The Museum run by Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, Germany, has bidden “bon voyage” to its legendary one-of-a-kind Type 64 Berlin-Rome Car. Befitting the 60th anniversary of Porsche in America, the destination of the aluminum body of the Type 64 is the High Museum of Art here – the home of Porsche’s U.S. headquarters. This trans-oceanic trip to The High marks the first time the elegantly aerodynamic coupe has ever ventured outside of Germany.
The Type 64 will be a feature of The High’s “Allure of the Automobile” exhibition running March 21 to June 20, 2010.
In “The Allure of the Automobile,” The High – considered the Southeast’s leading fine-art museum – expresses its recognition of the outstanding automotive developments in the period from 1930 to 1960, focusing on the contrasts in the development of American and European automotive design. Type 64, which will be exhibited in its own gallery space, will be presented along with several other icons of the world of automobiles from Bugatti, Duesenberg, Jaguar, Ferrari, Pierce Arrow, Packard, Cadillac and Tucker. The 71-year old Porsche design, viewed as the precursor of all Porsches, is considered a triumph of exceptional design, innovative construction and superb craftsmanship.
Type 64 marks an essential milestone en route to the first Porsche, the Type 356 “No.1” built in 1948, and thus is of special significance in Porsche history. Built in 1938/39 under the guidance of Ferdinand Porsche, this unique car displayed the features that make Porsche cars special – light- weight construction and superior aerodynamics, exceptional performance, efficient yet reliable technology and a uniqueness of design – that remain embedded in the brand’s DNA to this day. Originally developed for the Berlin-Rome long-distance race, the Type 64 never participated in a race due to the onset of World War II.
“This incredible design piece is the only prewar Porsche and it has never been seen outside Germany,” said Detlev von Platen, President and CEO of Porsche Cars North America. “This may be a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ chance to see the Type 64 as it may not venture to this Hemisphere again for quite some time.”
Porsche, the sponsor of “The Allure of the Automobile” exhibit at The High Museum of Art, is also displaying another historic car, the 1953 Porsche 550 LeMans coupe, which will be on loan from the private Collier Collection of Porsche in Naples, Fla.
To learn more about the High Museum of Art and the exhibition, please visit www.High.org
When a nationally renowned fine art museum is showcasing cars as masterpieces of art in your home town you pay attention. When you are Porsche you become a patron and help welcome the cars that represent the industry’s most incredible designs.
The High Museum of Art exhibition, called, fittingly, the “The Allure of the Automobile,” is sponsored by the famous German sports car company, headquartered in Atlanta, and will feature some of the world’s most rare and spectacularly conceived vehicles ever produced. Among these exquisite collectors items from both sides of the Atlantic will be a 71-year old Porsche design that is considered the precursor to all Porsches—the 1938/39 Porsche Type 64.
This incredible design piece is the only prewar Porsche and has never been exhibited outside of Germany. It will be carefully removed from its perch at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart and flown to Atlanta for the exhibition that begins on March 21 and ends on June 20.
Porsche is also displaying another historic car, the 1953 Porsche 550 LeMans coupe, which will be on loan from the private Collier Collection of Porsche in Naples, Florida.
Porsche Rolling Sculptures
Sometimes referred to as “rolling sculptures,” the incredible cars of the show are a mixture of innovative engineering, uncompromising workmanship and breakthrough design. When viewed as pieces of art, they give admirers a completely new way of looking at the great design periods of our time, spanning the movements from the 1930s to the mid 1960s.
“Our visitors will be surprised to find that today’s vehicles come from a legacy of beauty and innovation comparable to the finest decorative arts that may be found in museum collections,” said Michael E. Shapiro, Director of the High Museum of Art. “This exhibition will showcase the greatest feats of engineering and luxury design from 1930 to 1965, when cars became synonymous with success, power and wealth. Created for the privileged few, the luxurious, custom-built automobiles embodied speed, style and elegance, and influenced art, architecture, fashion and design.”
Six Decades of Porsche in the U.S.
“The Allure of the Automobile” is being sponsored by Porsche Cars North America (PCNA), which is headquartered in Atlanta and is celebrating the brand’s 60th anniversary of selling cars in the U.S.
“The partnership with the High Museum of Art, one of the world’s renowned art museums, is a perfect fit for us,” said Detlev von Platen, President and CEO of PCNA. “This incredible exhibition, ‘The Allure of the Automobile,’ is a celebration of ground-breaking design and engineering — a theme that resonates throughout our brand.”
An Object of Design and Desire
As a focal point of the exhibition, the one-of-a-kind Porsche Type 64 is a unique object in automotive history. It is unlike any other car on display; in fact it is not actually a car at all, but a hand-built, aluminum shell that represents the essence of Porsche design. Even today, when new Porsches are being developed, designers still look to the Type 64 to remind them of the brand’s unique legacy.
The Golden Age of Design
As part of the “The Allure of the Automobile,” the Type 64 will be joined by an iconic list of the world’s finest cars from the “golden age of automobile design.” These include masterpieces by Bugatti, Duesenberg, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Pierce Arrow, Packard, Cadillac, Tucker and others. This first-of-its-kind presentation traces the evolution of the motorcar from the mid 1930s to the mid 1960s, examining the contrasts between American and European design, the influence of decorative arts and design and the significant changes in automotive styling and engineering both before and after World War II.
