VIC_50th

Instead of dropping the car off on Monday, we changed our plans a little so we could arrive in Stuttgart today and get a chance to go through the Museum (it is closed on Mondays) - a very good change of plans to be sure.
After discovering the nail in the tire yesterday we were a bit nervous about having to drive 200km, but fortunately the pressure was OK for the whole trip after replenishing about 8psi from the car standing overnight (I think the heat in the tire while driving helped to maintain a better seal); I think we lost only 2 psi over the day. The most embarrassing thing of all was having to drive cautiously - and getting passed by a VW van ...Oh the shame!
The second frustrating thing was getting a rock thrown up by a car changing lanes in front of us, striking the windshield and leaving a nasty chip - at least it didn't hit anything metal, and the windshield can be replaced easily.
The Museum is really something special - even the parking garage is like a museum in itself, with all the various Porschephiles arriving in their cars from all eras, and some of the Museum's surplus cars are parked down there.
A particular treat for us was to park beside a Graphite 911_50, only to discover its limited edition number was 0000 (thus obviously a Museum car, despite the regular plates on it)! Having never seen a Graphite car before, I found the colour striking. We spent a couple of hours going throught the exhibits - I could have spent twice that, easily, but in deference to my wife I hurried along a little (for some reason, she did not feel it was necessary to read every word on every display ). Amongst the history lesson and the many cars displayed, we both liked seeing the 997 Sport Classic; I loved the 911 GT1, a 959, and the Carrera GT. We were disappointed there was no 918 on display.
We spent a while at the Porsche dealership across the road from the museum. There was a black C4S Targa on display - sharp!
When leaving the museum to take our car to the factory drop-off location, I could think of no better way to end our trip than to pull up right onto the plaza in front of the museum to snap one final picture - as it turned out, it was kind of fun because a lot of people came up and wanted to take pictures of my car and talk about it.
Dropping off the car at the factory was seemless, but sad. At least we know we will see it again in a few weeks, and we know we'll have many more exciting trips ahead.

Matt, this picture is for you:

VIC_50th

One more interesting picture, with the reflection in the mirrored tiles above the plaza:

neil.schneider

What a great thread and terrific pictures. Thanks for posting!

London911

Fabulous final two pictures and a stunning thread, thanks so much. Really pleased the tire held for you, even if you did get passed by a VW Van... All the best.

Mondrian

You should post the mirrored reflection picture in the mad photo steels thread, it's simply brilliant and a fitting tribute to the car, your eye for a pic & the trip.

Hugo Gunnarsen

Lol did we meet in Leipzig? I got my 911 TS the very same day, and stayed at the same hotel

(I was the one with my Brother, and Agate Red/Black 911 TS).
Either way I hope you had as great time as I had

VIC_50th

Thanks! I have had a lot of fun doing it! (except for the nail, the windshield chip, and being humiliated by the VW van, of course).

VIC_50th

I posted another picture there yesterday - my car meeting the Graphite Gray #0000 - that was interesting!

VIC_50th

Hugo, I am sorry (I'm Canadian - it's what we say!), my wife and I do not recall that you were in our delivery group - we were there on Thursday May 8th in the morning - the only Turbos we saw were delivered to a couple from London, Ontario picking up a GT Silver TTS Coupe, and a Turbo Cab to a couple from Louisiana.
Did you have a good experience with your delivery? Where did you go on your travels?
Cheers,
Martin

VIC_50th

We did a Zuffenhausen factory tour today, as our very last item on the ED agenda.
In contrast to the Leipzig factory tour, we got to see engines being built (Zuffenhausen builds all of Porsche's engines except the diesels and some V6's - and of course the race engines are done in Weissach), and the upholstery department; the Zuffenhausen factory builds all 3 sports car lines, and like Leipzig, all 3 come down the line in whatever order they were entered into production. We saw the final assembly line where all the components are brought together, followed by the final marriage of chassis to body, but they do not tour you through the body shop or the paint shop. Again, we were amazed at the complexity and precision of the "just-in-time" assembly process. We came away with the realization that EVERY Porsche is a special car - a custom build - as there is no such thing as a single-spec mass-produced model.
There were quite a few Targas being built, and we saw GT3 engines on the engine line (so they are obviously back in production).
I mentioned yesterday there was no 918 Spyder at the museum - well today we saw 2, one on the street just leaving the factory and one in the parking lot at the customer delivery centre with a registration plate - very impressive looking! They are also built in Zuffenhausen, but in a completely different building from the 911, Boxster and Cayman works.

So our experience comes to an end now, as we head home and back to reality tomorrow. For the 3 couples who we met today and who were just about to take delivery of their vehicles, we hope they have as much fun as we have had.

Cheers,
Martin.

Z356

Martin: Are you sure Caymans are currently being built in Zuffenhausen? My understanding was that 981 Caymans are exclusively built at Karmann in Osnabrück! That facility also builds some (but not all) Boxsters. The latter are also built in numbers at Zuffenhausen.

I must tell you that we have vicariously enjoyed your entire European Delivery through your many posts here at Rennlist. Have a safe trip home and hope to meet with you in beautiful BC in the near future!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

.

VOLTCONTROL

Thanks for sharing your amazing Euro-delivery trip with us Vic! You've added some locations to my Alpine-must-see list in the process of showing us where you went.

nr1416

Awesome thread, thanks for sharing. That my favorite colour on the 911_50, congrats!

clangpap

Fixed it for you...

Catherine spent a lot of time at the Carrera GT (hmmm, should I look around?), my favourite was the Pink Pig.

You are truly brilliant, Porsche had a red coupé parked there the day we were there and it never even crossed my mind. There was however a 918 getting ready to be loaded near the ED parking area so a small consolation.

clangpap

IIRC what I was told on my tour is consistent with your understanding. I saw Boxsters on the line, but don't recall any Cayman's