Now, I’ll be the first to admit that Porsche is not one of my favourite brands of car manufacture. In fact, I’m pretty much tend to dislike any modern example of Porsche. They are slightly dull to look at, with no revolutionary steps in its design philosophy. Porsche say it is evolution of their halo model; the 911, but the results to me are far from pretty. This is why I would not be seen behind the wheel of a 911 (997).
However, despite my dislike for Porsche, I heard that my local dealer had some examples of Porsche history at their showroom. So I thought it best to head down and have a look on the behalf of R&CC.
I headed in through the glass doors into my idea of hell. I was seeing Porsche after Porsche with a very demanding salesman trying to flog one to me. I didn’t. Instead I headed into motoring nevada. The whole first floor had been cleared to make room for the historic Porsche’s.
The star of the exhibit was a Porsche 917K from Porsche’s 1970 Le Mans campaign. It was sadly not finished in the trademark Gulf racing colours, never the less it was hugely gorgeous, like a wheeled equivalent of Eva Padberg; in other words stunning with voluptuous curves and German.
Porsche 917K ready to race
Then there was a Porsche Spider, similar to the one James Dean had.
A 935 “Baby” Works was also on display. In its Sunday best; the Martini stripes livery. This car came equipped with a Flat Six turbocharged engine and was made out of aluminium.
Keeping the 935 company was a Porsche oddity. It was a 911 Dakar rally car. One of the first cars Prodrive had a hand in developing.
Porsche 911 Dakar Rothmans
There were some later German metal, from more recent Le Mans campaigns, one of which fellow Scotman, Alan McNish drove. Alan is still on the Endurance circuit, but he is now driving for Audi, not Porsche.
Porsche 911 GT1 1998
While I was there at the dealer I witnessed a 911 Sport Classic ducktail (complete with the Fuchs Alloys). This is a 997 with retro Porsche design cues. A Ducktail Spoiler from early 911’s and some Fuchs Alloys. It was very nice, but for the asking price, it will have to be even nicer. However, Porsche has already sold its production of the Sport Classic, all 63 have been sold.
The new kid on the block - Porsche 911 (997) Sports Classic
A stripey individual, but a real Porsche?
A set of Fuch’s to set it off
All the retro Porsches on display were either from Porsche’s Heritage collection in Stuttgart or from private Collectors.
So, thankfully I survived - I had to go under the radar as I am a Saab Enthusiast and they may be against my “Un-Porscheness”. Plus, I did not buy a Porsche, retro or otherwise and I witnessed some amazing machinery. A good day at the office? You bet.
