A visit to Zuffenhausen...will I see Andreas or a 991 gt3?
04-23-2013, 09:38 AM
#31
thanks for posting - really enjoy reading about your trip - feels like I'm there!
04-23-2013, 07:20 PM
#32
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Wednesday in Afternoon (April 17th)
This afternoon I received a very special tour of the Historical Archives at Porsche by the person in charge Dieter Landenberger (Leiter Historisches Archiv). This collection is the most complete Porsche-related in the world! It includes the papers from Ferdinand Porsche's original design office in the 1930's, the war years, post-war Porsche company and to the present! All of these documents used to be kept in warehouse space in the factory. Dieter has been made responsible to collect it in one place, organize the material, carefully documented it & then place it in easy-to-access format. The rooms (where the historical papers are kept) have special air-composition to prevent deterioration of paper, etc. All state-of-the-art archival conditions and specially designed movable shelf storage spaces!
This is where automotive writers researching Porsche cars and history 'camp-out', sometimes for months! The research area have desk where folks can examine the data in the archive. This room has an impressive view of the museum lobby - so it is a very open & naturally well lighted space that makes research an enjoyable experience too! You can see that room on the upper right hand corner of first photo! Some of the items in storage are valuable trophies and memorabilia. The wooden tool you see in photo #5 is what Ferdinand Alexander Porsche used to shape the actual clay model of his 901 design!
While I was there I met two Canadians working on the in-depth history of all Abarth Carreras (approx. 20!). They also happened to be at Jürgen Barth's home at Sachsenheim when I arrived there on Tuesday night for dinner! Jürgen also has an unbelievable collection of Porsche history at his home. He has written several books (see link below) and is working on the complete history of each 550 Spyder produced by Porsche's in the 1950's!
http://www.amazon.ca/s?_encoding=UTF...alias=books-ca
Dieter Landenberger is also an accomplished author (photo #3). He has an upcoming book on 356 Carrera engines and cars which he has co-produced with Steve Heinrichs. Here is a sample of his other books:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=la_B003V...r+Landenberger
I met Dieter last year at the PCA Porsche Parade in Salt Lake City. He was the only Porsche representative (of the many in attendance) that gave a talk to the participants. His 'lectures' are extremely interesting and very well attended! Dieter is a history buff - there is a studded winter tire from a Pre-A 356 in the corner of his office and a poster of a 356 competing in the famed Monte Carlo Rallye! I am indebted to Dieter for taking the time to be such a gracious host!
This concludes my activities for Wednesday day at Zuffenhausen. But that was not the end of this memorable day at Porsche. More on my next post!
Saludos,
Eduardo
Volkach, Bavaria
This afternoon I received a very special tour of the Historical Archives at Porsche by the person in charge Dieter Landenberger (Leiter Historisches Archiv). This collection is the most complete Porsche-related in the world! It includes the papers from Ferdinand Porsche's original design office in the 1930's, the war years, post-war Porsche company and to the present! All of these documents used to be kept in warehouse space in the factory. Dieter has been made responsible to collect it in one place, organize the material, carefully documented it & then place it in easy-to-access format. The rooms (where the historical papers are kept) have special air-composition to prevent deterioration of paper, etc. All state-of-the-art archival conditions and specially designed movable shelf storage spaces!
This is where automotive writers researching Porsche cars and history 'camp-out', sometimes for months! The research area have desk where folks can examine the data in the archive. This room has an impressive view of the museum lobby - so it is a very open & naturally well lighted space that makes research an enjoyable experience too! You can see that room on the upper right hand corner of first photo! Some of the items in storage are valuable trophies and memorabilia. The wooden tool you see in photo #5 is what Ferdinand Alexander Porsche used to shape the actual clay model of his 901 design!
While I was there I met two Canadians working on the in-depth history of all Abarth Carreras (approx. 20!). They also happened to be at Jürgen Barth's home at Sachsenheim when I arrived there on Tuesday night for dinner! Jürgen also has an unbelievable collection of Porsche history at his home. He has written several books (see link below) and is working on the complete history of each 550 Spyder produced by Porsche's in the 1950's!
http://www.amazon.ca/s?_encoding=UTF...alias=books-ca
Dieter Landenberger is also an accomplished author (photo #3). He has an upcoming book on 356 Carrera engines and cars which he has co-produced with Steve Heinrichs. Here is a sample of his other books:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=la_B003V...r+Landenberger
I met Dieter last year at the PCA Porsche Parade in Salt Lake City. He was the only Porsche representative (of the many in attendance) that gave a talk to the participants. His 'lectures' are extremely interesting and very well attended! Dieter is a history buff - there is a studded winter tire from a Pre-A 356 in the corner of his office and a poster of a 356 competing in the famed Monte Carlo Rallye! I am indebted to Dieter for taking the time to be such a gracious host!
