![Porsche posters inspired by motorsport success Classic & Sports Car – Motoring art: Erich Strenger](/sites/default/files/styles/article/public/2024-01/Classic-%26-Sports-Car-Motoring-art-Erich-Strenger-01.png?itok=m1qL5mIL)
From 1951-’88, brilliant graphic designer Erich Strenger was a key figure in Porsche’s history.
Without Strenger’s work for its brochures, adverts, manuals, posters and the famous in-house magazine, the visual identity of Porsche would be very different.
Appropriately, Strenger was born in Stuttgart, and developed an early interest in photography and art.
![Porsche 917 poster by Erich Strenger Classic & Sports Car – Motoring art: Erich Strenger](/sites/default/files/2024-01/Classic-%26-Sports-Car-Motoring-art-Erich-Strenger-06.png)
The Porsche 917’s victory at the 1970 1000km of Spa called for an Erich Strenger poster
He pursued his design interest and specialised in repro-photography, but in 1942 Strenger was drafted into the army.
He served all over Europe before being dispatched to the Russian front.
After his capture, Strenger ended the war in a PoW camp and was released in 1949.
Sports cars were rare around Stuttgart during the early post-war years, and the sighting of a new red Porsche 356 really impressed Strenger.
![Erich Strenger’s artwork celebrated Porsche’s success in motorsport Classic & Sports Car – Motoring art: Erich Strenger](/sites/default/files/2024-01/Classic-%26-Sports-Car-Motoring-art-Erich-Strenger-03.png)
Strenger’s style didn’t rely on cars; inspiration came from stopwatches, flags, helmets and more