Hans Mezger died on June 10, 2020 at the age of ninety; he was more closely associated with the Porsche company than almost any other engineer. And he was closely involved in the car that lifted Porsche into the super sports car league, the "turbo".
Around six years ago, Berlin Motor Books published a book about the air-cooled Porsche turbo, which has now been completely revised and you could say that the new version of the book is as far removed from the old one as the 993 turbo was from the 930 (turbo).
Dedicated to Hans Mezger
Back in 1956, Hans Mezger joined Porsche as a trained mechanical engineer and made it clear from the outset that he was much more interested in sports car engines than in tractors, where a suitable position had just become available. In the calculation department, he already contributed a great deal to the Fuhrmann engine, helped develop the Formula engine and then finally laid the foundation for the 911 six-cylinder engine. Racing engines continued to be important in his career and with the 917 turbo twelve-cylinder he secured victory for Porsche in the CanAm championship. He also played a key role in the development of the series 911 turbo engine and customer projects such as the development of a V4 for Harley-Davidson were also part of his portfolio. He also helped shape the 935 and once again left his mark on the McLaren F1 engine.
On October 1, 1993, he went into well-earned retirement, not without having worked on the first water-cooled road-going Porsche with boxer engines.
It makes sense that the new edition of the "Turbo Aircooled Years" was dedicated to this influential engineer.
The last interview
Matthias Techau met Mezger for an interview in October 2019. The interview is reproduced in full in the book and shows how closely Mezger was associated with Porsche.
An extensive chapter is devoted to the history of turbocharging, covering not only the early beginnings with Büchi and his patent from 1905, but also various attempts by brands other than Porsche to help the turbo achieve a breakthrough, including GM/Chevrolet, Michael May/Ford and BMW. And, of course, the 917/10 and 917/30 and other racing turbos are also discussed, until the first road-going turbo follows, which was presented as a gift for Louise Piëch's 70th birthday while still in its narrow bodywork.
The first turbo study was shown at the IAA Frankfurt in 1973, and customers were able to buy it in 1975.
Four generations with air cooling
Gabriel then takes us through the four generations of the air-cooled Porsche turbo on around 250 pages, i.e. the 3.0 version (1975-1977), the 3.3-liter version (1978-1989), the 964 turbo (1991-1994) and finally the 993 turbo (1995-1998). Model development, current market prices and purchase advice are presented in detail in each case.
In addition, there are special features, special models and other considerations that simply belong to the Porsche turbo.
Fully documented
Gabriel and his co-authors refrain from listing chassis numbers and from printing entire projects and price lists. But there is still enough information (in German and English) to get you up to speed on the development of the Porsche turbo. Above all, however, you learn a lot about the famous Hans Mezger, whose name ultimately also appears in the designation of Porsche engines.
You have to pay EUR 99.80 for the beautifully presented work including slipcase in a limited edition. This seems fair and is certainly suitable as a gift for a turbo driver.
Bibliographical details
- Title: turbo - Hans Mezger Edition 2020
- Authors: Andreas Gabriel, Thomas Nehlert, Matthias Techau
- Languages: German and English
- Publisher: Berlin Motor Books
- Edition. 2nd completely revised edition, February 2021, limited: 2020 copies
- Format: Hardcover edition with slipcase
- Size: 26 x 30.5 cm, 332 pages, over 150 illustrations, 2.8 kg
- ISBN: 978-3-9822998-9-1
- Price: EUR 99.80
- Buy/order: Online at the publisher Berlin Motor Books or in relevant bookstores
