Has anyone taken the Porsche factory tour
02-24-2004, 01:24 PM
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Has anyone taken the Porsche factory tour
Looks like I will be taking a business trip to Germany in March and will most likely schedule a side trip to Stuttgart. Has anyone taken a tour of the Porsche factory and if so how was it? I am definitely looking to rent a 996TT and tour the various stretches of unrestricted autobahn 
Any info on how to schedule a tour would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Any info on how to schedule a tour would be appreciated.Thanks!
02-24-2004, 02:22 PM
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Only know the porsche museum. Not very impressive to say the least.
For highspeed driving try the autobahn 81 (A81) from Heilbronn to Würzburg.
Heilbronn is 30 minutes from Stuttgart.
160mph on the digital reading should be no problem with a 996tt.
Avoid rush our on A81.
Dont drive too fast when there is speed limit - cops have civil cars that shoot your drive before they pull you out.
They force you to watch the video but they wont give you a copy
Pretty expensive.
Have turbolicious fun here
For highspeed driving try the autobahn 81 (A81) from Heilbronn to Würzburg.
Heilbronn is 30 minutes from Stuttgart.
160mph on the digital reading should be no problem with a 996tt.
Avoid rush our on A81.
Dont drive too fast when there is speed limit - cops have civil cars that shoot your drive before they pull you out.
They force you to watch the video but they wont give you a copy
Pretty expensive.
Have turbolicious fun here
02-24-2004, 02:51 PM
#3
I took the factory tour last November, and had a great time. I think it is definitely worthwhile. You will learn a great deal about Porsche.
I also enjoyed the museum, which is small but contains cars of high quality.
I also enjoyed the museum, which is small but contains cars of high quality.
02-24-2004, 07:22 PM
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Mike: You cannot just show up. Everyone who was there without a reservation was denied entrance on a tour.
I went 2+ years ago and had the PCA organize my tour. At the time, the person was Ruth Harte (sp?), but I know she has retired. Call the PCA in VA at 703.451.9000. Someone there ought to be able to help you out.
If you're not a PCA member, become one. Or you can contact your local dealer who may be able to help. But the PCA was very responsive.
You will not regret the tour. And I disagree with Stummel (with all due respect) - the museum rotates the cars it displays. When I was there, they had a water-cooled turbo that was cut in half so the visitors could see a cut-away view of the car. Fantastic! But the historical cars were very much worth seeing as well.
The part I liked best were all the test drivers taking the cars fresh off the factory floor for their virgin drive outside the factory. It was amazing how many of those cars were turbos. Be sure to ask your tour guide what it takes to become a Porsche test driver - the answer may surprise you.
It was also fun to watch those who were taking factory delivery of their p-car. They were like little kids in a toy store - huge smiles as they adored their factory-fresh automobiles.
Since my visit, they have completed a new addition to the factory - across from the main factory next to the admin offices (and you should also walk by the admin offices to see what kind of machines THEY drive!). So there's more for you to see/do.
You can't wander around the grounds alone. But if you get a cool tour guide, he/she will "linger" with you and allow you to "take it all in".
It's well worth the trip!
Enjoy!
Dan
I went 2+ years ago and had the PCA organize my tour. At the time, the person was Ruth Harte (sp?), but I know she has retired. Call the PCA in VA at 703.451.9000. Someone there ought to be able to help you out.
If you're not a PCA member, become one. Or you can contact your local dealer who may be able to help. But the PCA was very responsive.
You will not regret the tour. And I disagree with Stummel (with all due respect) - the museum rotates the cars it displays. When I was there, they had a water-cooled turbo that was cut in half so the visitors could see a cut-away view of the car. Fantastic! But the historical cars were very much worth seeing as well.
The part I liked best were all the test drivers taking the cars fresh off the factory floor for their virgin drive outside the factory. It was amazing how many of those cars were turbos. Be sure to ask your tour guide what it takes to become a Porsche test driver - the answer may surprise you.
It was also fun to watch those who were taking factory delivery of their p-car. They were like little kids in a toy store - huge smiles as they adored their factory-fresh automobiles.