“Until World War I, most cars had been utilitarian objects with one principal goal: transportation,” said Ken Gross, guest curator of the exhibition. “But as tastes and wealth coincided, designers could create and/or customize an automobile’s body, dramatically altering its silhouette and decoration and producing artful, one-of-a-kind objects. Lavish and often beautifully trimmed with aluminum, chrome, inlaid wood and lacquer, the streamlined silhouettes of the finest mid-century cars represent prime examples of Art Moderne design.”
While the first part of the exhibition will spotlight the custom coachwork, art-inspired styling, luxury and opulence marked vehicles from the pre-war era, the second segment of the exhibition focuses on how the industry shifted in the post-war years, with the Europeans moving towards smaller, sportier models, while the American manufacturers concentrated on mass-producing cars for a booming economy.
To learn more about the High Museum of Art and the exhibition, please visit www.High.org
For those of you who couldn’t attend the 36th Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races in person last August, there’s the next best thing in Speed Channel’s hour-long special coverage of the event this Friday, October 16 at 8 p.m Eastern / 5 p.m. Pacific. You can catch all the action of 450 vintage cars racing in 15 groups spanning nearly every era of motorsports today as well as the passion of their drivers who consider this the most significant vintage racing event in the country. As most of you know, this year’s event featured Porsche as the honored marque.
While this first video starts off a little slow, it does have it all; a compilation of all the other videos below. So, if you watch just one, this is it. However, I would highly recommend you take a look at each of them. Even though some of the footage repeats from video to video it is minimal and there are some amazing cars and shots included in each one.
Monterey Video Compilation
About 50 seconds in, make sure you have the volume turned up and then get ready; Included is footage of the historic races, some of Porsche’s most famous and important race cars, interviews with Michael Mauer (designer of the Panamera), thoughts from Klaus Bishoff (head of Porsche’s rolling museum) and Porsches at Pebble Beach.
My favorite quote from the video, “To drive an RS 60 Spyder is a very good feeling. If you drive a 550 Spyder you’ll feel a little bit like James Dean but with the RS 60 it was a real race car and it make you happy!”
As most of you know by now, the featured marque at this year’s Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races is Porsche, and it is fitting that two people so connected with the legacy of Porsche – the late Bob Carlson and Bob Snodgrass — were honored in a Porsche Race Car Parade. Carlson was the PR Director for Porsche North America for many years, while Snodgrass was a principal in Brumos Porsche.
As the Porsche race cars lined up on the front straight at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, David Donahue and Hurley Haywood took the front row in Brumos Porsches. (Donohue won the 2009 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in a Brumos Porsche and hopes to repeat the victory next year; Haywood, a Le Mans winner, is a Brumos teammate.) A third car, the Porsche 962 once driven by the late Bob Akin and handled today by Kees Nierop, joined them on the front row. For Porsche devotees, this was a touching moment; the sight of these three cars clearly brought back moments of triumph and brilliance.
Behind the trio were dozens of Porsches of every vintage, neatly lined up and waiting for the signal to set out and pay tribute to those who gave so much to the sport. As Haywood and Donohue completed their first lap, they were side-by-side in a Brumos salute to Snodgrass.
“It’s some of the personal stuff that means more than anything else at this time,” said Donohue, who was close to Snodgrass and, as a celebrity driver here, was honored by Rolex at a special dinner last evening after a full day of signing autographs.
When asked what he made of all the old cars here, Donohue, whose late father Mark Donohue is a racing legend, said: “For me, growing up with my Dad in his era, I have kind of an emotional attachment with a lot of these cars. And now to be able to get into a couple of them and have people know who I am — even though I am not to the scale of Hurley Haywood, Vic Elford or Derek Bell or so many of these other guys here – it’s great to be in their company”
Haywood had his own personal take on the sentiment. “It’s really wonderful to be in a position to look out on the paddock area and see some of the very cars I have raced in my career, which spans over forty years. And when I walk over to one of those cars it brings back wonderful memories. It makes me realize I have been doing this for such a long time and the cars bring flashbacks in time, but it seems like it was just yesterday when I was doing it.”
Haywood added that he had the opportunity yesterday to drive an early Porsche Formula 2 car. “It was a wonderful way of looking at a span from that car to the current Porsche prototypes and the technology that has gone on with the different formats that Porsche has developed — from formula cars to closed wheel cars, sports cars to prototypes,” said Haywood. “And with each and every venture they have tried, they have done it superbly and have managed to put cars in each of those categories in Victory lane.”
Racing for eight of 15 groups took place today, while special introductions for two new cars – the Devon GTX and the Fisker Plug-in Hybrid — rounded out the action. Spectators may have noticed Jay Leno walking the paddock area, and those in the know caught actor and accomplished driver Patrick Dempsey taking to the raceway in his 1992 Mazda RX792P. After wrapping up filming on his latest project, the actor drove to Monterey, arriving in the wee hours of the morning and registered last-minute.
