Erwin Komenda
Erwin Komenda (6 April 1904 - 22 August 1966) was an Austrian automobile designer and Porsche employee, and a lead contributor to the design of the bodies for the VW Beetle and various Porsche sports cars. • Illustration — Erwin Komenda was a lead designer for the Porsche Type 60 V3 prototype for the German "Volkswagen" (or KDF-Wagen, as called later) • Illustration — Porsche 550 Spyder Erwin Komenda was born on 6 April 1904 in Jauern am Semmering. His father, Franz Komenda, was the technical director of the first power station on the Semmering and in Weyer / Enns, where the family relocated in 1913. From 1916 to 1920 he attended a higher technical institute for iron processing in Steyr.
Erwin Komenda
Softeis · CC BY 2.5
- Born
- 1904.
- Died
- 1966.
- Nationality
- Austria.
- Occupation
- engineer and designer.
- Known for
- Volkswagen Beetle, Porsche 356 and Porsche 911.
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q112018 · wikipedia · Erwin Komenda
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Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
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Biography
Biography
From 1920 to 1926 he worked as an automotive designer in the "Wiener Karosseriefabrik" and completed the bodywork design course at Josef Feldwabel in the Vienna Technological Museum of Commerce. From 1926 to 1929 he was a designer in the Steyr works. Here he met Ferdinand Porsche for the first time, who came to Steyr as Technical Director after leaving Daimler-Benz AG. From 1929 to 1931 he was chief designer of the experimental and body development department of Daimler-Benz AG in Sindelfingen. During this time, cars such as the Mercedes-Benz Mannheim 370 K were built with a remarkably weight-saving new design, equipped with Steyr technology from the Steyr XXX: "swinging-axle suspension, independent suspension, braking systems". Also a streamlined small car with rear engine was developed. In November 1931, Komenda joined the engineering office newly founded by Ferdinand Porsche as head of the bodywork design department, which he headed until 1966. Among other projects, he developed the body of the VW beetle. He developed the body of the Porsche 356, various following types and the Porsche 550 Spyder. One of his latest projects was the development of the plastic body of the 904 race car. Komenda's last phase of life was marked by in-house difficulties with Porsche family members during the development of the Porsche 911. Komenda died on 22 August 1966. His life ended with the development of the Porsche 911.
Documentary record
Erwin Komenda, a designer, was born on 6 April 1904 in Spital am Semmering and died on 22 August 1966. Both events are recorded by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1904
Erwin Komenda born at Spital am Semmering.
1966
Erwin Komenda died at Stuttgart.
Literature
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Erwin Komenda, revision 1340053663 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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