Since my visit, they have completed a new addition to the factory - across from the main factory next to the admin offices (and you should also walk by the admin offices to see what kind of machines THEY drive!). So there's more for you to see/do.
You can't wander around the grounds alone. But if you get a cool tour guide, he/she will "linger" with you and allow you to "take it all in".
It's well worth the trip!
Enjoy!
Dan
02-24-2004, 07:28 PM
#5
I think you can arrange tours through your local dealership. A friend at PCNA helped me book mine.
I agree with the comment about the test drives. Every couple of minutes another brand new Porsche rumbles past. I saw a lot of GT3s.
I also had lunch in the Gastekasino. Expensive, but a memorable experience.
I agree with the comment about the test drives. Every couple of minutes another brand new Porsche rumbles past. I saw a lot of GT3s.
I also had lunch in the Gastekasino. Expensive, but a memorable experience.
02-24-2004, 07:32 PM
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I went on a tour a few years ago. They are a customer so I got the customer to arrange it. You can call the tour arranger directly or ask your local dealer to set up the tour.
Here are some of my notes from the tour -
The Porsche museum is located next to the factory and was our first stop. The museum has only 20 cars but the range is very nice from Porsche #1 to a 911 GT1. The museum itself is the starting place for your tour. Factory tour appointments need to be made by telephone ahead of time. So if you plan to go, call: 49 711 911-5384. Fortunately we had an insider to smooth the way.
The factory tour itself takes 2 hours. The factory in Zuffenhausen now makes all 911s and some Boxsters on the same production line. They have a capacity now of 140 cars per day since they claim this is all they can paint in their facilities. They also have a small line that was shrouded where they will also build some Cayennes. They also make Boxsters in Finland and are planning a new production plant in Leipzig for the mass of the new Cayenne SUVs. We witnessed a brief union strike action that delayed the production of 6 Porsches! (30 minutes).
Most interesting to me was the section where they assemble the engines. Porsche engine production starts with the Just-in-Time delivery and commissioning of the components. After the introduction of the components into the production area, the crankshafts and the bearing housing are fitted. All engines are custom made for the car they go into and matched ahead of time. Typically it takes about 85 minutes and if done correctly, no parts should be left over at the station.
They have some nice engine display models for the tourists including the 993 Twin Turbo engine just like mine. All engine variants can be manufactured using the mixed-model system via continuously moving assembly lines.
There were a lot of new water-cooled Twin Turbo engines in production. They test all the engines before they are mated with the body they were intended for. The "hot test" on the engine test rig is situated at the end of the assembly process. The engines are initially brought to operating temperature and then submitted to a functional test with full-load check for about 15 minutes. This procedure ensures the high level of quality expected from Porsche is also a feature of engine manufacturing. It was interesting to learn that Porsche guarantees their engines will put out at minimum the stated specifications on power as well as no more that 5% over that. We could actually touch some engines that were still warm after cool down that were being mated to transmissions.
The different combinations that are possible are dazzling. According to our guide there are over 1.2 billion standard combinations or colors, interiors. When you add the special color requests, it is limitless. Another interesting fact is that Recaro no longer supplies seats to Porsche. They now only make aftermarket seats and sold the production line business to Lear.
The "marriage" (connection of the drive train to the body) is great fun to watch especially the new Twin Turbos with the carbon fiber brakes and the AWD components. The Porsche line is not as automated as other production lines I have seen and they are proud of it. As a result 5 workers carefully line up the components and position them correctly.
My surprises were not to end that day however. We then returned to the R&D center to have lunch in the "casino." Porsche has been voted the #1 company people want to work at in Germany and I can see why. The atmosphere was electric and it appears the engineers there really like their work. Almost all the employee automobiles are Porsches, which makes for a great parking lot. One really popular option in Germany appears to be ultrasonic backup alarms, which I haven't seen in the US.
