Porsche Museum

Porsche Celebrates 25 Years of Custom Cars

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Events

25 years ago Porsche became the world's first car manufacturer to create a special customization department at its factory. The program, called Porsche Exclusive, allows customers to get a car from the factory with just about any personal detail and refinement they want – provided that it's technically feasible and won't compromise the vehicle's quality. To celebrate the program's silver anniversary the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany is showcasing the Exclusive's special skills and craftsmanship with a 25 years of Porsche Exclusive show running through May 1st.

Visitors will be able to see some of company's most unique and rare special models, including the Porsche 911 Turbo S 3.6, which in 1997 was the first Porsche series production sports car to break the 186 mph (300 km/h) barrier. Also on display is one of only two Porsche 911 Speedsters in the world dating from 1995, as well as a gold-colored Porsche 959 that was extensively modified for a member of an Arab royal family and which features, among other things, gold plated tailpipes. A book is being published in conjunction with the exhibit as well.

Tags: custom cars, Germany, luxury cars, museum, museum exhibit, Porsche, Porsche 911, Porsche 959, Porsche Museum, porsche+cars, porsche+custom, porschecars, porschecustom

The Ultimate Limited Edition Porsche Book & Photo Print

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Art, Books

German luxury publisher teNeues is coming out with the ultimate collector's item for Porsche enthusiasts: a $3,000 limited edition book on the famed sports car marque accompanied by a signed and numbered photographic print. The Porsche Book collector's edition, limited to only 50 copies, features the world's most beautiful Porsche images selected by photographer and graphic designer Frank M. Orel in collaboration with the Porsche Museum team in Stuttgart, Germany. Orel, who produces award-winning calendars for Porsche, is the editor of two other books dedicated to the legendary marque. The enormous volume features 24 chapters containing over 200 incredible full-color photographs. It spans the full measure of Porsche's illustrious history from road cars to rare racers. The signed and numbered photo print is suitable for framing.

[via JustLuxe]

Gallery: The Porsche Book Collector's Edition

All images courtesy teNeues, copyright Frank M. Orel

Tags: books, coffee table books, Germany, luxury cars, photography, Porsche, Porsche Museum, sports car, teNeues

Porsche Parade in Atlanta as Type 64 Visits U.S. (Video)

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Events, Video

This past Sunday, Porsche Cars of North America and the Porsche Club of America organized a parade of over 100 Porsches to drive from the Georgia Governor's Mansion to the Atlanta High Museum of Art. Starting this week the museum is holding the Allure of the Automobile Exhibition, which as my colleague Jeremy Korzeniewski reported will feature Porsche's historic one-off Type 64 coupe which for the first time has left its home at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart for a three month loan to the museum. The Type 64 was designed by Ferdinand Porsche in 1938 and was to be used for the Berlin to Rome endurance race, but because of World War II, that never happened. The design of the car served as influenced for future models including the Type 356 and 911. In this video the CEO of Porsche Cars North America, Detlev von Platen, discusses the importance of the Type 64 for the Porsche brand and its significance for traveling to Atlanta. It also includes footage of the first 2010 Porsche GT3 RS to arrive in the United States.

Tags: Atlanta, Georgia, Porsche, Porsche Museum, Porsche Type 64

One-of-One Porsche Type 64 to be Displayed at The Allure of the Automobile Exhibition in Atlanta

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Art

1938 Porsche Type 64 – Click above for high-res image gallery

Way back in 1938 – a full decade before the legendary 356 – Ferdinand Porsche developed what the German automaker now considers the "first ancestor of all Porsche sportscars." Called the Type 64, this car employed a number of construction methods and styling that would later come to typify the brand that carries its designer's last name from the aforementioned 356 all the way to today's 911.

The streamlined Type 64 has sat as the "first and most prominent exhibit" at the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen since it opened in January of 2009, and it will be shipped outside of Germany for the first time since being carefully restored by the automaker as it makes its way to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Type 64 will be on display in Atlanta for the The Allure of the Automobile exhibition from March 21st until June 20th. During this time away, the Porsche Museum in Germany will show off the wooden buck that was used as a frame to pound out the Type 64's complex aluminum bodywork. Check out our high-res image gallery below and make the jump for the official press release.

