On the Latvian who made pigs fly

Anatole ‘Tony’ Lapine lived a dream to be a great car designer. He was chief designer at Porsche for nearly 20 years, one of only four chief designers at the car maker since it was founded exactly 75 years ago. He had a hand in shaping some of the most impressive and iconic sports cars ever. Despite being a refugee from war-torn Latvia, his story is a remarkable one of ambition backed up by hard work, a bit of luck and a sense of humour.

Let’s explore his story, look at the cars he designed for Porsche and marvel at the pink Porsche racing car with its body painted like a butcher’s drawing of the parts of a pig, which was recently displayed at Riga Motor Museum in an exhibition in his honour. Anatole ‘Tony’ Lapine, the Latvian who made pigs fly.

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Transcript

On the Latvian who made pigs fly

Anatole ‘Tony’ Lapine lived a dream to be a great car designer. He was chief designer at Porsche for nearly 20 years, one of only four chief designers at the car maker since it was founded exactly 75 years ago. He had a hand in shaping some of the most impressive and iconic sports cars ever. Despite being a refugee from war-torn Latvia, his story is a remarkable one of ambition backed up by hard work, a bit of luck and a sense of humour.

Let’s explore his story, look at the cars he designed for Porsche and marvel at the pink Porsche racing car with its body painted like a butcher’s drawing of the parts of a pig, which was recently displayed at Riga Motor Museum in an exhibition in his honour. Anatole ‘Tony’ Lapine, the Latvian who made pigs fly.
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A short biography of Anatole Lapine

Anatole Lapine was born Anatols Kārlis Lapiņš in Rīga, Latvia, on 23 May 1930 during the first Latvian independence. He was the son of a half-German, half-Latvian father and a Polish mother and spent his earliest years living in the Āgenskalns district of Riga. During the Second World War, his family had to flee to Poznan in German-occupied Poland.

He ended up in Hamburg after the war, and it was there that Anatole started to work in the car industry as an intern mechanic for Daimler-Benz before attending the Hamburg Wagenbauschule (a college for car body design), where he studied to become an engineer.

In 1951, his family moved to the USA under the UN Resettlement of Refugees Programme. He first maintained snowploughs and trains in Nebraska by day and learned English, his fourth language, by night to save enough money to move to the then automotive centre of America: Detroit.  He went to the General Motors offices to apply for a job there. In an interview with the Latvian newspaper Diena in 1999, Anatole said, “The first thing I did when I reached the shores of America was to buy decent clothes to find a job. I chose General Motors because I liked the cars they built. They impressed me much more than Chrysler or Ford”. He also Americanised his name to Tony Lapine. By chance, he met GM’s chief designer in the elevator when he was coming for his job interview – and he was hired immediately as a junior detailer in the advanced body engineering department. Those clothes were a good investment!

Anatole would stay for 14 years at the world's largest motor-vehicle manufacturer. By 1954, he worked in car design under Fred Walther at Fisher Bodies, a GM subsidiary. Then Bill Mitchell, GM’s mercurial styling chief, heard that one of ‘Fred’s boys’ was ex-Mercedes Benz. “Kid, you’re coming to work for me”, he told Anatole. Mitchell put him and another refugee, Larry Shinoda, to work in his famous Studio X, where the pair styled, among other projects, the Chevrolet Stingray, the Corvair Monza Coupe and GM’s repost to the Ford GT40. The wartime refugee from Latvia also found his private happiness at work. In 1957, he married GM designer Jeanette Lea Krebs, with whom he had three children.

Then, in 1965, Mitchell despatched him to Opel to bring some vigour and appeal to GM’s rather staid German subsidiary. Applying the ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ principle, Anatole turned the humble Opel Rekord into a racer capable of beating BMWs and Porsche 911s on the track. A typical Anatole touch was the ‘taxi’ sign affixed to the Rekord’s roof, a car known first as ‘The Taxi’ and subsequently as the ‘Black Widow’ with twice the power of its regular road version, and was driven by Niki Lauda. He had an excellent sense of humour that we will come back to. He also styled the Opel GT, which did much to dispel Opel’s old image.

