Latest news with #WolfgangPorsche
Scottish Sun
22-04-2025
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Porsche heir's incredible plan to build £8.5m underground supercar garage inside a MOUNTAIN – with secret tunnel network
The villa once belonged to Austria's famed Jewish writer Stefan Zweig HIDDEN TREASURES Porsche heir's incredible plan to build £8.5m underground supercar garage inside a MOUNTAIN – with secret tunnel network Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE heir to Porsche has announced plans to build a private tunnel and underground garage beneath his mansion. Wolfgang Porsche's £8.5million project, reminiscent of a James Bond villain's lair, has sparked outrage in Salzburg. 6 Wolfgang Porsche, with his former wife, Claudia Huebner in 2017 Credit: Getty 6 The 81-year-old plans to drill an underground private tunnel below his villa on the Kapuzinerberg Credit: Getty 6 The 81-year-old struck a deal with the Austrian city's former conservative mayor, Harald Preuner, in 2024. It included plans to drill an underground private tunnel below his 17th-century villa on the Kapuzinerberg. It would allow him to park up to a dozen of his cars underneath the Paschinger Schlössl. Under the deal, the billionaire paid €40,000 to gain the rights to dig a tunnel on city-owned land. A steep and narrow road that can turn icy when temperatures drop currently leads up to Porsche's mansion. Some politicians have complained that the city council had not been briefed about the heir's plans. Local Green leader Ingeborg Haller has led the protest criticising what she called a "back-door deal" that was handled in a "very intransparent" way. "Salzburg is UNESCO-listed. We are also in a nature reserve here and this is simply a highly sensitive area," Haller said. She said any kind of "special treatment for the super-rich" was unacceptable. In response to criticism, a court-certified expert was appointed by the incumbent Social Democratic mayor, Bernhard Auinger. Hollywood legend Steve McQueen's Porsche which starred in iconic film is going up for auction at an eye-watering price According to the expert's report made public, the compensation paid by Porsche was deemed "appropriate". Porsche bought the historic villa located near a Capuchin monastery on the forested hill in 2020. The mansion, which is currently under renovation, once belonged to Austria's famed Jewish writer Stefan Zweig. Zweig lived there for 15 years and penned several well-known works there before fleeing to Britain during the rise of Nazism. The city council is expected to decide in mid-May whether or not to let the project go ahead as planned. It would have to approve a zoning plan change for the garage. Wolfgang is the grandson of Austrian-born Ferdinand Porsche, who founded the car company. He acts as the chairman of Porsche's supervisory board. A spokesman for Wolfgang Porsche declined to comment on what he called a "private matter" with no connection to the Porsche company, a subsidiary of the German car giant Volkswagen. 6 A steep and narrow road that can turn icy currently leads up to Porsche's mansion Credit: Google Maps 6 The mansion once belonged to Austria's famed Jewish writer Stefan Zweig Credit: Getty - Contributor
The Irish Sun
22-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Porsche heir's incredible plan to build £8.5m underground supercar garage inside a MOUNTAIN – with secret tunnel network
THE heir to Porsche has announced plans to build a private tunnel and underground garage beneath his mansion. Wolfgang Porsche's £8.5million project, reminiscent of a James Bond villain's lair, has sparked outrage in 6 Wolfgang Porsche, with his former wife, Claudia Huebner in 2017 Credit: Getty 6 The 81-year-old plans to drill an underground private tunnel below his villa on the Kapuzinerberg Credit: Getty 6 The 81-year-old struck a deal with the Austrian city's former conservative mayor, Harald Preuner, in 2024. It included plans to drill an underground private tunnel below his 17th-century villa on the Kapuzinerberg. It would allow him to park up to a dozen of his cars underneath the Paschinger Schlössl. Under the deal, the billionaire paid €40,000 to gain the rights to dig a tunnel on city-owned land. Read more Motor News A steep and narrow road that can turn icy when temperatures drop currently leads up to Porsche's mansion. Some politicians have complained that the city council had not been briefed about the heir's plans. Local Green leader Ingeborg Haller has led the protest criticising what she called a "back-door deal" that was handled in a "very intransparent" way. "Salzburg is Most read in Motors She said any kind of "special treatment for the super-rich" was unacceptable. In response to criticism, a court-certified expert was appointed by the incumbent Social