Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg, GERMANY — The engineer behind the Porsche 911’s air-cooled, six-cylinder boxer engine; the overall construction of the 917 and its 12-cylinder engine; and the TAG Turbo Formula One engine died June 10.

For more than three decades, Hans Mezger was responsible for Porsche’s most successful racing cars and engines. Read about his illustrious career in this news story from Porsche.

“The news of his death represents a very sad loss for us. Our thoughts are with his family,” said Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board, Research and Development. “We thank Hans Mezger for his extraordinary engineering achievements, which he has done for motorsport in general and for Porsche in particular. His innovations for our series sports cars will remain unforgotten forever.”