“I had a blast, these cars are phenomenal,” said Dempsey, who finished fourth in his group. “This is the fastest car I have ever driven and it was exciting. I really appreciate the support from Mazda, as always, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to go racing.especially with the Grand Am and the experience I am getting there, I’m getting faster and faster, and one of these days I am going to win one.”
As for the Monterey Historic Automobile Races, Dempsey said, “It’s very moving when you see the cars that went out before us. You step back in time and you honor the drivers who have done this before as well as the designers and manufacturers. When you see them here collectively racing, its absolutely wonderful for the sport.”
Okay, so maybe not the exact lyrics of the song, but you get the idea? How many of you are headed to the Monterey Peninsula (or are already there) for this week’s Porsche festivities? A portion of the PorschePurist.com team was planning on attending the event starting this Thursday (yours truly). We had everything scheduled and planned out including some time behind the wheel of a new Panamera and a full week with a Boxster S driving the PCH. In addition to driving some great Porsches, we had planned on documenting and photographing all the Porsche goodness at The Quail, Laguna Seca, Pebble Beach, etc. Basically, anywhere we found Porsches (which will be all over the Peninsula) we were going to be there with our cameras. Unfortunately, a member of the team (Lucy, one of our dogs) became very sick and we have to cancel our trip.
So, here’s my question to you. Would any of you attending be willing to send me pictures as you have the time? I’m specifically interested in pictures of the Porsche Zentrum (the picture above is of the Zentrum being prepared for the event), any of the numerous famous racing Porsches featured at Laguna Seca and anything else of interest. I will post the pictures in the new Porsche Purist flickr account and will use them in a future post as well (proper credit and links to be provided of course). If interested, let me know by commenting below or using the contact page to get in touch.
Porsche Zentrum
The Zentrum is a specially built facility based on aspects of the new Porsche museum and the flagship dealerships from around the world. This free-standing building is built prominently on the grounds of the Quail Lodge and will showcase the new Panamera and much of the new technology to be found in today’s Porsche sports cars. Here’s a picture I was sent today of the Zentrum being made ready for prime time.
36th Annual Rolex Monterey Historics
As the featured marque of this year’s event, Porsche is expecting more than 450 historic race cars to be in attendance, racing and on display. In addition to these privately owned cars, four historicaly significant Porsche race cars will be on display from the Museum including:
1960 Porsche Type 718 Formula 2 racing car, which gave Porsche its first Formula 2 world title and was driven in 1961 by Californian Dan Gurney, is making its North American debut.
1962 Porsche Type 804 Formula 1 racer, the car that brought Dan Gurney to his win that year in the French Grand Prix. This car has not been in North America since the 1960s.
1962 Porsche Type 718 W-RS 8-cylinder Spyder, in which Gurney and Joakim Bonnier finished second at the Targa Florio in 1961, has also not been in North America for more than 40 years. In the 1960s, it was raced in the U.S. by Gurney, Jo Bonnier and Phil Hill.
The Porsche GT1 98LM, which helped Porsche finish 1-2 at the 1998 24-hours of Le Mans event.
Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
Porsche is displaying the Panamera at the legendary Lodge at Pebble Beach and for the second time in the history of the Concours, organizers have created a Porsche class to include racing legends from the 1950s through the 1980s on display at the famed 18th fairway at the Pebble Beach Golf Links. Notable Porsches to be on display at Pebble Beach to include:
356 driven by Manfredo Lippman in the 1953 Carrera Panamericana.
917/10 driven by John Fitzpatrick in the German Interseries.
The Porsche 917K Steve McQueen drove in the movie Le Mans
With Porsche as the featured marque at this year’s Rolex Monterey Historics, the PorschePurist.com team is planning on making the cross country trek in order to attend and enjoy all the Porsche goodness. For those of you not familiar with the Rolex Monterey Historics, their web-site has a wealth of information available on the event, schedule, things to do, where to stay, etc. etc. You can also take a look at historic videos, pictures and stories from the events 35 + year history. Here’s an example below for your enjoyment.
Carmel-By-The-Sea Concours on the Avenue
If you are planning on attending, one thing you may want to consider is the Carmel-By-The-Sea Concours on the Avenue. This event, held Tuesday, August, 11 features multi marques from 1940-1973 and Porsches and Ferraris through 1989. In recognition of Porsche’s 60th Anniversary there are over sixty Porsches currently entered. Bruce Anderson (noted Porsche author and one of this year’s judges) had the following to say,
“This is the third year for this great event. The first year it was Multi Marques only, but that did include some Porsches and Ferraris. Lat year we had two separate shows: one for The Multi Marque cars and another for the Ferraris and Porsches. This year all three shows are combined on one day and Porsche is being Featured, we already have over sixty car entered.”
For Concours de Elegance information you can check out www.motorclubevents.com.
If any of you have been to the Monterey Historics in the past we would greatly appreciate your thought and input on the show? What are the things that are a “must see”? Any special tips on avoiding traffic? Where to sit for the best view of the races? Basically, anything you can think of, good or bad, would be appreciated. Let us know by commenting below.
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and one of this year’s judges) had the following to say,