Democratic mayor, Bernhard Auinger. Hollywood legend Steve McQueen's Porsche which starred in iconic film is going up for auction at an eye-watering price According to the expert's report made public, the compensation paid by Porsche was deemed "appropriate". Porsche bought the historic villa located near a Capuchin monastery on the forested hill in 2020. The mansion, which is currently under renovation, once belonged to Austria's famed Jewish writer Stefan Zweig. Zweig lived there for 15 years and penned several well-known works there before fleeing to Britain during the rise of Nazism. The city council is expected to decide in mid-May whether or not to let the project go ahead as planned. It would have to approve a zoning plan change for the garage. Wolfgang is the grandson of Austrian-born Ferdinand Porsche, who founded the car company. He acts as the chairman of Porsche's supervisory board. A spokesman for Wolfgang Porsche declined to comment on what he called a "private matter" with no connection to the Porsche company, a subsidiary of the German car giant Volkswagen. 6 A steep and narrow road that can turn icy currently leads up to Porsche's mansion Credit: Google Maps 6 The mansion once belonged to Austria's famed Jewish writer Stefan Zweig Credit: Getty - Contributor 6 Wolfgang acts as the chairman of Porsche's supervisory board Credit: Alamy
The Sun
22-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
Porsche heir's incredible plan to build £8.5m underground supercar garage inside a MOUNTAIN – with secret tunnel network
THE heir to Porsche has announced plans to build a private tunnel and underground garage beneath his mansion. Wolfgang Porsche 's £8.5million project, reminiscent of a James Bond villain's lair, has sparked outrage in Salzburg. 6 6 The 81-year-old struck a deal with the Austrian city's former conservative mayor, Harald Preuner, in 2024. It included plans to drill an underground private tunnel below his 17th-century villa on the Kapuzinerberg. It would allow him to park up to a dozen of his cars underneath the Paschinger Schlössl. Under the deal, the billionaire paid €40,000 to gain the rights to dig a tunnel on city-owned land. A steep and narrow road that can turn icy when temperatures drop currently leads up to Porsche's mansion. Some politicians have complained that the city council had not been briefed about the heir's plans. Local Green leader Ingeborg Haller has led the protest criticising what she called a "back-door deal" that was handled in a "very intransparent" way. "Salzburg is UNESCO -listed. We are also in a nature reserve here and this is simply a highly sensitive area," Haller said. She said any kind of "special treatment for the super-rich" was unacceptable. In response to criticism, a court-certified expert was appointed by the incumbent Social Democratic mayor, Bernhard Auinger. Hollywood legend Steve McQueen's Porsche which starred in iconic film is going up for auction at an eye-watering price According to the expert's report made public, the compensation paid by Porsche was deemed "appropriate". Porsche bought the historic villa located near a Capuchin monastery on the forested hill in 2020. The mansion, which is currently under renovation, once belonged to Austria's famed Jewish writer Stefan Zweig. Zweig lived there for 15 years and penned several well-known works there before fleeing to Britain during the rise of Nazism. The city council is expected to decide in mid-May whether or not to let the project go ahead as planned. It would have to approve a zoning plan change for the garage. Wolfgang is the grandson of Austrian-born Ferdinand Porsche, who founded the car company. He acts as the chairman of Porsche's supervisory board. A spokesman for Wolfgang Porsche declined to comment on what he called a "private matter" with no connection to the Porsche company, a subsidiary of the German car giant Volkswagen. 6 6 6
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Porsche heir faces backlash over £8.5m private tunnel to Austrian villa
The heir to Porsche, the car maker, has triggered a class war in the Austrian city of Salzburg after he announced plans to build an underground tunnel through a mountain to reach his stately home. Salzburg council is set to rule on 81-year-old Wolfgang Porsche's right to dig a tunnel, reminiscent of a James Bond villain's lair, to reach his 17th-century villa and its vast garage. The small city's former mayor approved the project in 2024, but its current Left-leaning mayor has opposed the move. It has led to a dispute between politicians and the public, who say that Mr Porsche was granted swift permission for his €10 million (£8.5 million) project while city renovation projects have had to wait years. In one recent act of protest to coincide with Easter, activists