Anatole was a passable racer, too, competing in the US in his wife’s Jaguar XK 120 (which he crashed), his Porsche 356, and his Porsche and a Volvo Amazon in Europe. 

He’d known Ferry Porsche, son of company founder Ferdinand Porsche, since 1957 and met him again on his return to Europe. He was offered the job of chief designer at the Porsche Development Centre in Weissach, just outside of Stuttgart, where vehicles are still being developed, tested, and prepared for production to this day. Having already settled in Germany, he did not need long to make his decision since he had long admired the company – and already in the US, drove a Porsche 356, even though he was working for GM.

Anatole’s arrival at Porsche on 15 April 1969 came at a challenging time for the company. Porsche needed to do something about its iconic 911, Porsche’s signature model that built the company’s success and is probably Germany’s best-known sports car of all time. The 911’s future looked bleak because of the direction of US safety legislation. In Anatole, Ferry saw a designer able to marry style and engineering. Though he kept his beloved black 356 until the end of his life, Anatole never liked the 911 and was not afraid to say so. In this regard, he was the ideal candidate to build ‘the next 911’.

One of Anatole's first major projects was a redesign of the original 911 to bring it in line with new safety regulations. Modernising the sleek, racy and well-established 911 was one thing, but he also had to work on broadening the model range with a unique design for Porsche beyond the classic shape of its core 911 model. This coincided with the development and introduction of a drive system known as transaxle construction, where the engine is in the front and the transmission at the rear.

Positioned above and below the 911 in Porsche’s line-up, Anatole led the design of two new models: the 924 and the 928. Both were technological artworks with an avant-garde design and something somewhat different. They are considered two of the most progressive models ever produced by Porsche and have contributed significantly to the company's image of elegance, style, and quality. In both cases, the principal designer of the car was someone else, but Anatole oversaw and guided their development. This was not a simple task since it took a while for Porsche management to like the cars’ bold looks. Internally, they were seen as provocative and encountered reservations, but externally, they proved to be style icons. The 928 won European Car of the Year. He never let it show if he felt bitter about the cold reception Porsche gave his 928. Besides, the transaxle 924 and 944 styled by Anatole’s team contributed a decade’s worth of vital turnover, and he cheekily intercepted third-party contracts for his design studio that were intended for Porsche Design in Austria. His team redesigned the Airbus cockpit for two pilots, eliminating the flight engineer’s position and produced a new version of the Linde forklift truck. These projects required the kind of lateral thinking Anatole enjoyed. He would set his designers against each other to get the best out of them, and just as his American boss had poached him, he enticed most of his team from Opel. Opel chief Chuck Jordan telephoned to threaten that “if he took any more of my guys, there would be trouble”. Anatole laughed with the confidence of a man who knew where he was going. Frank Jung, head of the Porsche corporate archive, said to LSM that “Lapine was someone who was able to gather the best people together and to help them to bring their best on paper and the street”. He added that the Latvian-born designer used to say that he does not draw the sketches himself because he never wanted to compete with his employees but rather get the best out of them. “Design is teamwork, and he was a team player”, Jung emphasised. “Lapine loved to work with clay models. They allowed him to change and to rearrange new designs at scale“.

Through the Seventies, he got on well with the Porsche CEO and 928 enthusiast Ernst Fuhrmann. Anatole’s ability to combine tradition with cutting-edge technology contributed to Porsche’s once seemingly endless string of production successes. However, the revival of the 911 under the new American CEO Peter Schutz in the 1980s frustrated him, as the limited styling changes allowed for the 964 left little for his team to do, and he was vocal in his disappointment that so few of the advances of the 928 were carried over to the new 911. Porsche experienced a boom and is still one of the most valuable car brands in the world. However, with too many non-mainstream projects, both its styling department and Porsche itself were starting to drift. The US market collapsed in the recession, and CEO Schutz and engineering director and Anatole’s boss Helmuth Bott both resigned. In an atmosphere of uncertainty, everyone was under pressure. Unwisely, Lapine chose this moment to suggest in a magazine interview that the man who had given the 911 the reputation it had (because he had turbocharged it) was Fuhrmann. This caused dissatisfaction with the Porsche family, who saw it as a slight on Butzi Porsche. Unfortunately, Anatole later suffered a heart attack, prompting his departure from the company in 1988. Happily, he recovered his health and sense of humour, later describing how new CEO Heinz Branitzki had told him, “Nothing has changed. You just don’t come to work anymore”.

