[moralfibre]

Note: Here's a link to my Porsche Cayman Review (from the same trip).

Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH, Konstruktionen und Beratung für Motoren und Fahrzeuge was founded in April 1931 by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche. Porsche was born in 1875 in Austrian town of Maffersdorf. Since childhood, he remained fascinated with engineering and technology with great interest in electrical applications to mechanics.

Porsche landed his second job at Lohner Werke, a coach building company that specialised in building carriages for many a royalty of Europe. When Ludwig Lohner joined his father's business 1887, he envisaged that self powered cars were the future. He hired a young Porsche who was working with Béla Egger since he was 18 years old. At Béla Egger, he successfully developed a wheel hub motor in 1897. In 1898, leveraging his expertise with building the wheel hub motor, Porsche built their first electric vehicle named the Egger-Lohner C2.Phaeton. This was his foray into building mainstream automobiles. To leave his mark on the vehicle, he etched P1 (code name for Porsche 1) on every important component of the car.

In 1899, at the international motor exhibition in Berlin Germany, a race was called for all 19 exhibitors of electric cars. A prize money would be had for the winner who could complete a run from Berlin to Zehlendorf and back, a distance of 40 kms. Porsche got the P1 home with three passengers on board 18 minutes before the second place holder.

Thus began Porsche's journey into the world of automobiles. Despite skipping formal engineering education, Dr. Porsche continued to bring in engineering prowess to the Lohner company until 1906 when he moved to the Austro-Daimler company. In 1923 he moved to the Stuttgart-based Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft company (present day Mercedes Benz) where he continued to work until 1931.

1931 was when Dr. Porsche moved out and established present day Porsche AG. To commemorate decades and decades of engineering excellence for sportscars and a huge heritage in racing, Porsche AG built the Porsche museum in 2009. The museum houses almost all creations from the Stuttgart based car maker.

During our Cayman drive Link. we had the pleasure of visiting the museum and stare in awe at the exhibits frozen in time. The museum is located in Zuffenhausen district of Stuttgart, Germany diagonally opposite the Porsche factory. About 5800 sq ft of space houses close to 80 cars.

The museum is a grand structure and unmistakable for the entire surroundings scream the brand out.



As we made it accidentally to the back of the building, we came across this Porsche tractor getting loaded onto a trailer post restoration:



The frontal area of the museum was buzzing with activity as almost every 2 door sportscar from the stable was parked:





A Porsche 356 parked alongside a Mercedes W108 advertising two famous museums of Stuttgart:







Here's what you would pay to drive one of those sportscars as a part of Porsche experience:



The Porsche P1 was recently discovered in an Austrian warehouse where it stood still since 1902! The car was recently brought into the museum amid much fanfare.



Lohner-Porsche Elektromobil.



Among other heavy engineering, Porsche also produced aviation engines. Here's one such engine on display:



The Hanover fire department was the first to operate fire engines in Germany. The Austro-Daimler Motorspritze pictured here is powered by Porsches famous hub wheel motors developed during his stint with Lohner.





The Austro-Daimler Sascha also called the Sascha Porsche was designed in 1922 by Ferdinand Porsche. The 1100cc light weight sportscar featured an engine with overhead cams that were bevel-driven that pumped out 50hp. The car was capable of hitting a top whack of 144km/h. The car ran at the 1922 Targa Florio and placed itself first and second in the 1100cc class.





The Porsche Type 64 prototype that was built by Ferdinand Porsche for the Berlin-Rome long distance race in 1938-39. This also formed the base design for the legendary 356.





In 1934, Adolf Hitler envisioned a car for the people of Germany. The requirements were quite clear. It should carry a family of two adults and three children, attain 100km/h, should be fuel efficient, must be cheap to maintain and should be aircooled at not over 990 Reichsmark. Ferdinand Porsche took up the challenge and presented the Beetle after 4 years of sustained efforts. A factory was established in 1938 in Fallersleben to commence production of what was named the KdF-Wagen.