Here are some of my notes from the tour -
The Porsche museum is located next to the factory and was our first stop. The museum has only 20 cars but the range is very nice from Porsche #1 to a 911 GT1. The museum itself is the starting place for your tour. Factory tour appointments need to be made by telephone ahead of time. So if you plan to go, call: 49 711 911-5384. Fortunately we had an insider to smooth the way.
The factory tour itself takes 2 hours. The factory in Zuffenhausen now makes all 911s and some Boxsters on the same production line. They have a capacity now of 140 cars per day since they claim this is all they can paint in their facilities. They also have a small line that was shrouded where they will also build some Cayennes. They also make Boxsters in Finland and are planning a new production plant in Leipzig for the mass of the new Cayenne SUVs. We witnessed a brief union strike action that delayed the production of 6 Porsches! (30 minutes).
Most interesting to me was the section where they assemble the engines. Porsche engine production starts with the Just-in-Time delivery and commissioning of the components. After the introduction of the components into the production area, the crankshafts and the bearing housing are fitted. All engines are custom made for the car they go into and matched ahead of time. Typically it takes about 85 minutes and if done correctly, no parts should be left over at the station.
They have some nice engine display models for the tourists including the 993 Twin Turbo engine just like mine. All engine variants can be manufactured using the mixed-model system via continuously moving assembly lines.
There were a lot of new water-cooled Twin Turbo engines in production. They test all the engines before they are mated with the body they were intended for. The "hot test" on the engine test rig is situated at the end of the assembly process. The engines are initially brought to operating temperature and then submitted to a functional test with full-load check for about 15 minutes. This procedure ensures the high level of quality expected from Porsche is also a feature of engine manufacturing. It was interesting to learn that Porsche guarantees their engines will put out at minimum the stated specifications on power as well as no more that 5% over that. We could actually touch some engines that were still warm after cool down that were being mated to transmissions.
The different combinations that are possible are dazzling. According to our guide there are over 1.2 billion standard combinations or colors, interiors. When you add the special color requests, it is limitless. Another interesting fact is that Recaro no longer supplies seats to Porsche. They now only make aftermarket seats and sold the production line business to Lear.
The "marriage" (connection of the drive train to the body) is great fun to watch especially the new Twin Turbos with the carbon fiber brakes and the AWD components. The Porsche line is not as automated as other production lines I have seen and they are proud of it. As a result 5 workers carefully line up the components and position them correctly.
My surprises were not to end that day however. We then returned to the R&D center to have lunch in the "casino." Porsche has been voted the #1 company people want to work at in Germany and I can see why. The atmosphere was electric and it appears the engineers there really like their work. Almost all the employee automobiles are Porsches, which makes for a great parking lot. One really popular option in Germany appears to be ultrasonic backup alarms, which I haven't seen in the US.
02-25-2004, 12:18 AM
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Thanks everyone with your great reviews and opinions. This is definitely a must for any Porsche lover if they ever get an opportunity. Thanks for the info. If I do actually make it there I will be sure to update everyone on my experience.
Cheers.
Cheers.
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02-25-2004, 12:35 PM
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You won't be able to take pictures inside the factory. Also, interestingly, it is against the law to photograph people in Germany without their explicit permission. Don't know how that is enforced, but our tour guide told us not to take pictures of the factory workers when snapping photos of the outside of the factory.
02-25-2004, 05:20 PM
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Kinda long - sorry. There were a lot of "things" told to our group where we could say, "Wow, I didn't know that." Here are a few of them...
1) The minimum requirement to be a Porsche test driver (the guys that take the car from the end of the manufacturing line to test them on the street (as opposed to the drivers at the Weissach test track)) - 15 years of experience - all must be at Porsche. There were a lot of test drivers, so that shows that Porsche is able to retain their people.
2) Another related to the engine assembly lines that Kurt alluded to above (when I went, there was a Boxster line, a n/a line, and a turbo/GT/race engine line). An engineer will get a shop cart filled with all the pieces parts for a particular engine. He will be the only one to touch that engine during its entire assembly. We were told is that the assembler's bonus was contingent upon the number of warranty claims on that engine for the next three years. If there were claims dealing with the assembly of the motor, the assembler's bonus was cut. The tour guide didn't go into much more detail, but it was a testimony to how seriously Porsche views quality.
