Chances are you’ve probably seen your fill of silver, black, white, red and grey Porsches. There’s nothing wrong with a Porsche in these standard skins. In fact, they’re all great choices and popular for a reason. However, I’ve always been a fan of the more unique colored Porsches. I like Signal Green, Tangerine Orange, Riviera Blue, etc. I like both bright and muted metallics (just look at my Cayenne or John’s 993) and I even like some of the stranger “paint to sample” examples you see now and then.
A reader’s 911 Turbo S Cabriolet in beautiful “Ice Mist”
Here’s what I want to know, what’s the most unique Porsche color you’ve ever seen? Do you know the name, have a paint code? Let us know by commenting on this post and if you have a picture, send it to us at paintcolors at porschepurist.com or post it on the wall of our Facebook page
Ok, well maybe not Porsche alone, but they did take part in a silver medal winning run during the 2002 Olympics. You see, Porsche helped design the sled, seen below, alongside professional sportsman Georg Hackl. It was with this model that Hackl won the Olympic silver medal in 2002.
80 Years of Porsche Engineering
The sled above, along with a number of other unique designs (including the “Adventure” electric wheelchair with independent four-wheel spring suspension) will be on display at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart as part of a special exhibition that pays tribute to Ferdinand Porsche establishing his first engineering office in 1931. From June 21 until September 11, 2011 visitors will be able to experience the most important and exciting customer developments of the past eight decades. On display will be approximately 20 special exhibits ranging from the development of entire vehicles via engines and transmissions to remarkable industrial projects of the present day.
Next generation of inventors wanted
The Porsche museum is staging a creative competition for young boffins: Children up to the age of 12 are invited to follow in the footsteps of Ferdinand Porsche. The next generation of engineers has until 22nd of August to submit their own original ideas and inventions on anything and everything to do with the car. Materials as diverse as wood, plasticine, paper or polystyrene are allowed. This will culminate in the award of a prize for the most ingenious ideas. The handiwork can either be submitted in person at the Porsche museum information desk or sent by post under the heading “Next generation of inventors wanted”: Porsche museum, visitor service, Porscheplatz, 70435 Stuttgart.
While writing a story about the the 80th anniversary of Porsche Engineering I got to wondering about the alphabet soup that makes up all the various Porsche corporate entities (we all know that Porsche Acronyms are used readily in their marketing). I’m sure, that for a German business person it’s probably second nature and they don’t even give them a second thought (similar to how we might see “LLC” or “Inc” following a company here in the US). However, as someone not familiar with all the various acronyms and abbreviations used in the German business world I decided to look it up and take a stab at identifying everything. Some of the abbreviations are quite obvious; others, not so much. Okay, I admit, the subject matter is a little dry, but it’s something I’ve been wondering about for a long time. Perhaps you were too.
Let’s start at the beginning
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, Konstruktion und Beratung für Motoren- und Fahrzeugbau. Yup, it’s a mouthful and the full name of the company founded by Ferdinand Porsche on April 25th 1931. This company, let’s call it “Porsche Engineering” for short, is what eventually morphed into what we know today as Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG; or, if you want to make it easy on yourself, simply shorten that lengthy moniker to Porsche AG. Porsche AG is the main subsidiary of Porsche Automobil Holding SE (otherwise known as Porsche SE). Confused? Don’t worry, so is everyone else and we haven’t even brought VW into the picture yet. At some point in the future we’ll put together a post trying to explain the capital holding structure of Porsche (for those of you interested) but first I need to figure it out myself. For now, if you really want to make your head spin, take a look at this document. In the meantime, we’ll work on explaining all the acronyms for you below.
Back to the Alphabet Soup
Let’s see, we have:
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche
Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH)
Porsche AG
Porsche SE
If there is an obvious one, I guess it’s the first. “Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche” stands for “DoktorIngenieur honoris causa Ferdinand Porsche.” If we take each piece it’s a bit easier to put it together. “Dr. Ing.” is an acronym for “Doktor Ingenieur” or what we know as a “Doctor of Engineering” (in other words, the equivalent of a Ph.D.). And “honoris causa” simply means an “honorary degree” (Porsche was awarded his in 1917 by the Vienna University of Technology).
“Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung,” or “GmbH” for short, translates directly as a “Company (Gesellschaft) with (mit) Limited (beschränkter) Liability (Haftung).” We would know it as a “Limited Liability Company” or “LLC” here in the States.
With regard to “Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG,” we’ve already explained the beginning and “Porsche” is self-explanatory so let’s look at the “AG”. In 1972 Porsche went public and in 1973 “Porsche AG” was officially entered into the commercial register. “AG” is short for “Aktiengesellschaft” which is a German compound noun that literally translates to shares (Aktien) company (gesellschaft). In other words, it is a company limited by shares or owned by the shareholders.
Last, but definitely not least, is “Porsche Automobil Holding SE.” In this instance, the “SE” is an acronym for the Latin term “Societas Europaea” which translates directly to “European Company.” An “SE” is a form of European Public Company governed by the rules of the Council Regulation on the Statute for a European Company of the European Union.
That’s it. You now know more about German business acronyms than you probably ever wanted to. However, you never know, this could very well be a trivia question in an upcoming Porsche related competition that just might win you a nice prize. Not to mention, if we ever do decipher Porsche’s complex corporate holding structure it will help in understanding how and why it is set up the way it is.