Anatole always preferred to talk about people rather than cars. He was an unabashed admirer of Ferry Porsche and said he understood his ‘disappointment’ that none of his sons could take the business on or stand up to Ferdinand Piëch - a grandson of Ferdinand Porsche. He would wax lyrical about the quirky Austrian management style, or mock the seriousness of some of the Germans. He was most entertaining when recounting stories – for example, about his time with GM’s Bob Lutz. He could also be fascinating, describing how, on a tedious test drive in the Moroccan desert, his intensely private boss Helmuth Bott suddenly opened up to him after several days of travelling in silence. Anatole also recalled his first meeting with GM’s Russian engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov, who said, “Ah, that’s wonderful – you speak Russian too! We must get drunk tonight!”

Anatole’s abiding memory of Porsche is not his first visit to Le Mans but the invitation to the family home near Zell am See. He was entranced. “It was like being a Christian and going to heaven: they were all there, all the family, even Ferry’s sister Louise. He would never take a big decision without consulting her”. It was classic Anatole – his admiration tempered by a pithy reflection. He always kept his perspective. Car fans will remember Anatole for the Porsche 928. Those who knew him will miss his detachment, enthusiasm and wonderfully subversive humour.

After his recovery, Anatole taught at Vienna University.He built an aluminium-hulled yacht using his fluid dynamics knowledge, which he and one of his sons sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. He continued pursuing his interest in music, including using his Pearl drum kit.

Anatole never returned to Latvia before he died on 29 April 2012, aged 81, in Baden-Baden, Germany. In an interview, he once admitted to being afraid to return to his home country since he wanted Latvia to remain in his memory the way he remembered it – as the beautiful land where he spent his happy childhood. “Latvia will remain an indelible memory”, Anatole told the Diena newspaper in 1999.
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The Porsche cars he designed

Anatole was appointed chief designer at Porsche in 1969 and is responsible for some of the sports car manufacturer's best-known models. Tasked back then with establishing a vision of Porsche beyond its core model, the 911, Anatole and his team were the minds behind iconic models such as the 924, the 944 and, most notably, the 928. Some of these were considered controversial when introduced because of their challenging designs. Let’s look at each.

924

The first front-engine Porsche under Anatole’s leadership was developed in 1975 and went into commercial production in 1976. The 924 was a unique and innovative sports car. Porsche became the first car manufacturer in the world to hot-dip galvanise its steel bodies, thus ensuring a six-year guarantee against rusting.

Around 121,000 examples of the 924 base model were produced, and it was the inspiration and basis for other Porsches of the transaxle era. 

The Porsche 924 Martini Edition was displayed at the Riga Motor Museum exhibition. Porsche won the 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1976 World Championships. A World Championship version of the 924 was created in December 1977 to celebrate these achievements and went on sale in 1979. It was called the Martini Edition.

The 1977 Porsche 924 Martini Edition displayed in the museum belongs to car enthusiast Valters Raņķis. He has owned the car for five years, which underwent a complete restoration three years ago. He said, “I have a small collection of Porsches, and I try to find rarer models. I really like the design of this rare 924”.

928

Above all else, the car was distinctive. It looked like nothing Porsche had ever done– both from a styling and an engineering perspective. The car’s shape and prominent design features were charismatic, modern but also timeless and ground-breaking. Even today, the car does not look overly kitschy or particularly outdated, like many other contemporaries from the 1970s. Critically acclaimed and awarded as the ‘European Car of the Year’ in 1978 – the first and so far only sports car to win this award – it is still not fully appreciated by Porsche purists. The 928 was a hallmark in design and technology, with many of its innovations still in use today – almost 30 years after its production ended in 1995.