3) THE most fascinating (imo) part of the tour (again, as Kurt mentioned above), is the final step - connecting the drive train to the body. All Porsche cars are pre-purchased - the factory does NOT decide the options of ANY car it assembles. The buyer has pre-determined all options. As I watched this final step, the assemblers put together Boxsters, n/a's, Turbos, GT's all on the same (one car at a time) line. The speed at which this step was completed was incredible. A bit of background on that...
If you recall, Porsche was on the verge of bankruptcy/being sold in the early 1990's. In the mid-1990's Porsche hired Toyota (I believe it was Toyota) to teach Porsche a "just-in-time" assembly methodology. The guide said that change was not easy but that it did save Porsche from bankruptcy/being sold. Most interesting to the Porsche "just-in-time" is all makes/models are run down the same non-drive train assembly line and the mechanics doing the final assembly are trained to do the final assembly for all makes/models. How the drive train bolts onto the body is THE SAME for all makes/models. That way, Porsche doesn't have to train people to do different jobs.
I stood there for a good 30 minutes watching - the tour guide was answering questions off to the side, so he was in no hurry to leave that area - thankfully.
My visit to the factor was my automotive "Mecca"! :-) (like playing St. Andrews was my golfing "Mecca") Anyone who is anywhere in the EU (living, working, vacationing, whatever) should try to get to Stuttgart. But like I said earlier, one cannot just drop in expecting to get on a tour. Organize your tour well in advance through the PCA, your regional chapter, or your local dealer (and I think it was mentioned you could try to book a tour yourself). It was a trip I will never forget!
Dan
1) The minimum requirement to be a Porsche test driver (the guys that take the car from the end of the manufacturing line to test them on the street (as opposed to the drivers at the Weissach test track)) - 15 years of experience - all must be at Porsche. There were a lot of test drivers, so that shows that Porsche is able to retain their people.
2) Another related to the engine assembly lines that Kurt alluded to above (when I went, there was a Boxster line, a n/a line, and a turbo/GT/race engine line). An engineer will get a shop cart filled with all the pieces parts for a particular engine. He will be the only one to touch that engine during its entire assembly. We were told is that the assembler's bonus was contingent upon the number of warranty claims on that engine for the next three years. If there were claims dealing with the assembly of the motor, the assembler's bonus was cut. The tour guide didn't go into much more detail, but it was a testimony to how seriously Porsche views quality.
3) THE most fascinating (imo) part of the tour (again, as Kurt mentioned above), is the final step - connecting the drive train to the body. All Porsche cars are pre-purchased - the factory does NOT decide the options of ANY car it assembles. The buyer has pre-determined all options. As I watched this final step, the assemblers put together Boxsters, n/a's, Turbos, GT's all on the same (one car at a time) line. The speed at which this step was completed was incredible. A bit of background on that...
If you recall, Porsche was on the verge of bankruptcy/being sold in the early 1990's. In the mid-1990's Porsche hired Toyota (I believe it was Toyota) to teach Porsche a "just-in-time" assembly methodology. The guide said that change was not easy but that it did save Porsche from bankruptcy/being sold. Most interesting to the Porsche "just-in-time" is all makes/models are run down the same non-drive train assembly line and the mechanics doing the final assembly are trained to do the final assembly for all makes/models. How the drive train bolts onto the body is THE SAME for all makes/models. That way, Porsche doesn't have to train people to do different jobs.
I stood there for a good 30 minutes watching - the tour guide was answering questions off to the side, so he was in no hurry to leave that area - thankfully.
My visit to the factor was my automotive "Mecca"! :-) (like playing St. Andrews was my golfing "Mecca") Anyone who is anywhere in the EU (living, working, vacationing, whatever) should try to get to Stuttgart. But like I said earlier, one cannot just drop in expecting to get on a tour. Organize your tour well in advance through the PCA, your regional chapter, or your local dealer (and I think it was mentioned you could try to book a tour yourself). It was a trip I will never forget!
Dan
