The First Porsche Was Electric, And Has Been In A Shed For 100 Years

After gathering dust in an Austrian shed for over 100 years, the first car made by Ferdinand Porsche has been recovered. It's rather un-catchily called the 'Egger-Lohner electric vehicle C.2 Phaeton model' - or 'P1' for short. That's right, what could arguably be called 'the first Porsche' is in fact electric.

Built in 1898 by Ferdinand - then 23-years-old - the P1 topped out at to 22mph, and would last for up to 50 miles. The following year the car took part in a 24 mile race against other electric vehicles, which it won by an incredible 18 minutes with Porsche himself at the wheel.

The prototype was placed in a shed in 1902, where it remained until its recent discovery. It spawned a production version, the Lohner-Porsche Mixte Hybrid, which had a Daimler internal combustion engine acting as a generator for electric motors in the front wheel hubs. That means the first ever hybrid was a Porsche, with Mercedes power...

If you want to see this piece of motoring history in the metal (and wood), it'll be on display in the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart from February 1st.