This concludes my activities for Wednesday day at Zuffenhausen. But that was not the end of this memorable day at Porsche. More on my next post!
Saludos,
Eduardo
Volkach, Bavaria
Those pictures of the Archives bring back memories from this past summer for me. I too was lucky enough to have access to this treasure-trove of information. It was sensory overload for me. I just stood there wondering where to start. There are some class acts within the archive group. Very passionate about Porsche's history (including racing).
Thanks for the pictures!!!!
04-24-2013, 06:06 PM
#33
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
Back of Werk II
I am currently on a 10 days 'Guys Only Tour' of European auto factories and museums. I was a Zuffenhausen last week and returned again today. However, I don't have access to internet all the time while I am on this trip. So I will post bits here and there to give you a full picture of my 'Visit to Zuffenhausen' !
Wednesday, April 17th
After I returned from lunch in Stuttgart Center City on Wednesday, I had time to do a complete walk tour of the periphery of the Porsche facilities at Zuffenhausen. This is a tradition now with me and I do it every time I visit to visually capture the changes that have taken place over the years. When I first visited Zuffenhausen in 1981, the place actually resembled the photos we have all seen of the original Reutter Carosserie-Werke from the 356 days in the 1950's and 1960's. It was very compact but there were a lot of open spaces - compared to now! I have always found the area around the Werks II factory rather interesting.
Photo 1 is the back corner of the Werks II on Schweiberdinger Strasse at the south. Photo 2 is the northern edge of Werks II at the north on Adestrasse. The area west of this boundary has a train tracks and then the Usedomstrasse residential neighborhood! On this particular day's walk, I got lucky! As I took a photo from the street that showed the giant factory in the background, a home owner engaged me in conversation! It turned out she had lived in this house since 1959. She took me to the backyard and let me take other photos. I could throw a baseball and it would land inside Porsche's property in Zuffenhausen without any problems! Their backyard is that close to Werks II !
The history of this neighborhood was explained to me by this lady. It was all 'agricultural' back in the post-war years. In the early 1950s, her parents bought the lot as a planting garden, something often seen around towns and cities all over Germany. They were able to build a small brick shed where they could rest & cook a luncheon while working the garden. This shed is still there! In the late 1950's, the land owners petition the town to allow them to build homes. This idea was approved and her parents built the current two story structure. Her parents have passed, but she still lives here with her husband.
Not all neighbors are happy with Porsche in this neighborhood. In the past, they often complained about noises coming from the factory. That was mostly from high-rev test drives of the new cars in the rear parking lot before the closest buildings you see in the photo were constructed around 1984 at Werks II. She says relations are much better now. Each year Porsche hosts a picnic inside the plant for the residents of her neighborhood. It is a good-will gesture that is appreciated with these folks. However, Porsche has an office called something like 'Environment' (she told me) where the residents can still file complaints should any arise!
Rarely in America does an automotive factory is situated this close to a residential neighborhood. The lady who owns the house told me she was very glad the railroad line just behind her house prevented Porsche from expanding directly into her area! They have no plans to move elsewhere and were quite adamant about staying put and not be pushed around by the 'manufacturing giant' literally next door! This is their home...in the shadow of Porsche since 1959!
Saludos,
Eduardo
Wednesday, April 17th
After I returned from lunch in Stuttgart Center City on Wednesday, I had time to do a complete walk tour of the periphery of the Porsche facilities at Zuffenhausen. This is a tradition now with me and I do it every time I visit to visually capture the changes that have taken place over the years. When I first visited Zuffenhausen in 1981, the place actually resembled the photos we have all seen of the original Reutter Carosserie-Werke from the 356 days in the 1950's and 1960's. It was very compact but there were a lot of open spaces - compared to now! I have always found the area around the Werks II factory rather interesting.
Photo 1 is the back corner of the Werks II on Schweiberdinger Strasse at the south. Photo 2 is the northern edge of Werks II at the north on Adestrasse. The area west of this boundary has a train tracks and then the Usedomstrasse residential neighborhood! On this particular day's walk, I got lucky! As I took a photo from the street that showed the giant factory in the background, a home owner engaged me in conversation! It turned out she had lived in this house since 1959. She took me to the backyard and let me take other photos. I could throw a baseball and it would land inside Porsche's property in Zuffenhausen without any problems! Their backyard is that close to Werks II !
