It was already for years the daydream of many enthusiasts of « Die Marke ». A modern museum where more than 6 decades of Porsche sports car making can be properly celebrated and displayed.

A museum and building bearing witness to a unique automotive legend of becoming the most profitable sports car builder of the world, thanks to having maintained throughout all these years a clear vision of how a sports car should be :   superbly engineered down to the smallest detail, build with love and craftmanship, each and every car to become a quality object with deserves to be driven, but also kept and maintained in order to pass it on to further generations.

The go ahead for the construction of the new museum at the Porscheplatz in Zuffenhausen was given four years ago by the Porsche board, and the building operations began in 2005.   

The present day Carrera GT still breathes the character and style of the early racing Porsches...

Let us remind you here that Zuffenhausen is the true birthplace of these four wheeled gems. Already some 70 years ago, the Porsche « Konstruktionsburo » moved from the town center of Stuttgart to the « Stammwerk » or the original home factory of Porsche. Within the walls of this factory the « Null » or 0-series of the Beetle was born, and also the Type 64 Berlin-Rome car, which we still consider the original ancestor of all Porsche cars. The aerodynamics, the careful engineering, the air-cooled engine in the rear, the efficiency of it all, this was already in all aspects a true « Porsche »…

Many fans still consider the 911 as being "the" Porsche ueberhaupt... and in 1975 the car had become already a legend...and the car has always been built in Zuffenhausen.   

From 1950 onwards, the Zuffenhausen factory became the birthplace of the Porsche production cars, and right until this day the 911-series and all the Porsche engines are built there.  Amidst the original factory and the works dealership, which is situated  a few hundred yards from the Porscheplatz,  will arise the new museum, and so will Porsche history have at last its proper place.

The architecture…

The building designed by the Viennese architects Delugan Meissl is striking to say the least. The main “body” of the building seems to float above the visitors, carried by concrete support arches. The building reflects dynamism and boldness, and is just as perfectly engineered, designed and constructed as the cars. The visitor is led from the ground floor to higher spheres when going further into the building, walking ever deeper into this inspiring  and uplifting “Porsche World”. The whole lay-out of the museum could hardly be more fitting to the Porsche philosophy.  

The museum in its final stages of construction in November 2008... is planned to open on January 31st. 2009

… And the exhibition

Some 80 cars will be displayed in the museum. But next to the four-wheeled icons such as the 356, 550, 911 or 917 Porsches, the visitor can also admire technical masterpieces of Ferdinand Porsche himself, masterworks he created in the 1920s.

Here you can see for yourself that the Porsche name was already synonymous of engineering excellence and perfection, as Ferdinand Porsche was not the man to be satisfied with a less than absolutely perfect technical solution.

Going from the foyer to the exhibition area, the visitor is led into the vast exhibition area of the Porsche history. The museum concept uses three main elements: the “Porsche Idea”, the “Product History” and the “Theme areas”.

The “Porsche Idea” points to the revolutionary and individual technical solutions for interesting challenges in almost all areas of mobility. The visitors discover here the values, the motivation and the philosophy of Porsche, which form the basis of the present successes of the company.

The then very young Ferdinand Piech (with opened jacket and shirt showing) shows the Porsche board members proudly the all-new 917, a mythical sports racer if there is one...  

The “Product history” shows in a chronological display the history of Porsche cars from the early beginnings in 1948 towards the present.

The “Theme areas” focus on separate, fundamental aspects of the history of Porsche. For example, one theme zooms in on the individual models, like the “Evolution 911”, which describes the technical and formal development throughout the years of this legendary car, which by many is still seen as “the” Porsche.

Another theme describes the motor sport history of “Le Mans”, and brings together the sports racing Porsches spread over several decades.

An idyllic 50's scene: this young couple is certainly a living part of Porsche history... maybe their children are now also driving Porsches?  

The museum will open its doors for the first time on January 31^st 2009.

Needless to say we are quite anxious to see it, and hope to visit the museum in spring, driving to Zuffenhausen at the wheel of… a Porsche of course!

Hans Knol ten Bensel