Only a handful of cars were produced before focus shifted to military vehicles as world war 2 began in 1939. The project was revived post war in 1948 and this example sold a 100,000 copies by 1950!









The Porsche type 360 Cisitalia. In 1946, Piero Dusio engaged with Porsche engineering for his Cisitalia brand. Porsche produced a car way ahead of its time for Cisitalia. A 1.5 liter supercharged 12 cylinder boxer engine was plonked in a light-alloy body. Power was transmitted to all four wheels via a driver engaged 4WD system. The car produced 382 horses and was capable of a mind boggling 300km/h. However, due to trying post war times, the car doesn't see light of the day beyond testing phase.

[moralfibre]

The Porsche 356 Nr. 1:

Although Porsche was established in 1931, it largely remained an engineering company until 1948 when Ferdinand Porsche along with his son Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche aka Ferry Porsche. Taking cues from his father, Ferry Porsche helped establish and take the Porsche brand further. In the spring of 1948, the first car bearing an exclusive Porsche tag was rolled out. It looked like a sporty version of the Beetle and was named the type 356 Nr. 1. The then provincial government of Carinthia issued an individual permit to Porsche for using the car in test drives on public roads. The engine was 4-cylinder boxer from the VW Beetle with a power boost to 35hp enabling the 356 to hit 135km/h. The Nr. 1 proved its prowess as a sports car in the Innsbruck City race. The 356 was produced carefully in a sawmill in the Austrian town of Gmünd.









Ferry Porsche's famous quote:



A timeline of Ferry Porsche's key events:



The 1948 Porsche 356/2:

The 356 Nr. 1 prototype was modified into a light alloy 356/2 coupé. 52 cars were rolled out of Gmünd Austria. In order to create space for two jump seats in the back, the engine was moved further behind the rear axle. Power was bumped up to 40 hp taking the coupé to 140km/h:







1950 Porsche 356 coupé Ferdinand:

The first type 356 built out of Stuttgart comes out of the factory on a Thursday before Easter. The day marks an important chapter in Porsche's history. Following their tradition of nicknaming test cars, the 356 coupé is nicknamed "Ferdinand". The car is a present to Dr. Ferdinand Porsche on his 75th birthday. The engine remains unchanged from the 356/2.







The 1953 Porsche 356 America roadster:

A roadster version derived from the original Nr. 1 is built exclusively for American markets in 1953. The car tips the scales at a remarkably low weight of 605 kgs by employing an all aluminum lightweight body and a weight saving door design. Since the version is exclusively built for racing, the roadster had bare minimum interiors. Power came from a 1.5L boxer engine putting out 70 horses taking the 356 to a claimed top speed of 177 km/h.









1954 Porsche 356 Speedster prototype:

Taking cues from the success of the America roadster, Max Hoffmann, a US-American importer of Porsches to keep the price less than $3000. The Speedster was a bare equipped 356 with side plugin windows, an externally mounted low windshield and a rain top. The Speedster remained an America only car initially.







1955 Porsche 356 A 1500 GS Carrera Speedster:

The Speedster gets a shot in the arm with a race spec engine from the 550 Spyder. A 2.0L 4 cylinder boxer motor pushing out 100bhp takes the Speedster to a claimed 200km/h! The Speedster's vertical shaft engine was used successfully in the Carerra Panamericana and hence was responsible for "Carrera" badge on the tail.





1959 The Porsche Schlepper standard 218:

What was designed strictly for industrial purposes, became a collectors item!



1962 Porsche 356 B Carrera 2 Cabriolet:

The cabrio version remained the fastest 356 with hitting 100km/h in 9.4 seconds. Only 34 units of the cabrio were built with well crafted interiors. Disc brakes were picked from the F1 race car type 804 that was developed by Porsche.







While staring at beauties, the curators were pushing a 911 out so I stepped away and took some closeup shots:

[moralfibre]

Race cars:

Parked in the center on level 1 are an assortment of Porsche's race cars. Some built on existing platforms while some built completely from ground up.



