While models like the iconic 911 came to be in the '60s, Ferdinand Porsche envisioned a mid-engined supercar, nearly three decades earlier

The pages of history are filled with drawings of cars that will never be made, and the Auto Union P52 is one of these cars, an obscure gem from the mind of Ferdinand Porsche. In 1932, he designed the Auto Union P52, a vehicle that, had it seen the light of day, could have been the world's first supercar. This is the tale of innovation, ambition, and what could have been. At that time, Porsche's establishment was more of a design and engineering office than a car manufacturer.

In 1932, shortly after the introduction of the new 1,654 pounds formula for Grand Prix racing, Porsche embarked on an ambitious project to design a Grand Prix race car, a concept similar to today's Formula One. The main principle of this project was its revolutionary packaging. It focused on optimizing the placement of heavy components as close as possible to the car's center of gravity while ensuring the fuel tank resided precisely in the car's middle. This innovative approach aimed to maintain consistent driving characteristics throughout a race as the car burned fuel.

Porsche's Long Lost 16-Cylinder Supercar From The 1930s - Original Article by Amrit Balraj: https://www.topspeed.com/porsches-lon...

Written by: Ahmed Sallam
VO by: Tim Blaine
Edited by: Jean Bernard

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