Mike in CA

Great stuff Eduardo. My last visit there was in '09; the museum had just opened and the new engine assembly area was in full swing. Seeing the workers on the line stop for a beer break right there on the factory floor was a trip! Keep the reports coming if you can!

TRAKCAR

I was there in 2010 :-)

brake dust

2008 for me. Museum was under construction. Great pics - thanks!

Z356

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

Z356

Peter, yes I remember you. I was there with my friend Amar! Looking to talking a bit more on my next trip to Seattle!

I am Cuban. I will not do Cuban cigars until my country of birth is finally rid of a dictatorial regime that has been in power since 1959! Perhaps not in my lifetime! However, I do have some Havana Club (which is rum from the old Bacardi distilleries in Santiago de Cuba but they can't use the name due to trademark litigation) in Carmel which has been given to me as gifts over the years!

Well, I don't remember the new building where the new Porsche dealership is located at the Porscheplatz (see photo). I am sure PAG had some sort of dealership nearby in 2007. But what I am talking about was the old Hahn Porsche dealership! They had one in the Stuttgart city center and a service center & sales office in some other part of the city (not near Zuffenhausen!). I often visited them on previous trips in the 1980's and 1990's. PAG bought them out quite a while back and they now own the local P-dealership! In the old days, we used to buy new US spec Porsches directly from Hahn at good prices (due to strong dollar back then) and import the cars into the US! PCNA put a stop to that in the early 1980's, pressuring Porsche not to allow European dealers to sell US spec cars to US residents. The ex-pat and military sales still continue to this day all over Europe, of course.

I don't think I have ever been allowed into the paint area (in my 15+ visits) because of contamination issues...and my first factory tour in 1981! There is a whole assembly area behind the main multi-story assembly plant where they will be putting together the upcoming 918's. We didn't get to see that area. The new engine assembly is pretty nice. One gets to see quite a lot (including from overhead walkways). I remember factory dynos in my first visits (1980's) testing engines. We always wondered to what cars they allocated any particular 'extra' powerful engine that sometimes by chance was produced in the old engine assembly area! The new engine testing area is first done with air (to check for leaks in seals) and then with oil. After that last one, the engine will be 'wet' until it is mated to the chassis down the line. All these new engine testing areas are highly computerized and robotized. That part of the assembly line is quite 'new' and pretty interesting to see!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Volkach, Bavaria

4porsh

Thanks Eduardo for taking the time to post all of this, it's like a virtual VIP Porsche tour.

Joe

Larry Cable

whats the orange car in the dealership window? Boxster or 991S Cab?

brake dust

Looks like a 911

Larry Cable

didnt think that color (unless it is pastel) was approved PTS on the 911...

its cool though

Mike in CA

Looks like Guards Red on my monitor....

Joe S.

Looks orange, compare it to the red tail light on the far right.

aussie jimmy

looks guards just like font on building.
991 cab.
the cayman looks nice though!!

Z356

Indischrot...or Guards Red. This 991 Cabriolet was spec'ced ordered to the max & looked terrific in person!

Porsche currently has two 'Orange' colors available for PTS in the 991 & 981. 'Pastell Orange' (code Z17) has been available since MY2011. And recently 'Gulf Orange' was approved. 'RS Orange' was discontinued after MY2010 as a PTS option!

I will talk more about some of the options on this car (e.g. the black wheels with the lip to match exterior paint - something not offered in the past!) when I post about my two hour visit & special tour inside 'Porsche Exclusive' last week!

Saludos,
Eduardo

Z356

Mid day on Wednesday, April 17th!

This was a busy day for me! In between the morning factory tour and the Historical Archives tour in the afternoon, I took the S6 train from the Porscheplatz back to Stuttgart Center City to have lunch. It was the warmest day I have ever spent in Germany! Temperatures were abnormally high, the sun was out and the people of Stuttgart were enjoying a glorious spring day!

To get to my restaurant, I walked from the main train station along the pedestrian street (Königstraße) that leads to the Schlossplatz. The latter is named that because of the beautiful baroque castle (das Neue Schloss of the royal Württembergs) that dominates the plaza at the City Center! On a trivia side note, I am a bit familiar with this location, although at the other end of the platz & right in front of the 'Neue Schloss'! Back in the fall of 1982, I attended the first ever 'Porsche Parade' held in Stuttgart. It was an event of European Porsche clubs trying to imitate the PCA Parade held in the US since 1956! The most dramatic part of that weekend was the 'parade' of Porsche cars in attendance driving past the 'welcoming committee' at the Neue Schloss, which consisted of Ferry Porsche, CEO Peter Schutz and Sales Manager Lars Schmidt! I got there early, and by sheer luck, was able to stand right next to them, warmly dressed with a ski parka over my sport jacket & tie! A few months later, I had my 15 seconds of fame appearing on the Feb 1983 (#163) edition of Christophorus right next to these dignitaries! A panoramic shot of this event at the Neue Schloss was also on the magazine's cover, although Ferry, Peter, Lars and me can only be seen in the back! It was at this Parade that I also got a chance to meet Manfred Rommel, the only son of the German general of 'Desert Fox' fame, who was then the honorable mayor of Stuttgart!

I had a delightful lunch at Ochs'n Willi. This is a well known local's restaurant that features traditional Swabian food! It is just past the Schlossplatz and to the right! I strongly recommend it on your visit to Stuttgart if you like age-old Swabian specialties! http://www.ochsn-willi.de/

Saludos,
Eduardo
Back in Zuffenhausen

P_collector

Hi Eduardo,

Thanks for this update...great trip. It seems we plan similar trips to Porsche. I did a simiular trip as yours a few months ago..and met someone also from Jürgen Barths time..also wanted to see Mr Landenberger.,.,but that didnt work out.

I also went to Ochsenwilli..but 500m away from it is another good one...

all the best,