Bernd Rosemeyer and Ferdinand Porsche with Auto Union, c1937c1938. This streamlined vehicle designed by Porsche was driven by Bernd Rosemeyer to set several world speed records for cars of engine capacities of less than 8000cc in 1937. He was killed in 1938 when, attempting to regain the record from Mercedes, his Auto Union crashed on the FrankfurtDarmstadt Autobahn at 270 mph. Rosemeyer was also a prolifically successful racing driver, winning the European Grand Prix Championship in 1936. Porsche went on to found his own famous motor company together with his son in 1947.