Porsche: Excellence Was Expected: The Comprehensive History of the Company, its Cars and its Racing Heritage 
asked by h2o on November 1, 2006 1:20 AM
When the first edition of Porsche: Excellence Was Expected was published in 1977, reviewers sang high praises for author Karl Ludvigsen and his monumental book. Now Ludvigsen surpasses these achievements with this fully updated edition of Porsche: Excellence Was Expected. This new edition includes augmented and edited versions of the 32 chapters from the 1977 book, as well as an additional 29 chapters that cover Porsche's history through 2002. This three-volume, 1,566-page set contains the photos and artwork from the original version, enhanced by over 742 new black and white photos and 50 new color drawings of Porsche production and racing cars which were commissioned specifically for this updated edition. Author Ludvigsen has outdone himself in presenting the inner workings, masterpieces and failures of an independent automaker that has exerted a disproportionately powerful influence on the automotive industry. If the first edition of Excellence Was Expected was "the definitive archetypal marque history, " (Michael Scarlett, Autocar) this revision and update is much more so. Ludvigsen's masterwork is once again set to achieve new milestones, just as the company it chronicles continues to shape our very definition of the term "sports car."
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The history of Porsche like no other. An absolute MUST HAVE for anyone who wants to everything about the Porsche cars. Wish the 964 chapter was more detailed (since I have one) but that is a minor issue.
reviewed by bestseller on November 1, 2006 8:18 PM
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"The best automobile history ever written" -- that's a big claim and is easily misunderstood. But I think it would be exceedingly difficult to find a more thorough, better researched, more comprehensive, and better written automobile history, regardless of topic or marque. One may argue that there are more "important" cars (or not); perhaps the story of Daimler and Maybach's pioneering efforts, or Henry Ford's, are more "important" in a larger historical context than the activities of a relatively small maker of specialist sports and racing cars, but that's not what I claim here. I claim that this is the best WRITTEN, most thorough autombile history ever. Porsche, as an automobile and an enterprise, is a very special phenomenon, and Ludvigsen's book presents both company and car to an audience that may otherwise never appreciate it. If you don't like Porsches, then that doesn't matter. If you do, you need this book. If you're not sure, then this book may be the beginning of a lifelong passion for all things Porsche.
That's how it was with me. I bought myself the much slimmer (but still hefty, at 860 pages) first edition of this book as a Christmas present in 1977. It was instrumental in changing my career path; it affected my choices in university engineering courses, and of a master's thesis. Eventually, six years later, I found myself working as an engineer at Porsche. Incidental to my regular engineering duties, I was often called upon to help some of the leading engineers in the company -- men whose stories I had once read about in Ludvigsen -- write English-language presentations and technical papers. This led to my career expanding to include automotive journalism, engineering writing and technical translation, but the passion for Porsche remains. I have three vintage 356s in the garage, and it was Ludvigsen's book that made me appreciate the virtues of these rolling historical documents.
Karl Ludvigsen is one of the few truly outstanding automotive writers of our time. I can think of only a handful of others who can compare in depth of knowledge and facility with the language (or several languages, in Ludvigsen's case) -- Paul Frere (also eminently multilingual, and a multilingual engineer) and LJK Setright come to mind. Being a bilingual engineer myself, I appreciate even more than most the job that Ludvigsen did in researching this book; his translations into English of many concepts and expressions from company-internal documents are faultless, and definitive. The subjects covered in Ludvigsen's other books include Mercedes, Ferrari, Jaguar, V12 engines, early history of Volkswagen, Indianapolis racers, and Can-Am -- all of which were done in the same outstanding manner. I mention this only because there is one overwhelmingly negative review for this book, posted by somebody who is very poorly informed indeed. That reviewer says "Mr. Ludvigsen glosses over the problems with the 356 and early 911 road cars..." Not true. When I went to work for Porsche, I found that I already had an excellent working knowledge of foibles and problems encountered with earlier Porsche cars, thanks to Ludvigsen's book. The reviewer also says "Mr. Ludvigsen glosses...the internal power struggles within the company and board, and so on." Again not true. The Porsche-Piech, and other, battles are well documented. And the reviewer says "If I'd realized Mr. Ludvigsen had a past history of writing for Automotive Quarterly, I would never have wasted this much money buying this set. Just like Automotive Quarterly (which never had a bad thing to say about any automobile)." As for "never had a bad thing to say about any automobile," I am an author who has also written for Automobile Quarterly, and I have to wonder if perhaps there is another publication of that name, because that's not the AQ that I know. I know this firsthand because among other things, I wrote what I think is a brutally honest history of the Chevrolet Cosworth Vega (AQ, 1989, Vol. 27 No. 3). Incidentally, the first, 1977 edition of "Excellence was Expected" was published by AQ.
