A visit to Zuffenhausen!
04-16-2013, 08:24 PM
#1
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
A visit to Zuffenhausen!
Just arrived in today to Stuttgart and took the S6 to Zuffenhausen. Staying at the Hotel Neuwirtshaus, just a few blocks away from the factory. Had dinner tonight with Jürgen Barth at his home in Sachsenheim! Informal affair as he cooked dinner for just the two of us! Great stories - both about his dad (Edgar) and about his own distinguished career! Coming back to the hotel tonight, the Porsche factory and Museum at night has a magic & color all its own! To be continued...
Saludos,
Eduardo
Saludos,
Eduardo
04-17-2013, 07:11 PM
#7
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
1) 10 AM - Factory Tour at Porsche Zuffenhausen. Cameras are not allowed. In fact they were 'collected' and 'stored' prior to the start of our tour! This is about my 15th visit to Zuffenhausen. First one was in 1981 during a PCA Treffen (first photo...when I had black hair!). I also did a European Delivery on a 944 in 1982 and a 944 Turbo around 1985! Everytime I traveled to Europe I managed to drop by Zuffenhausen for a visit! That is how I met Jurgen Barth in the 1980's - while picking up 'special parts' at Frau Bauer 'in-house' emporium at Werk 1! These were the days we could take cameras inside the factory and photograph at will! Weissach was open to group tours and we were taken on 'hot laps' by factory drivers! Not any more. Weissach is now closed to any visitors while construction takes place...I was last there in 1996...but some think it will never be re-opened to the public! The rest of the attached photos were taken after the tour was completed and from 'outside' the factory fences!
My last Zuffenhausen visit was in 2007 and some of the changes at the factory are dramatic. Of course, the Museum is now finished! The Porsche dealership across the street is open for 'business' (Porsche bought our Hahn years ago, which was the Stuttgart dealership we used to deal with prior to that at their various Stuttgart locations - never in Zuffenhausen). Engine construction is done at a new building! The gate near the 'European Delivery' area has been moved to embark more territory for the factory grounds. More parts are being sourced by vendors via 'just in time' deliveries. Porsche Zuffenhausen is literally an assembly plant - the vendors are the 'manufacturers' of the actual parts that go into the cars! Had the 'pleasure' of seeing a metallic dark blue Boxster assembled with a 'guards red' rear bumper...then pulled off the line to 'correct' the mistake. Never seen that happened. They felt it was better to do this than to disrupt the line...so they put the wrong rear on and then took it off the line to wait for the right part to show up. Why that wasn't picked up earlier by part tracking computers and Quality Control is a mystery to me...and to the tour guide too!
From memory (but remember Alzheimer has set in): Two shifts working at Zuffenhausen at present. Early one starts around 6 am and the other around 2 pm. Around 196 cars being built daily at present. Total time of a 991 in production is around 5/6 days from start to finish. Currently some of the Boxsters are still being built at Zuffenhausen. Maybe up to one third? Caymans and rest of Boxsters are built at the old Karmann plant in Osnabruck. All gasoline engines destined for every Porsche is built in Zuffenhausen (except hybrids or diesels, I think). Road testing a Porsche a thing of the past - although I saw a few 991's drive by on nearby public streets still with protection (hard clear plastic on panels or white plastic wrap), but not the front 'bra' type of olden years! Have no idea why these were being driven in the street...perhaps trouble-shooting!
Today's tours couldn't see the 'mating' of power train to body chassis because two prototypes were in the production lines and were considered 'off limit' to our eyes! 991 gt3? 991 Targa? Who knows! We didn't see anything out of the ordinary when we looked in the general direction of that section of the assembly plant!
Total tour time - 2 hours.
More of my activities today later in the week when I have more time! Need the sleep right now!
Saludos,
Eduardo
My last Zuffenhausen visit was in 2007 and some of the changes at the factory are dramatic. Of course, the Museum is now finished! The Porsche dealership across the street is open for 'business' (Porsche bought our Hahn years ago, which was the Stuttgart dealership we used to deal with prior to that at their various Stuttgart locations - never in Zuffenhausen). Engine construction is done at a new building! The gate near the 'European Delivery' area has been moved to embark more territory for the factory grounds. More parts are being sourced by vendors via 'just in time' deliveries. Porsche Zuffenhausen is literally an assembly plant - the vendors are the 'manufacturers' of the actual parts that go into the cars! Had the 'pleasure' of seeing a metallic dark blue Boxster assembled with a 'guards red' rear bumper...then pulled off the line to 'correct' the mistake. Never seen that happened. They felt it was better to do this than to disrupt the line...so they put the wrong rear on and then took it off the line to wait for the right part to show up. Why that wasn't picked up earlier by part tracking computers and Quality Control is a mystery to me...and to the tour guide too!
From memory (but remember Alzheimer has set in): Two shifts working at Zuffenhausen at present. Early one starts around 6 am and the other around 2 pm. Around 196 cars being built daily at present. Total time of a 991 in production is around 5/6 days from start to finish. Currently some of the Boxsters are still being built at Zuffenhausen. Maybe up to one third? Caymans and rest of Boxsters are built at the old Karmann plant in Osnabruck. All gasoline engines destined for every Porsche is built in Zuffenhausen (except hybrids or diesels, I think). Road testing a Porsche a thing of the past - although I saw a few 991's drive by on nearby public streets still with protection (hard clear plastic on panels or white plastic wrap), but not the front 'bra' type of olden years! Have no idea why these were being driven in the street...perhaps trouble-shooting!
Today's tours couldn't see the 'mating' of power train to body chassis because two prototypes were in the production lines and were considered 'off limit' to our eyes! 991 gt3? 991 Targa? Who knows! We didn't see anything out of the ordinary when we looked in the general direction of that section of the assembly plant!
Total tour time - 2 hours.
More of my activities today later in the week when I have more time! Need the sleep right now!
Saludos,
Eduardo
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04-17-2013, 08:04 PM
#8
Was there in 2011. Great memories. That's the day I decided I was going to buy my first Porsche. Rushed out of my friend's place in Zurich to catch the train to Germany and was gutted I ran off without my camera. Was forced to use my iPhone in lieu of all day. The staff at the museum were very patient with any questions, friendly and accommodating. Can't wait to go back.
04-19-2013, 08:22 AM
#10
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
wednesday April 17th in the Afternoon!
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
04-19-2013, 08:02 PM
#13
Rennlist Member
Thanks for the interesting photos and background info, Eduardo! The dealer just gave me my new Boxster S's VIN from the Osnabrueck plant, but it's fascinating to hear about the new color combinations coming out of Zuffenhausen. 
04-21-2013, 12:28 PM
#14
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
Lunch on Wednesday, April 17th!
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
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
04-21-2013, 12:52 PM
#15
Nordschleife Master
That is fantastic! Thanks for all of the great pics and the stories. This will be quite memorable for you to say the least.
I will definitely try to get myself there.
I will definitely try to get myself there.