Ferdinand Porsche: Sports Car Designer Dead at 76; No Cause of Death Announced

Ferdinand Porsche, the man who designed the iconic 911 sports car, died on Thursday in Salzburg, Austria, at age 76. Porsche AG confirmed the death with to the media but did not announce a cause.

Porsche was the head of Porsche design studios in the early 1960s. He was known to his colleagues as F.A. and was born in Stuttgart on Dec. 11, 1935.

He was the son of former Porsche Chairman Ferry Porsche who died in 1998. F.A. Porsche was also the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche , who started the company as a design and engineering firm in the 1930s, according to the Associated Press.

The AP reported that F.A. Porsche joined the company in 1958. The 911 model is currently in its seventh generation.

As creator of the Porsche 911, he established a design culture in our company that still leaves its mark on our sports cars, Matthias Mueller, the head of Porsche's supervisory board, said in a statement to the Agence France-Presse.

The AFP reported that F.A. Porsche created the Formula One racecar 804 and the Porsche 904 Carrera GTS. He is survived by his wife and three sons.