Father and Son

What a panorama: at an altitude of 2,571 meters, the Edelweißspitze offers a magnificent view of the Großglockner, Austria’s highest peak. A seemingly untouched high Alpine landscape stretches out below it. A landscape like a painting, which has impressed viewers for hundreds of years.

At seven in the morning, the air up here is still cool. But the rising late summer sun is already bathing the highest peak in the Glockner Group in warm light. Below the Edelweißspitze, one of Europe’s most spectacular roads—the Großglockner High Alpine Road—winds its way up the mountain in a series of hairpin turns.

Still at a distance, two light-colored dots dance their way through the corners with elegance and speed. As they approach, the sound of their engines reverberates up from the valley, as unique as their contours, which appear ever more sharply in the morning light. Two Porsche 550 Spyders—a rare pair of the first Porsche sports cars to write racing history in the 1950s. Pure driving pleasure on an empty road. Both the drivers and the cars are very clearly in their element on this challenging mountain stretch. They are at home on the terrain. 

Stopping at the Fuschertörl restaurant at an elevation of 2,407 meters, the two drivers take off the wool caps that protect them from the icy wind. We enjoy a real premiere: two Porsches—Wolfgang and Ferdinand, father and son—sit at the respective wheels of the two Porsches. This is the first time they have driven two 550s together up the Großglockner High Alpine Road, even though the stretch essentially serves as the family’s home course. “My grandfather Ferdinand began the family custom of doing test-drives here on the mountain, and my father Ferry kept the custom going,” says Dr. Wolfgang Porsche over breakfast on the restaurant’s terrace. “It was on one of those drives that he discovered the Schüttgut estate.” Located around thirty-five kilometers in the town of Zell am See, the Alpine farmstead has symbolized the family’s deep connection with the region south of Salzburg for decades. Today, Schüttgut is the residence of Wolfgang Porsche.

“The passion for cars lives on in my generation.” Ferdinand Porsche

Father and son share a love of cars. The passion is passed down from generation to generation in the Porsche family—which should hardly come as a surprise. “Nothing has changed since my grandfather’s time,” says Wolfgang. “Everything we do revolves around cars.” He himself began gathering experience behind the wheel as a child. He was just twelve when he was allowed to drive the 10,000th Porsche off the factory floor in Zuffenhausen in 1956. “I could hardly sleep the night before,” the now seventy-seven-year-old recalls with a smile.

The passion for sports cars finds a worthy context in this road on the Großglockner. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE and Porsche AG takes every opportunity to drive up to the peak. And whenever he does, he takes a souvenir photo at a very specific place along the road. The car may change, but the backdrop remains the same. This has led to an impressive photo gallery of classic Porsche cars against the majestic peak of the Großglockner.

Living in harmony with nature is also important for his father Wolfgang. “I’m a farmer in my spare time,” he says, and mentions his extensive pastures and around two hundred Pinzgauer cattle with evident pleasure. “They are a lightweight type specially bred for steep slopes, because heavier breeds trample the vegetation,” he explains. Schüttgut is also home to fruit trees, honey production, and more. “We bake bread and process our own meat,” says Wolfgang, not without pride. A committed hunter, he comments that “we are practically self-sufficient.” The only thing they no longer have is poultry. “But we’ll get that back up and running too,” says Ferdi without any prompting. Although this city dweller doesn’t share his father’s love of hunting—or “not yet” as the latter interjects—he is becoming ever more aware of the benefits of country life. Zell am See and the surrounding area make that easy. “Where else could you find all of this?” he asks. “In the summer we go swimming, and in the winter we can start skiing right out the door.” Generations of family traditions and values live on. As the father notes, “We’ll always be down to earth. It’s important to me to pass that on to my children.” Has he succeeded? “Yes,” attests Ferdi. “We had a very normal upbringing—though perhaps with a somewhat sharper sense of speed.” 

Even in good weather, an excursion on the Großglockner High Alpine Road is not only impressive but challenging as well, all the more so in a 550 Spyder. Before Wolfgang Porsche sets off back down toward the valley this morning, he has a request for photographer Stefan Bogner. Could they stop at the usual place and take the obligatory souvenir shot? Nothing would please Bogner more. And that is the genesis of a truly unusual photo—four Porsches and all of them original.

SideKICK: Forty-eight kilometers, thirty-six curves

Exhibitions, museums, mountain huts and inns as well as visitor centers highlight the many facets of this Alpine world. Hiking trails are marked, and camping is permitted at designated locations. For more information: grossglockner.at