Porsche-Excellence Was Expected

"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have three vintage 356s in the garage, and it was Ludvigsen's book that made me appreciate the virtues of these rolling historical documents.Karl Ludvigsen is one of the few truly outstanding automotive writers of our time.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.

I am still reading it so my review is preliminary.It’s a pricey tome but it’s probably the one Porsche you must get for your collection especially if you are an owner or a fan of the marque.Very well researched. Lot of pictures and data.Note: there are a couple of editions of this book available in new or used form.1) The 1977 single volume version covering the start to 1977. Is available used for about $50-75 and perfect if you are on a budget.2) The 2003 3 volume version that extends the story to 20033) The 2008 3 volume version that goes to 2008 and adds more content to the early years. About $189-250 used4) The 2019 version which adds an additional volume taking it to 4. Last version as per the author. Comprehensively updates across the years. $370 usedMy choice was between the 2008 and 2019 version - I picked the 2019 because if one is already spending so much, might as well get the latest and greatest. Also the latest one has the 919 and info on my 981 Cayman gts.

Although the first release of this book is over 20 years old, no one has come close to matching the depth and accuracy of Ludvigsen's work. Sure, there are some factual errors in this 900+ page book, but that doesn't detract from its value or from the fun you will have reading it. The author has structured the chapters like they were stand-alone magazine articles - you can jump into any one and start reliving the excitement. Porsche fans - especially those new the marque - should go get a copy, find a nice chair in good light and begin to learn all about this great car company. If you love German cars, Ludvigsen has also written some great books on Mercedes.More good news - Mr. Ludvigsen has released a completely revised "Excellence" - Excellence redux, as it were. Bigger, more color, heavier and filled with facts and figures on Porsches built after he completed the first release. A lot has happend since version 1 so the huge size makes sense. But it's not just about size - Ludvigsen still has the ability to captured the essence of Porsche-ness better than anyone. In my opinion, this continues to be the must-have Porsche book and it should be on every automotive enthusiast's book shelf (But you better make sure that it's a sturdy shelf first!).

Porsche: Excellence Was Expected: The Comprehensive History of the Company, its Cars and its Racing Heritage - 2008 Update This gift for my Porsche-loving husband has to be the gift he has wanted most for a long time. When I found it at Amazon.com I was thrilled and I know that my husband will be over-the-moon with this gift for Christmas as he has had it on his wishlist forever. This beautiful set of books came very carefully and comprehensively packaged within protective packing, carton and a heavy duty courier-type postal bag all the way to Brisbane, Australia and arrived in pristine condition. I was so impressed with the prompt processing and delivery of my order to me and in perfect condition. This set of books is a Porsche-lover's dream and a collector's delight. It is a beautifully, presented and prepared collection of Porsche knowledge that will delight any buyer. My husband will be so thrilled as would any discerning buyer. It is THE Porsche-lover's guide. I have to give it 5 stars as that is my husband's rating and he is the expert in our family.

A “meaty” read. Wonderfully knowledgeable compendium of the history and development of Porsche cars/vehicles from the late 1940’s to the present year. Also, profiles and stories of “Porsche people” - founders, engineers, designers, drivers/racers, etc. Probably the single best reference source on the Porsche marque. And my volumes have been signed by the author! Bonus!

As expected with this book the detail covering the development of the various types of road and racing cars is astonishing in some cases. The various machinations in the commercial development of the company are also covered. My only criticism is in the selection of the cars used to illustrate examples of the various time periods. Also that this was available as as a poster from the publisher for pre orders and only available in the USA.

This is an extensive bible on the history of Porsche with far more detail than I was expecting. The volumes are well structured and represent a good timeline for an iconic automobile.

There are literally hundreds of Porsche books. But this four volume set is THE definitive history. Obviously, this set is a must for any serious automotive library.

This set seems expensive until you examine them, the quality and content is far superior to any other Porschepublication. Superb.