Porsche's First Female Customer Was Quite the Adventurer

First of Many

With seven decades of excellence under its belt, there's a lot to celebrate about Porsche, as we've learned over the past several months. From its motorsports achievements to the many amazing sports cars (and crossovers) that it has produced over that time span, there are many things worth remembering, but recently, Porsche treated us to another interesting piece of its own history - the story of its very first female customer, Jolantha Tschudi.

Photos: Porsche

Fearless Adventurer

Tschudi was a Swiss amateur pilot that made her very first solo flight at the age of 18, a passion that she can attribute to her father, who first introduced her to the skies when she was just five. The teen wound up attending flying school in the town of Belp at a time when the profession was dominated by men, but such things like that never seemed to faze the fearless Tschudi.

Photos: Porsche

First of Many

When Tschudi found out about Porsche in 1948, it ignited the same passion for freedom and adventure that flying had years prior. That winter, she wound up purchasing one - a dark blue 356/2 Cabriolet - from Zurich-based hotelier and car dealer Bernhard Blank, making her the very first woman to purchase a Porsche across the entire globe. However, Blank had one request before delivering the Cabriolet to its new owner - he wanted to present it alongside a 356/2 Coupe at the Geneva International Motor Show in March 1949. 

Photos: Porsche

Amazing Journeys

Tschudi's purchase and her flying adventures were the culmination of many years of adversity, starting with the loss of both her parents at a young age. By 1946, she set off on the first of her extended study trips to Africa with the curator of the ethnographic museum there and a pilot friend - not in a glider, but rather, with a single-engine Stinson. That proved to be an extraordinary adventure, as the duo covered a distance of 13,000 kilometers and had to make a total of six emergency landings along the way.

Photos: Porsche

Short-Lived

Tschudi held a variety of altitude and distance records for her gliding exploits and was a member of the Swiss national gliding team. She used her 356/2 Cabriolet for extended trips to various gliding locations in the Alps. But her joy was short-lived, as she hit a curb at the Julier Pass in the Canton of the Grisons, significantly damaging the car, which she then sold to her brother.

Photos: Porsche

Life Moves On

After getting married and having two sons, Tschudi ultimately gave up her passion for flying, which wasn't exactly an easy thing to do. "It was really difficult for her," said her son, Christian Neukom. "But she said the sense of responsibility she had for my brother Yves and me was bigger than her longing to fly." She even abandoned her research trips for the sake of her family, focusing instead on her passion for hunting and dedicating herself to graphological studies. Jolantha Tschudi died at the age of 86 in 2011, but thanks to her passion for both flying and Porsche, she will live on forever in the annals of history. 

Photos: Porsche

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