The 928, designed by Anatole, was the first Porsche Gran Turismo with a front-mounted engine. After its debut at the 1977 Geneva International Motor Show, 61,506 cars were produced until 1995.

The design of the 928 revolutionised automotive genres by combining three vehicles: a high-performance sports car, a comfortable luxury saloon and an all-rounder. The 928 had a water-cooled four-cylinder V8 racing engine made of aluminium.

The chassis had a completely new, passively controlled rear-wheel suspension – the ‘Weissach axle’. The uniqueness of this double wishbone was its stabilising effect. It acted as passive rear-wheel steering and thus contributed significantly to the Gran Turismo’s safety.

At the exhibition in Riga was the 928 GTS Wiedeking Edition, transported from the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, which is named after former Porsche director Wendelin Wiedeking, who drove the 928 GTS as a company car.

930 Turbo

In 1975, a super-powered, turbocharged version of the 911, known initially as the 930, was launched. The 911 Turbo is at the top of the 911 model line.

The 930 featured flared rear wings, which increased its width by 12 centimetres. The rear bonnet featured a distinctive spoiler with a wide black hard rubber border.

The 930 directly competed with the Lamborghini Countach and the Ferrari 356 GT4. The car could go from 0 to 100 kph in 4.8 seconds, making it a powerful car even today.

When Porsche announced that it would start production of the 930 Turbo, the company was surprised by the demand. Instead of the 500 planned initially, 1,000 were produced. In total, 18,000 of these cars were eventually delivered.

Ferry Porsche gave the first 930 Turbo to his daughter Louise. The Porsche 930 Turbo has also been put to song. KK Downing wrote the lyrics to the song Turbo Lover for the band Judas Priest. The song is included on the band’s album Turbo.

The exhibit that was in Latvia is from the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart.

944

In the spring of 1982, the 944 was launched and quickly found fans as a sports car that allowed fast but relaxed driving.

Although the 944 took its body idea from the 924, its shape was much more pronounced. The 944’s front spoiler had square rubber bumpers and significantly more expansive, slightly more angular wings.

The 944 was powered by a 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder engine developed by Porsche, making the 944 a genuine Porsche in the eyes of its buyers. However, Audi also mass-produced the model in Neckarsulm, Germany.

964

The 964 is one of the most sought-after 911 models. This was also the last project supervised by Anatole. The first 964, the Carrera 4, featured an advanced all-wheel-drive system that provided excellent handling in all weather conditions. Since then, all-wheel drive technology has been established in the 911 range.

On the 911 G Series, which was about to be discontinued, the “ducktail” spoiler fitted to improve aerodynamics was replaced on the new 964 by an electronically controlled one so that when the car reached 80 kilometres per hour, the spoiler automatically lifted to increase downforce at the rear of the vehicle.

The front bumpers were mounted on the same level as the car’s bodywork. A plate was fitted under the nose to prevent turbulence, giving the 964 Carrera a much better drag coefficient than its G-series predecessor. In addition, a number of technologies were introduced that significantly improved safety.

917

As a sports car manufacturer, Porsche is inextricably linked with motorsport and has used the racing circuit to develop and improve its cars. 1970, it achieved a long-held ambition when it secured the first of many victories at the 24-hour Le Mans race. In the same year, as the new chief designer at Porsche, Anatole designed the long-tail Porsche 917 driven by Gérard Larrousse and Willi Kauhsen that came second in Le Mans. It had a psychedelic paint scheme created by green and purple waves painted with around 1,500 spray cans. Coming soon after the music festival at Woodstock, it was quickly given the nickname 'Hippie'. It made waves in the motor racing scene and, probably in a different direction, with Porsche executives. Legend has it that the secretary's dress inspired Anatole, although another legend says the colours were from his favourite irises.

