Herbert Linge is an integral part of Porsche's history. He was one of the company's first apprentices and the man who suggested a site for test drives to Ferry Porsche in the late 1950s near his home town of Weissach and the neighboring settlement of Flacht. "We are saddened by the news of his death. Herbert Linge was not only a Porsche man from the very beginning, but also a companion for many decades," says Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board for Research and Development.
"We would like to thank him for his commitment as a racing and rally driver, idea generator and technician. Linge was a visionary and one of the leading personalities at the Weissach development center. He played a leading role in establishing customer service in the USA and was particularly committed to safety in motorsport. He will remain unforgotten for us and the entire Porsche family worldwide." Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche AG, summarizes: "Herbert Linge still knew my grandfather personally. Thanks to employees like him, Porsche was able to re-establish and internationally expand its business activities in Stuttgart with my father Ferry. We are very grateful for this. Our thoughts are with his family."
The first Porsche mechanic in Stuttgart
Herbert Linge was born in Weissach on June 11, 1928. He received his first company ID card on April 7, 1943 at the age of 14. Six years later, he was the first mechanic employed by the Porsche company in Stuttgart after returning from Gmünd.
Linge is one of the few contemporary witnesses who still knew Ferdinand Porsche personally. He was involved in the development of the first Porsche 356 built in Stuttgart. Each of the early sports cars was only delivered after Linge had test-driven it. From 1952 onwards, Porsche repeatedly sent him to the USA to set up a nationwide customer service network. As many employees were allowed to do what they could in the early years of the sports car manufacturer, Linge was able to prove himself as a test driver. The racing drivers and his colleagues valued him as a gifted technician and analyst as well as a successful racing driver. His co-drivers rave about the precision with which Linge pilots sports cars. Colleagues and companions are impressed by his level-headedness and the fact that nothing can rattle the fast Swabian.
Legendary races and a stint as a double for Steve McQueen
Herbert Linge was awarded the Mexican Order of Merit for three consecutive class victories as a co-driving mechanic in the Panamericana from 1952 to 1954. As Hans Herrmann's co-driver, the duo achieved a class victory at the Mille Miglia in 1954.
The mission remains unforgotten to many, as Herrmann and Linge had to duck away in the 550 Spyder to get through under the closing barrier of a level crossing. He went on to celebrate further class victories not only at the Mille Miglia, but also at the Targa Florio. He finished as overall winner of the 1954 Liège-Rome-Liège Rally, the 1960 Tour de Corse and the 1967 Marathon de la Route on the Nürburgring. He started eleven times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing eight times in the classification and several times as class winner in the books. In 1965, Peter Nöcker and he also won the "Index of Performance" award at Le Mans for the most economical ratio of fuel consumption to engine capacity. Also in 1965, Linge and future Porsche racing manager Peter Falk finished fifth in the Monte Carlo Rally - the first major motorsport success for the still young 911. In 1970, he took part in the 24-hour race in a Porsche 908 that had been converted into a camera car for filming, and after the race he doubled Steve McQueen in the racing scenes for the film "Le Mans". "Porsche and McQueen had an extremely good relationship. Our racing director at the time was fully behind the movie and we supported McQueen wherever we could," Linge once recalled. "Steve couldn't take part in the real race himself for insurance reasons and didn't have a car that complied with the official regulations. But he wanted the real pictures for his film - and I got them for him with the 908," Linge looked back.
Awarded the Federal Cross of Merit
Because safety in motorsport was very important to him, Linge founded the Safety Squadron of the Supreme National Sports Commission for Motorsport (ONS) in 1972.
Mobile track safety and equipping sports cars with fire extinguishers saved the lives of many racing drivers in the seventies and eighties. Ten years after the invention of the ONS, his commitment earned him the Federal Cross of Merit for his life's work. Incidentally, Linge's first ONS service car was a Porsche 914/6 GT, which took part in the 1971 Monte Carlo Rally. Equipped with various safety systems and a fire extinguishing system, the vehicle established itself as the "fastest fire engine in the world".
A life for and with Porsche
As a visionary, he founded a safety squadron for motorsport and, from 1990, headed a racing series that celebrated worldwide success: the Carrera Cup.
Even as a retiree, Herbert Linge can still be found on the racetracks of the world from 1987 onwards: He works as a motorsport consultant and manager of the Carrera Cup and as operations manager at the Weissach Development Center. The honorary citizen of Weissach remained closely associated with Porsche in the decades that followed. For a very long time, he accompanied events, trade fair appearances and festivities of the company. Many guests enjoy listening to the anecdotes of the modest Swabian, whose life for and with Porsche has written many stories.
