9 Bits of Porsche Terminology We Bet You Didn't Know
1. Aluminum Can
After taking one look at the 356 SL that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1951 you'll understand it being named after a can. Shown above is a restored example that is being held at the Porsche Museum.
2. Doctor's Car
Ferdinand Porsche received a special gift from Porsche on his 75th birthday: a special one-off 928 S. It was made just for him and was longer than other production models in order to give more legroom in the back. Over time it came to be known as the "Doctor's Car" and is resting with the Porsche family collection of cars to this day.
3. Bonanza Effect
Porsche had a habit of bucking and kicking while coasting that made some feel as if they were trying to break a wild horse that they had encountered in the wild west. Another cause to the violent lurching is when power has been put to the clutch too fast, and the Porsche reacts angrily by attempting to throw you through the windshield in retribution.
4. Dreikantschaber
If you had to scratch your head and look this one up to see what the heck the title means, you are not alone. Porsche nicknamed the 356 B 2000 GS Carrera GT after the tool due to its wedge blade shape. Designed by Butzi, the roof ends abruptly and the back of the car is pulled further down along the tail as compared to the production 356.
5. Bohlmann Bags
Porsche believes in recognizing employees, and that is how these bags came to be named. The 924 and 944 had storage bags that Mr. Bohlmann had something to do with, and therefore they're known by his surname. Other examples of parts named after employees are the Fuhrmann engine and the Jörg muffler.
6. Bel Air
This code name refers to the 1965 Targa when it was still in development at Porsche. The way it goes is that all the higher ups at Porsche needed a way to refer to the car without directly saying what it was so that word of the vehicle couldn't be leaked. Legend says that Porsche gave the incubating Targa the name Bel Air because they falsely thought it meant "good air." Word never got out, and the motoring world was surprised when the car was unveiled finally.
7. Crashbox
Crashbox is a term for the horrendous sound that would come from the transmission when the gears, during a shift, would be forced together instead of meshing like they should. In order to avoid the god-awful "crashbox" sound, you'd have to use a double-clutch maneuver as these early Porsche 356s were not equipped with synchronized transmissions.
8. Grandmother
Cars are often referred to as women, and this race car was no exception. It earned the name "Grandmother" because it had a long life (all of four years) powering around tracks, winning the European Championship twice and the Targa Florio.
9. Hippie
This long-tail, mind-bending 917 placed second at the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans while rocking a very blacklight-ready, psychedelic paint job that was purportedly inspired by a dress worn by a secretary in the Porsche HQ office.
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