera Panamericana, the Volant, Mille Miglia, the Liège-Rome-Liège Rally, and Le Mans.
Next, he went to America to help build the Porsche brand. After that he was in charge of planning for all workshops in Weissach. He was a safety consultant at Formula One, and played a large role in implementing safety measures in motorsport. For this, he was awarded the German Order of Merit.
While Linge is retired, he is still very active with Porsche.
“There’s not much time for retirement,” he says in his garage, uncovering his 1970s-era 911 Targa. “I’m always attending some Porsche event, or another.” And he hopes to do so for years to come.
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