top of page

Mezger - The Father of the Air-Cooled Porsche Flat-Six Engine

Enthusiasts often refer to the Porsche flat-six engine as the Mezger engine after the lead engineer on the engine’s design, Hans Mezger.

Porsche flat-six engine
Hans Mezger | Image Elfersport.com

Herr Mezger engine designs are also attached to the race-winning Porsche 917 V-12 and the TAG Turbo Formula One engine.


Hans Mezger is a leading figure in Porsche history as noted by Porsche itself in its recent press release after celebrating his 90th birthday in 2019.


Porsche has always used motorsports to derive engineering and brand image for its street cars and no where is this more evident than in the original Porsche 901/911 2.0 litre six-cylinder boxer engine known as the Mezger engine. Hans Mezger used the six-cylinder boxer configuration to develop more horsepower while running smoother.