111 year old car from 1900 created by Ferdinand Porsche makes its reappearance at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show
Think hybrid, and it is not surprising to think of cutting-edge modern day electricals and batteries being roped in to create more fuel efficient and emission-friendly vehicles, much in the vein of the current automotive scenario. But what if we told you that the world’s first hybrid car ran on wooden wheels, and was made more than a hundred years back? Well, it’s the truth, and German carmaker Porsche had a revived example of this vehicle on display at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.
Named the ‘Semper Vivus’ which is Latin for “always alive”, the vehicle was the brainchild of Porsche’s founding father, Ferdinand Porsche. A brilliant creator who has a host of firsts to his name, the Semper Vivus was a car that brought the principle of a series hybrid to life, harnessing the power of electric motors and combining it with a conventional petrol engine to create the first dual-power vehicle in the history of mankind.
To ensure that this piece of history is not forgotten, and to also get some mileage by bringing the consistent streak of innovation that Porsche has shown over the years to the fore at one of the world’s most acclaimed motor shows, the boffins at Stuttgart decided to reconstruct a model of the Semper Vivus for the Geneva Motor Show. The reconstruction took four years to complete, and from the looks of it the good German folks have done a spellbinding job. The added benefit is that when the company shows off its latest Panamera hybrid sedan at the show, it will be alongside a century old car that will certainly prove the ability and agility of the German sports vehicle manufacturer to stay with the times, and often stay ahead of it.
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