Takeover would give victory to Piech

BERLIN: When Ferry Porsche designed the automaker's first sports car in 1948, he based it on the Beetle his father built for Volkswagen under a contract with the Nazis in 1934.

The Porsche family's connection with state-controlled Volkswagen grew over the years, with scion Ferdinand Piech becoming VW's chief executive officer in 1993.

Then last year, Porsche SE Chairman Wolfgang Porsche, Piech's cousin, backed an effort to try to take control of Volkswagen AG.