1960 Porsche 356B 1600 GS Carrera GTL Abarth:

20 of these were produced with a more aerodynamic body of the 356. The car became a gateway for Porsche into the GT class. The car met with resounding success at the Targa Florio in 1962.







1960 Porsche 356B 2000 GS Carrera GT:



1960 The Porsche 718 Formel 2:

Formula one regulations call for exposed wheels on race cars. Porsche developed the 718 based on the successful 718 RSK with a longer wheelbase to accommodate larger fuel tanks. The 718/2 was super successful and by 1961 it was used in F1 races.







1954 Porsche 550 Spyder:

The first Porsche for racing purposes is an all Aluminum mid-engined 4-cylinder 1.5L motor. With 110horses on tap, the car was capable of hitting 220km/h. The 550 shot to fame with a class victory and an overall third place in the Carrera Panamericana races.







1950 Porsche 356 SL Coupe:

An aerodynamic 356 with one of the lowest coefficient of drag:







1962 Porsche 804 Formel 1:

The 804 is the only F1 car developed and built entirely by Porsche. The 8-cylinder boxer engine with a 1488cc displacement churned out 185hp. Disc brakes were developed in house by Porsche and were also used in the Speedster.









1962 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS:



Porsche 904 KH:



Porsche 909 Bergspyder:





Porsche 908 LH Coupe:





Others from the stable:









No, I did not forget to correct the orientation of the picture

[moralfibre]

Porsche 911s

The 911 has remained Porsche's flagship product since inception in 1964. When time came to build a successor for the 356, F.A. Porsche was tasked upon the project. The result was the Porsche 911 that made its debut in the 1993 Frankfurt motor show. 7 generations of the 911 have succeeded the original. Despite decades of existence, the car continues to have impressions of the original 911.

1965 - Porsche 912 Coupe





1966 Porsche 911 2.0 Targa







Porsche 918/4:





Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Coupe:







Porsche 911 Turbo:

[moralfibre]

The 924s, 944s, 928s and 968s:

924 arena:















The 944 arena:

























Porsche 928s:







And lastly the 968s

[moralfibre]

Showcase of Porsche's glorious motorsport history. Over 30000 race victories are a sure sign of their impeccable success:



Late 90s and early 2000s



The Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe Polizei:



2000 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup:





2002 Porsche 911 GT3 RS 996



Porsche 911 GT1 Straßenversion (Street version):





2008 Porsche RS Spyder:









The Porsche Boxster:









Porsche 911 Targa 3.5:





Porsche 911 Sally Carrera:





The 911 Carrera 4S Cabrio:







911 GT2:







Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia edition:





The 911 GT3 R Hybrid:

[moralfibre]

911s from various generations on a rotary display placed at the far end of level 1:

[moralfibre]

Credits to three generations of contributions from the Porsche family.

(R-L)

- Ferdinand Porsche's Type 64.
- Ferry Porsche's 356
- F.A. Porsche's 911



The Porsche Carrera GT:











911 GT3 RS:







The Porsche Cayman S Sport:











The 911 Speedster:







All GTS models on display:

[moralfibre]

The 918 Spyder:

The 918 looks delicious! Despite losing trademark Porsche lines, the car holds its own in the supercar scene:











A simulator based gaming center:



Want to experience engine sounds from various Porsches? Stomp the pedal down at one of these stations:



A look at the Porsche square housing Porsche headquarters, the factory, museum and a showroom:



The historical archive holds upcoming exhibits for the museum as also those that are rotated from the museum floors. Access is restricted:

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Classic Car Section. Thanks for sharing!

[Teesh@BHP]

Wow, thank you for this amazing virtual tour of the museum!

BTW, How many of you have played Need for Speed- Porsche Unleased game?

In the evolution mode of the game, gamers could experience Porsche's entire fleet; from 356 to 996 between 1950s to 2000s. It was awesome I could recognise so many of these cars because of that game. Nostalgic!

