friar93

Article on Boston.com.... http://www.boston.com/cars/car_revie...e_past/?page=2

The ignition lock, on the left of the steering column, is there because, originally in the 001, it was cheaper than locating it in the conventional place to the right. "It saved a little bit of wire, a little bit of money," Bischof says, "and maybe 200 grams." This bit of thrift has become Porsche tradition.

thought this was a racing leftover from when racers jumped into the car to start the race?

debate.....

b5audia4

I thought it was the racing heritage too - start and put in gear with both hands.

Arena993

That is what I thought a well.

Mike

face-ache

Thats the reason it was on the left in the 001.. racing. so why not leave it? not sure why they would want to move it to the right?

cabrio993

"The ignition lock, on the left of the steering column, is there because, originally in the 001, it was cheaper than locating it in the conventional place to the right. "It saved a little bit of wire, a little bit of money," Bischof says, "and maybe 200 grams." This bit of thrift has become Porsche tradition."


That's just BS. If cost savings was their first thought when placing the ignition to the left, wouldn't you think that the original VW bug - the car for the masses - would have had it there too?

And to shave 200 grams of weight? Pleeeeaseeee....

gonzilla

I'm skeptical about this claim too. I wonder where he got his info. Just looking at the 001, it seems like there would be many more ways to cut costs than moving the ignition to the left.

David in LA

so why is the ignition on the right of the wheel on a Euro-spec RHD car??

AOW162435

I call horse****.


Andreas

Terry Adams

The clever folks at Saab have for years put it in the middle to avoid controversy

and save money on LHD to RHD conversions.

95 C4 993

Come one, everyone knows it was designed that way for left handed people, like myself.

cabrio993

I guess this 356, from one of Andreas pictures on another post, weights 200 grams more and costed $3 more to make...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...H/IMG_0040.jpg

Cincy_Ron

It's not on the steering column either, it's on the dash. I don't think the guy knows what he's talking about.

Doc V.

Klaus Bischof has managed the Porsche factory museum for many years.

AOW162435

Don't forget his stint fabricating 993 mufflers.


Andreas

jimbo3

Porsche's own website says it was originally on the left to aid LeMans style starts.