The history of this neighborhood was explained to me by this lady. It was all 'agricultural' back in the post-war years. In the early 1950s, her parents bought the lot as a planting garden, something often seen around towns and cities all over Germany. They were able to build a small brick shed where they could rest & cook a luncheon while working the garden. This shed is still there! In the late 1950's, the land owners petition the town to allow them to build homes. This idea was approved and her parents built the current two story structure. Her parents have passed, but she still lives here with her husband.
Not all neighbors are happy with Porsche in this neighborhood. In the past, they often complained about noises coming from the factory. That was mostly from high-rev test drives of the new cars in the rear parking lot before the closest buildings you see in the photo were constructed around 1984 at Werks II. She says relations are much better now. Each year Porsche hosts a picnic inside the plant for the residents of her neighborhood. It is a good-will gesture that is appreciated with these folks. However, Porsche has an office called something like 'Environment' (she told me) where the residents can still file complaints should any arise!
Rarely in America does an automotive factory is situated this close to a residential neighborhood. The lady who owns the house told me she was very glad the railroad line just behind her house prevented Porsche from expanding directly into her area! They have no plans to move elsewhere and were quite adamant about staying put and not be pushed around by the 'manufacturing giant' literally next door! This is their home...in the shadow of Porsche since 1959!
Saludos,
Eduardo
04-25-2013, 06:09 PM
#34
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Great story. I'm assuming that you have done the Mercedes museum? I found it to be a pretty good representation of their history. If you venture into France I highly recommend the car museum in Mulhouse. The Schlumpf collection is something to behold.
04-26-2013, 01:18 AM
#35
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
On the organized part of my European can tour (Steve Austin's 'Guy's Only Car Tour) which started earlier this week, I visited the Audi R8 & A8 facilities at Neckarsulm on Monday, the Porsche Museum at Zuffenhausen on Tuesday, the Audi Museum at Ingolstadt and the BMW factory at Rengensburg yesterday! We are heading for Austria and Italy (Ferrari) today!
Saludos,
Eduardo
04-27-2013, 03:34 AM
#37
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
Saludos,
Eduardo
Salzburg, Austria
05-01-2013, 06:51 AM
#38
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
Paint...
Porsche's Paint Facility at Zuffenhausen
Porsche's paint facility is tucked behind Werk I on Schweiberdinger (photo 1). A series of bridges high overhead transports painted chassis to the assembly plant! (photos 2, 3 & 4). If you look on the other side, behind the Porsche owned dealership called 'Porsche Niederlassung Stuttgart'), you can actually see where theses painted chassis are coming from! The paint facility is way in the back and uses other Porsche buildings as support columns to allow the rolling line of painted chassis to make it all the way to Werk II and the assembly lines! (Photos 5 -10).
I don't remember seeing the older paint facility in 1981. And this newer paint plant has never been shown to the public during the normal factory tours. But it's a very interesting layout, to say the least! However, I have no idea how the unpainted chassis get to the paint department!
Saludos,
Eduardo
Malpensa Airport, Milan
Porsche's paint facility is tucked behind Werk I on Schweiberdinger (photo 1). A series of bridges high overhead transports painted chassis to the assembly plant! (photos 2, 3 & 4). If you look on the other side, behind the Porsche owned dealership called 'Porsche Niederlassung Stuttgart'), you can actually see where theses painted chassis are coming from! The paint facility is way in the back and uses other Porsche buildings as support columns to allow the rolling line of painted chassis to make it all the way to Werk II and the assembly lines! (Photos 5 -10).
I don't remember seeing the older paint facility in 1981. And this newer paint plant has never been shown to the public during the normal factory tours. But it's a very interesting layout, to say the least! However, I have no idea how the unpainted chassis get to the paint department!
Saludos,
Eduardo
Malpensa Airport, Milan
05-01-2013, 02:12 PM
#40
Race Director
I don't remember seeing the older paint facility in 1981. And this newer paint plant has never been shown to the public during the normal factory tours. But it's a very interesting layout, to say the least! However, I have no idea how the unpainted chassis get to the paint department!
Re: getting the unpainted chassis to the paint department, there is another bridge that crosses between the body shop and the paint shop over Schwieberdinger Strasse.
05-02-2013, 09:41 PM
#41
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
On our 2013 'Guys Only Car Tour', we did the following museums:
Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen, Germany
Audi Museum in Ingolstadt, Germany
Auto & Technik Museum in Sinsheim, Germany
Hangar 7 (Red Bull) in Salzburg, Austria
Porsche Automuseum Helmut Pfeifhofer in Gmund, Austria
Ferrari Museum in Maranello, Italy
Panini Maserati Collection near Modena, Italy
Casa Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena, Italy
Some in our group were able to make it to the BMW Museum in Munich (I had done it twice & elected the ERDINGER Weissbier brewery tour instead!). We were scheduled to go to the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo in Arese (near Milan) but they are presently closed for 'maintenance'! Go figure.