Bottom line, Ludvigsen's "Porsche: Excellence was Expected" belongs in the automotive library of anyone who seeks the definitive history of the Porsche marque, the company, and a chronicle of more than a half century of sports car racing history as seen from the perspective of its most successful practitioners.
That's how it was with me. I bought myself the much slimmer (but still hefty, at 860 pages) first edition of this book as a Christmas present in 1977. It was instrumental in changing my career path; it affected my choices in university engineering courses, and of a master's thesis. Eventually, six years later, I found myself working as an engineer at Porsche. Incidental to my regular engineering duties, I was often called upon to help some of the leading engineers in the company -- men whose stories I had once read about in Ludvigsen -- write English-language presentations and technical papers. This led to my career expanding to include automotive journalism, engineering writing and technical translation, but the passion for Porsche remains. I have three vintage 356s in the garage, and it was Ludvigsen's book that made me appreciate the virtues of these rolling historical documents.
Karl Ludvigsen is one of the few truly outstanding automotive writers of our time. I can think of only a handful of others who can compare in depth of knowledge and facility with the language (or several languages, in Ludvigsen's case) -- Paul Frere (also eminently multilingual, and a multilingual engineer) and LJK Setright come to mind. Being a bilingual engineer myself, I appreciate even more than most the job that Ludvigsen did in researching this book; his translations into English of many concepts and expressions from company-internal documents are faultless, and definitive. The subjects covered in Ludvigsen's other books include Mercedes, Ferrari, Jaguar, V12 engines, early history of Volkswagen, Indianapolis racers, and Can-Am -- all of which were done in the same outstanding manner. I mention this only because there is one overwhelmingly negative review for this book, posted by somebody who is very poorly informed indeed. That reviewer says "Mr. Ludvigsen glosses over the problems with the 356 and early 911 road cars..." Not true. When I went to work for Porsche, I found that I already had an excellent working knowledge of foibles and problems encountered with earlier Porsche cars, thanks to Ludvigsen's book. The reviewer also says "Mr. Ludvigsen glosses...the internal power struggles within the company and board, and so on." Again not true. The Porsche-Piech, and other, battles are well documented. And the reviewer says "If I'd realized Mr. Ludvigsen had a past history of writing for Automotive Quarterly, I would never have wasted this much money buying this set. Just like Automotive Quarterly (which never had a bad thing to say about any automobile)." As for "never had a bad thing to say about any automobile," I am an author who has also written for Automobile Quarterly, and I have to wonder if perhaps there is another publication of that name, because that's not the AQ that I know. I know this firsthand because among other things, I wrote what I think is a brutally honest history of the Chevrolet Cosworth Vega (AQ, 1989, Vol. 27 No. 3). Incidentally, the first, 1977 edition of "Excellence was Expected" was published by AQ.
Bottom line, Ludvigsen's "Porsche: Excellence was Expected" belongs in the automotive library of anyone who seeks the definitive history of the Porsche marque, the company, and a chronicle of more than a half century of sports car racing history as seen from the perspective of its most successful practitioners.
reviewed by fabio on November 23, 2006 5:44 PM
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If I'd realized Mr. Ludvigsen had a past history of writing for Automotive Quarterly, I would never have wasted this much money buying this set. Just like Automotive Quarterly (which never had a bad thing to say about any automobile) Mr. Ludvigsen glosses over the problems with the 356 and early 911 road cars, the internal power struggles within the company and board, and so on.
This is probably the most complete "racing" history of Porsche ever done and is worth it if that is what you want to know. If you are interested in the road cars, don't waste your time reading this or your money buying it.
This is probably the most complete "racing" history of Porsche ever done and is worth it if that is what you want to know. If you are interested in the road cars, don't waste your time reading this or your money buying it.
reviewed by allnet on November 27, 2006 7:45 PM
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It's expensive. And not for everyone. And to own it and enjoy it requires time and energy, with a substantial payoff in the form of a richer, deeper existence on our planet Earth.
Am I talking about a Porsche? Yes, but also about Karl Ludvigsen's latest written masterpiece, Excellence was Expected. Simply put, this book is worth every penny, and more. Here's my advice:
If you like Porsches, get this book.
If you know someone who likes Porsches, get them this book.
Get this book for that design afficionado you know -- even if they're not into cars.
reviewed by sandi on November 28, 2006 5:52 AM
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Awesome book. Everything you could ever want to know about the company and it's cars. Very high quality and excellent writing. Buy this book, it's worth the money!
reviewed by porsche on November 28, 2006 10:47 AM