Prof. Dr. Ing h.c. Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austro-Hungarian automotive engineer. He is best known for creating the Volkswagen (Beetle) as well as the first of many Porsche automobiles, and for his contributions to advanced German tank designs: Tiger I, Tiger II and the Elefant. Porsche was awarded in 1937 the German National Prize for Art and Science, one of the rarest decorations in the Third Reich.

Porsche's son, Ferry Porsche, is the eponym for Porsche automobiles, initially based to a large extent on the Volkswagen (Beetle) design.

Ferdinand Porsche was born to German-speaking parents in Vratislavice nad Nisou (in German Maffersdorf) near Liberec (in German Reichenberg), then northern Bohemia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (today Liberec, Czech Republic). He showed high aptitude for mechanical work at a very young age. He managed to attend classes at the Imperial Technical School in Reichenberg at night while helping his father in his mechanical shop by day. Thanks to a referral, Porsche landed a job with the Béla Egger Electrical company in Vienna when he turned 18. In Vienna he would sneak into the local university whenever he could after work. Beyond auditing classes there, Porsche had never received any higher engineering education. During his five years with Béla Egger, Porsche first developed the electric hub motor.