Mike, the bridge over Schwieberdinger Strasse is included in the photos on my post. What you can't see is the un-painted chassis GOING to the paint shop! But I assume (on reflection) that these 'unpainted' bodies must be going on 'conveyors' on the other side of the same bridge in the opposite direction! There is probably room there for 'two-way' traffic...and that makes the most sense too!
Saludos,
Eduardo
Back in the US of A
Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen, Germany
Audi Museum in Ingolstadt, Germany
Auto & Technik Museum in Sinsheim, Germany
Hangar 7 (Red Bull) in Salzburg, Austria
Porsche Automuseum Helmut Pfeifhofer in Gmund, Austria
Ferrari Museum in Maranello, Italy
Panini Maserati Collection near Modena, Italy
Casa Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena, Italy
Some in our group were able to make it to the BMW Museum in Munich (I had done it twice & elected the ERDINGER Weissbier brewery tour instead!). We were scheduled to go to the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo in Arese (near Milan) but they are presently closed for 'maintenance'! Go figure.
Saludos,
Eduardo
Back in the US of A
05-02-2013, 10:53 PM
#42
Race Director
Hi Eduardo,
I was turned around with your photo and didn't realize which bridge that was! Anyway, according to the "Ultimate Factories" show on the Porsche factory (which I've saved on my DVR
) that bridge does carry the unpainted bodies from the body shop to the paint facility.
I was turned around with your photo and didn't realize which bridge that was! Anyway, according to the "Ultimate Factories" show on the Porsche factory (which I've saved on my DVR
) that bridge does carry the unpainted bodies from the body shop to the paint facility.
05-08-2013, 10:36 AM
#43
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Eduardo,
You must be going through automotive withdrawal syndrome. It's a known ailment. How are you coping?
I'm curious about Red Bull's Hangar 7. What's it like?
Thanks again!
You must be going through automotive withdrawal syndrome. It's a known ailment. How are you coping?
I'm curious about Red Bull's Hangar 7. What's it like?
Thanks again!
05-08-2013, 03:13 PM
#45
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
Like a Botanical Garden with planes inside! The setting, on Salzburg's airport surrounded by the Alps, is stunning!
I am doing fine, but a little tired. After arriving from Italy in Carmel on Wednesday (one week ago), my wife and I drove to our second home here in Vail Valley. I am having a total shoulder replacement operation at The Steadman Clinic on May 15th. So I will shortly have plenty of rest time which will allow me to finish writing my many other post for this thread!
I did a lot in two weeks in Europe! First, the Zuffenhausen visit on my own and then the 'Guys Only Tour' for another 10 days or so! What you haven't read yet about my trip is that, after my private stay in Zuffenhausen, I went to a town in the Franken region of Bavaria and investigated the emergency landing of US B-17 bomber that was flown my a good friend of mine that is still alive & resides in Carmel! His engines were disabled by flack initially over the target and then a JU-88 that was sent to shoot him down! He was part of the greatest air raid of the war - the October 1943 raid by the 8th Air Force against the Schweinfurt's ball-bearing factories! That is a whole different story...but using a metal detector, two German friends and I found remains from his plane on a field near Gerolzhofen where he 'landed' nearly 70 years ago! Also we found pieces from another B-17 from that raid that crashed & burned on a nearby forest after the crew bailed out! (see last photo, including 'live' 50 cal. ammunition from the B-17's machine guns!). That was probably the emotional zenith of this trip to Germany for me...as I am a WWII Army Air Corps memorabilia collector too!
Saludos,
Eduardo
Vail Valley, CO
I did a lot in two weeks in Europe! First, the Zuffenhausen visit on my own and then the 'Guys Only Tour' for another 10 days or so! What you haven't read yet about my trip is that, after my private stay in Zuffenhausen, I went to a town in the Franken region of Bavaria and investigated the emergency landing of US B-17 bomber that was flown my a good friend of mine that is still alive & resides in Carmel! His engines were disabled by flack initially over the target and then a JU-88 that was sent to shoot him down! He was part of the greatest air raid of the war - the October 1943 raid by the 8th Air Force against the Schweinfurt's ball-bearing factories! That is a whole different story...but using a metal detector, two German friends and I found remains from his plane on a field near Gerolzhofen where he 'landed' nearly 70 years ago! Also we found pieces from another B-17 from that raid that crashed & burned on a nearby forest after the crew bailed out! (see last photo, including 'live' 50 cal. ammunition from the B-17's machine guns!). That was probably the emotional zenith of this trip to Germany for me...as I am a WWII Army Air Corps memorabilia collector too!
Saludos,
Eduardo
Vail Valley, CO