[raghu.bramha]

Originally Posted by Teesh@BHP

Wow, thank you for this amazing virtual tour of the museum!

BTW, How many of you have played Need for Speed- Porsche Unleased game?

In the evolution mode of the game, gamers could experience Porsche's entire fleet; from 356 to 996 between 1950s to 2000s. It was awesome I could recognise so many of these cars because of that game. Nostalgic!

Thanks for reminding. I got it installed on my laptop recently, just to go back in time. I played it in my college days and loved it. As you mentioned in evolution mode you get to drive and race every 356 and 911 series car. Its a smart game where the control and handling improves as you progress over the models.
Factory Driver was the most fun part of that game. Man! it was epic fun back then. Some cheat code even had an option to drive RC versions of the cars it was hillarious

[911GT3RS]

Hey thanks for this wonderful post. Great pictures and a lot of information! Cheers!

[1.2TSI7DSG]

Originally Posted by Teesh@BHP

Wow, thank you for this amazing virtual tour of the museum!

BTW, How many of you have played Need for Speed- Porsche Unleased game?

In the evolution mode of the game, gamers could experience Porsche's entire fleet; from 356 to 996 between 1950s to 2000s. It was awesome I could recognise so many of these cars because of that game. Nostalgic!

I have played extensively! the museum is actually a flashback to that game!

[PratikPatel]

Thank you so much for sharing your visit and experience . It brought back some fond memories of my visit to the Porsche factory at Leipzig.

The factory has a Porsche experience centre and a on-road circuit attached to it. The circuit is unique as it incorporates unique features from world famous circuits e.g. the infamous Corkscrew from Laguna Seca, the Suzuka S from Suzuka and the Mobil 1 chicane from Nurburgring to name a few.

Two types are of driving experiences are offered on the circuit; Pilot and Co-Pilot. For anyone wanting to experience the drives I would recommend doing both. First the Pilot one where you can drive with a professional instructor guiding you and then do the Co-Pilot one where you are literally hanging on for your life with the driving instructor (one of the Factory Porsche Team drivers) taking it to the limit. It will be a really exciting and yet a humbling experience where you will leave your ego at the starting line and will not pick it up again after the drive.

The experience centre has a exclusive groumet restaurant where we were treated to 3 course lunch before being a tour of the factory. After lunch we were shown the museum on the first floor on the experience centre.

Unfortunately, cameras are not allowed inside the factory. The factory is the final assembly plant for Cayenne, Panamera and the Macan models. The production line was a revelation in perfect synchronisation of various parts of the system working togeather. The factory does not have a engine plant. The engines come from Porsche Stuttgart for petrol engines and Audi Gyor, Hungary for diesel engine via freight trains and there is a train yard attached to the factory.

The unique thing about the production line was its flexibility. No 2 cars were the same on the production line. About 90% of cars are unique made to order for customers who have chosen to customise the interiors along with some of the body kit and car colour. In addition to this customisation, all 3 models are made on the same line. So there was a Cayenne followed by a Macan. A Petrol followed a Diesel. All parts were delivered to each station as a kit that was unique to the said car at that station. And to add to the complexity of the line, each car could be for a different market. For example a Panamera left hand drive destined for U.S. was being assembled on the same line as a Cayenne right hand drive destined for Australia. There are only 2 robots in the factory. They are for installing the front and back glasses. The robots are flexible and perform a complex ballet of alternating between cleaning the glasses, apply glue, installing the glasses and checking them with a laser.

The visit culminated with on road experience and a visit to the Porsche shop for some souvenirs. The visit took the better part of a whole day but was totally worth it.

The visit was one highlights of my trip and would love to do it again. Maybe this time I will visit BMW Berlin for a motorcycle experience.

Some photos from the visit (I hope you don't mind my posting these on your thread):


The Porsche Experience Centre


Porsche offers restoration services. The picture shows the dramatic difference of before/after your car has been restored to its former glory.




The infamous Porsche Tractor




The amazing monocoque carbon fibre chassis for the Carrera GT.