hosted a three-day theatre festival titled 'The Tunnel of Mr P – a grotesque piece in three acts'. The group said:'We cannot afford the overly wealthy like Porsche anymore. No luxury for the few at the cost of others.' The upset in the baroque city, where Mozart was born and the Sound of Music was filmed, follows Mr Porsche's purchase of the villa for $9 million in 2020. The home formerly belonged to the celebrated Jewish author Stefan Zweig, who used it to entertain his eminent contemporaries, including James Joyce and Thomas Mann. Zweig loved his 'charming and impractical' home, as he called it, so much that he wanted it to be 'inaccessible by car'. Mr Porsche, who is the chairman of the car company, appears not to share this sentiment. Last year, he paid the conservative-led council at the time €35,000 for planning permission. Opponents of the project have said that the sum he paid was too low, while others have claimed it appears to give privileged access to the wealthy. One banner left behind by activists on the Kapuzinerberg mountain had a reference to the opening passages of the bible: 'And Porsche said, let there be a hole.' Ingeborg Haller, the leader of the Green Party group on the local council and an opponent of the plans, told The Wall Street Journal: 'I think what amazes people is that a private individual can dig into the mountain.' 'We reject special treatment for the super-rich,' she said. The Social Democrats will make up the deciding vote on a council, which is divided on the issue after the Austrian communist party won a record result in last year's elections. To make the politics more complicated, the mayor used to be on the labour board of Porsche holding company and may abstain from voting to avoid a possible conflict of interest. To keep the peace, Porsche has suggested partially opening his villa to the public, as well as allowing wealthy neighbours in the villa-quarter to use his tunnel. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
21-04-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Porsche heir faces backlash over £8.5m private tunnel to Austrian villa
The heir to Porsche, the luxury car maker, has triggered a class war in the Austrian city of Salzburg after he announced plans to build an underground tunnel through a mountain to reach his stately home. Salzburg council is set to rule on 81-year-old Wolfgang Porsche's right to dig a tunnel, reminiscent of a James Bond villain's lair, to reach his 17th-century villa and its vast garage. The small city's former mayor approved the project in 2024, but its current, Left-leaning mayor has opposed the move. It has led to a dispute between politicians and the public, who say Mr Porsche was granted swift permission for his €10 million (£8.5 million) project while city renovation projects have had to wait years. In one recent act of protest to coincide with Easter, activists hosted a three-day theatre festival titled 'The Tunnel of Mr P – a grotesque piece in three acts'. 'We cannot afford the overly wealthy like Porsche anymore,' the group says. 'No luxury for the few at the cost of others.' The upset in the baroque city, where Mozart was born and the Sound of Music was filmed, follows Mr Porsche's purchase of the villa for $9 million in 2020. The home was famously that of the celebrated Jewish author Stefan Zweig, who used it to entertain his eminent contemporaries, including James Joyce and Thomas Mann. Zweig loved his 'charming and impractical' home, as he called it, so much that he wanted it to be 'inaccessible by car'. Mr Porsche, who is chairman of the car company, appears not to share this sentiment. Last year, he paid the then conservative-led council €35,000 for planning permission. Opponents of the project say the sum he paid was too low, while others reject it on the grounds it appears to give privileged access to the wealthy. One banner left behind by activists on the Kapuzinerberg mountain, had a reference to the opening passages of the bible: 'and Porsche said, let there be a hole'. Ingeborg Haller, leader of the Green Party group on the town council and an opponent of the plans, told the Wall Street Journal: 'I think what amazes people is that a private individual can dig into the mountain.' 'We reject special treatment for the super rich,' she said. The Social Democrats will make up the deciding vote on a council, which is divided on the issue after the Austrian communist party won a record result in last year's elections. To make the politics more complicated, the mayor used to be on the labour board of Porsche holding company and may abstain from voting to avoid a possible conflict of interest. To keep the peace, Porsche has suggested partially opening his villa to the public as well as allowing wealthy neighbours in the villa-quarter to use his tunnel.