Another car that received an extravagant painting scheme from Anatole was the 917/20 that competed in 1971 at Le Mans. Reacting to sarcastic remarks about the car’s porky look and shape, Porsche chose fleshy pink as the base coat colour for the racer, and Anatole and his team sketched a schematic butcher’s chart with separating red lines on it. They labelled the vehicle’s parts according to cuts of meat: snout, ham, pork knuckle, brain. Although the car only had a short run on the track after succumbing to an accident, its design was an instant hit for motorsport fans and car enthusiasts. Endearing nicknames were given, but ‘Pink Pig’ ultimately prevailed. It is one of the most famous Porsche cars and is said to be the most photographed Le Mans race car ever.

Latvian car journalist Pauls Timrots told LSM, “The flying pig is such a big joke at a serious level of motorsport. It is not possible at present when marketing is king”. Timrots thought It was a big joke to link a pig with Porsche and Germans’ love of sausages. Porsche’s head archivist, Frank Jung, commented that as the 917/20 participated unsuccessfully in just one race, it would have been long forgotten without its livery. “But it still is by far the most iconic design we have. We are selling more merchandise with this design than you ever can imagine”, he added, lifting his trouser leg and showing off his ‘Pink Pig’ socks.
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The exhibition

From 22 September to 15 October 2023, the Riga Motor Museum hosted the first-ever exhibition of historic cars from a German sports car manufacturer in Latvia to celebrate Porsche’s 75th anniversary. Called ‘Driven by Dreams. The Story of Porsche and Anatols Lapiņš: the Latvian Who Made Pigs Fly’.

The exhibition is a tribute to Anatole ‘Tony’ Lapine and the iconic Porsche models created under his leadership as Chief Designer at Porsche for nearly 20 years.

For the first time in Latvia, historic Porsche models from the manufacturer’s museum in Stuttgart, including the legendary 917/20 ‘Pink Pig’, that caused such a sensation in 1971 with its unique livery designed by Anatole. Also travelling from Stuttgart were a 930 Turbo and 928 GTS Wiedeking Edition and 1:5 scale models of cars designed by Anatole. In addition, rare Porsches from the collections of Latvian Antique Car Club members were on display.

Aivars Aksenoks, head of the Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) that operates the museum, said at the opening of the exhibition, “We are telling not only about excellence and style, but we are telling about our Latvian man, Anatols Lapiņš, who is very important in car construction history and left significant footprints in car design. Latvians are very proud of our heroes, and Lapiņš is, of course, one of the most famous”.

I went to the exhibition on its last weekend. It was only running for three weeks. Getting into the museum car park was more complicated than getting classic cars into the museum! It was nice to see these beautifully maintained vehicles. Of course, the Pink Pig was the show's star, but I also liked the models from Latvian collectors. Kind of them to lend them for the exhibition.
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In conclusion. Anatole ‘Tony’ Lapine, the native-born Latvian, left an impressive mark on the automotive industry – as chef designer of the iconic German premium sports car brand Porsche. He might not be a household name among car enthusiasts or, for that matter, with the Latvian population, but he is a legend to automotive design professionals. Anatole had a hand in shaping some of the most impressive and iconic sports cars of all time during his nearly 20 years at Porsche. It was great to see his name and car designs celebrated at the recent exhibition at the Riga Motor Museum and to research his story. Michael Mauer, the present Porsche Chief Designer, said, “Anatole Lapine shaped Porsche sports car design over more than two decades. As a designer, he didn’t follow fashion but was forever setting new trends with his concepts”.

I am also glad that Latvia is starting to celebrate those born in Latvia who fled the country in the difficult 20th century. Anatole Lapine did not hold a Latvian passport for his adult life, if at all. He was initially a refugee. But he was ethnically Latvian (and German and Polish). He spoke at least four languages. That such people are celebrated for their achievements is a sign of a mature nation. 

Indeed, Anatole Lapine was ‘The Latvian who made pigs fly’.