Gallery: 1938 Porsche Type 64

[Source: Porsche]

Tags: allure of the automobile, AllureOfTheAutomobile, High Museum of Art, HighMuseumOfArt, porsche, porsche museum, porsche type 64, porsche type64, PorscheMuseum, PorscheType64, The Allure of the Automobile, TheAllureOfTheAutomobile, type 64, Type64

Continue reading “One-of-One Porsche Type 64 to be Displayed at The Allure of the Automobile Exhibition in Atlanta”

The Classicist: A Perfect Pictorial History of Porsche

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Books, The Classicist

"Porsche means looking at the world from a different angle. The fact that, unlike other cars, the ignition switch is located to the left of the steering wheel is just one indication that this company, these sports cars and this family are different from other automobile dynasties." Thus begins Generation Porsche, a brilliant new volume published by teNeues in the wake of the opening of the new Porsche Museum at Zuffenhausen's Porscheplatz in Stuttgart. The most comprehensive and best-designed pictorial history of the marque we've seen to date, it contains a brilliantly curated collection of artfully layered images, taking full advantage of the museum's archives and displays showing how three generations of the Porsche family have defined automobile history, and in particular the saga of the sports car. Until you can actually get over to Germany, this book is the next best thing.

The famed marque officially celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, but its history in fact goes back 110 years to 1900 and 24-year-old Ferdinand Porsche's visionary Lohner electric car concept, debuted at that year's World's Fair in Paris; that's where Generation Porsche kicks off. In merging the highest standards of design with advanced technology, Porsche has since become a byword for four-wheeled works of art, ranking among the most coveted cars in the world. As avid Porsche collector Jerry Seinfeld puts it, "Driving a Porsche always gives you a futuristic feeling." The high-tech museum certainly conveys that. Construction began on the building, designed to be an architectural emblem of the Porsche brand, in October 2005, making history as the most spectacular building project ever undertaken by the company. In addition to 80 ever-changing exhibits, the museum also features workshops, a Porsche boutique, the Porsche archive, a restaurant, a café and event space.

Gallery: Generation Porsche

Meanwhile teNeues has published a second work entitled Porsche Icons, showcasing the influence and history of the legendary Type 64, one of the most mysterious yet influential car designs ever, which many consider to be the first true Porsche. Ferdinand Porsche established an independent engineering office in Stuttgart in 1931 and went on to make automotive history with pioneering developments in motorsports. Over the next several decades Porsche introduced innovative production models such as the 356, 911, 914, 924, 944, 928, the Boxster, the Cayenne, and, most recently, the four-door Panamera, while continuing its strong showing in the world's most important auto races. Check out the gallery for a preview of images from Generation Porsche.

Tags: Ferdinand Porsche, FerdinandPorsche, Germany, Porsche, Porsche 911, Porsche Museum, Porsche911, PorscheMuseum, Stuttgart, teNeues

The Classicist: Celebrating Porsche's 60th Anniversary

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Books, The Classicist

In the past six decades, Porsche, which celebrated its 60th anniversary this year, has become the quintessential sports car, with unique and striking looks matched by superb engineering and performance. Porsche is both the smallest independent German automaker and the world's most profitable automaker. The first Porsche sports car was the legendary Type 356 "No. 1", which debuted in 1948, but the conceptual basis of the brand is the result of the lifelong work of Professor Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951), which was continued by his son Ferry (1909–1998).

Professor Porsche established an independent engineering office in Stuttgart in 1931 and went on to make automotive history with pioneering developments in motorsports. Over the next 60 years Porsche introduced innovative production models such as the 356, 911, 914, 924, 944, 928, the Boxster, the Cayenne, and, most recently, the four-door Panamera, while continuing its strong showing in the world's most important auto races.

In celebration of the 60 year milestone, Universe has published an impressive tribute titled Porsche: The Fine Art of the Sports Car. In merging the highest standards of design with advanced technology, the Porsche has become "a four-wheeled work of art," they note. The book plots a stunningly-photographed course through 48 Porsche models through the most recent innovations. Interwoven with the history of the Porsche's development are factors and events that influenced the evolution of the company.

Gallery: 60 Years of Porsche

These events were not always beneficial, but they all had a profound effect. Taken into account are the imprisonment of Dr. Ferdinand Porsche by the French during World War II, the development of the Volkswagen, the ever-changing rules of national and international racing associations, and "the marketing genius of people as far away from Stuttgart as Chicago." Porsche: The Fine Art of the Sports Car features over 380 pages of text and more than 250 incredible color and 120 historical black-and-white photographs, many drawn from the Porsche archives.

Meanwhile, Porsche's amazing new museum at Zuffenhausen's Porscheplatz in Stuttgart will open on January 31st. Construction began on the high-tech building in October 2005. The museum is designed to be "an architectural emblem of the Porsche brand" and to "make history as the most spectacular building project ever undertaken by the company." In addition to 80 ever-changing exhibits, the museum will also feature workshops, a Porsche boutique, the Porsche archive, a restaurant, a café and an event space.

Tags: Ferdinand Porsche, FerdinandPorsche, Germany, Porsche, Porsche Museum, PorscheMuseum, Stuttgart