Louise Hedwig Anna Wilhelmine Piëch (née Porsche; 29 August 1904, in Wiener Neustadt – 10 February 1999, in

Zell am See Zell am See is the administrative capital of the Zell am See District in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. Located in the Kitzbühel Alps, the town is an important tourist destination due to its Ski resort, ski resorts and shorel ...

) was the daughter of automotive pioneer

Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was a German automotive engineering, automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche, Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first Petrol engine, gasoline–Electric motor, el ...

. In 1928, she married Anton Piëch, a lawyer from

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

who from 1941 to 1945 led the KdF-Wagen (

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

) factory in KdF-Stadt (present day

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian language, Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth-largest city in the Germany, German state of Lower Saxony, on the river Aller (Germany), Aller east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the locat ...

). The couple had four children: Ernst, Louise,

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...

and Hans-Michel. In 1943, Louise Piëch and her husband Anton Piëch transferred the Austrian assets of Porsche KG into their own company, Porsche Konstruktionen Ges.m.b.H., based in Gmünd. This strategic move protected the firm during World War II and positioned it for post-war success. When her husband died in 1952, the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n businesswoman imported

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...

and Volkswagen cars to Austria. When her son Ferdinand was in charge of Porsche's sports car racing program in the late 1960s, a second works team was set up, called Porsche Salzburg. One of their cars scored the marque's first overall win at

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

in 1970.Le Mans Register - 1970
Retrieved 4 October 2010.

References

External links

Porsche-Holding Österreich

1904 births 1999 deaths Porsche family 20th-century Austrian businesswomen 20th-century Austrian businesspeople Businesspeople from Vienna Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany {{Austria-business-bio-stub