Most Porschephiles know that the first production Porsche was designed and built by Ferdinand Porsche’s son “Ferry” in a small sawmill located in Gmund Austria and marketed as the type 356. However, not everyone realizes that Ferdinand Porsche founded the company we’ve come to know today as Porsche AG on April 25, 1931 under the name of “Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (Gmbh), Konstruktion und Beratung für Motoren- und Fahrzeugbau (loosely translated in English to “Dr. Ing h.c. F. Porsche company with limited liability, construction and consulting services for engines and vehicles” or “Porsche Engineering”). In other words, Ferdinand originally offered engineering services to other automotive and industrial companies. In fact, Porsche’s first designs date back as far as 1900 with the Lohner Porsche and progress onward from there. (If you can’t see the video below in your email, be sure to click on the title of the post above to visit the site and watch it).
As Porsche GmbH grew it won more and more prestigious commission such as the Wanderer limousine, the legendary Auto Union Grand Prix racing car and the VW Type 60 (which later became known as the Beetle) to name but a few. Then, after the launch and success of the 356 in 1948, Porsche GmbH continued onward until the company went public in 1972 and was officially registered in 1973 as Dr. Ing h.c. F. Porsche AG. However, that was not the end of “Porsche Engineering”.
Today, the original and exciting design work is carried on by the Porsche Engineering Group GMBH, based in Weissach. Porsche Engineering’s work consists of complete designs like the Linde forklift built back in 1981 to internal components and engines such as the “Revolution Engine”, a new V2 motor used for the “V-Rod” model of US motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson in 2002.
The 80th anniversary of the founding of the Porsche design bureau in 1931 is one of this year’s central themes for the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. From 21st June to 11th September 2011 the special exhibition entitled “Porsche Engineering – 80 Years of Porsche Designs” will honour the most important and interesting customer developments from the last eight decades. It will display around 20 special examples ranging from whole vehicle developments, through engines and gearboxes to extraordinary industrial projects in the present. The ten vehicle customer developments on display include a Wanderer Limousine from 1931, the legendary Auto Union Grand Prix racing car and the Audi Sport Quattro S1 with Porsche dual clutch gearbox (PDK). The Porsche Museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 9 am to 6 pm. Further information is available on the internet from www.porsche.com/museum.
When I first spotted the picture below on Jalopnik I thought to myself “I need to know the story behind this picture.” As it turns out, there’s some interesting history and I learned about a sport that’s new to me, motor-pacing.
Will you look at the size of that front sprocket?
150 mph is fast, in any car, Porsche or not. Imagine how fast it must be on a bicycle? That was the speed Jean Claude Rude was trying to reach in his attempt to break the world bicycle speed record in 1979 (that’s him in the picture above holding on to the bike).
At the time of Rude’s attempt, he needed to hit 128 mph to break the previous record of 127 mph held and set by Jose Meiffret in 1962. Using a heavily modified Porsche 935, a high-speed track in Wolfburgs, Germany (possibly a VW test track?) and Henri Pescarolo as driver (legendary F1 and Le Mans racer), Rude wanted to shatter the record and thought he could hit 150 mph.
As you can see, the Porsche was modified so that Rude could slide in behind the tail of the 935 (notice the roller on the bumper in the picture above) and draft in the slip-stream that created a near perfect vacuum (that means no friction/wind resistance). Rude was well on his way to achieving his goal and breaking the record when the tire on his bike blew out at speeds north of 105 mph. Miraculously, he was able to keep control of the bike and live for a second attempt.
From there, history get’s a bit hazy. There are conflicting reports about a second attempt (and even reports that Rude was killed by a train trying to set the record), but I’ve been unable to find any references or cite any material that can confirm this. One thing’s for sure, the attempt made history and was even captured as a 1:43 die-cast by Spark (that’s it above).
Believe it or not, this is a fairly popular sport, known as “Motor Pacing” and the current record stands at a staggering 167 mph. 167 mph! Our ’73 911 T gets squirrelly at anything over 110 mph (without an S spoiler on the front bumper, it feels like the front-end is going to lift off). We can’t imagine what it must feel like to be on one of these bikes.
If any of you know more about this story, be sure to let us know!!
Here’s an interesting Porsche Factoid. William Scholar, the founder of the Porsche Club of America, is reported to have directed one of the first Porsche factory tour videos showcasing just how the Porsche 356 was put together titled “Made by Hand” and showcased below. It doesn’t matter if you’re a 356 owner/fan or not. This is a much watch series for all Porsche fans and all PCA members. Many thanks to Richard Sloan for sending it over.
This month’s Porsche Factoid came to me in a round about sort of way. Even better and as an added benefit is inclusive of a book review. Henry Carraro, a PorschePurist.com subscriber and retired business executive living in Central Arkansas is interested in all facets of Porsche, past and present. Henry was nice enough to copy me on an email in his quest to find more information on Porsche’s early racing endeavors in the US. What he subsequently discovered was news to me and provides an interesting read below.
Porsche Raced in NASCAR
Did you know that Porsche raced in the NASCAR series as far back as the 1950s? That’s right, as Henry discovered in the July/August 2007 issue of “Vintage Motorsport Magazine, The Journal of Motor Racing History”, in an article entitled “Them Foreign Jobs” Henry was stunned to find that several Porsche 356 coupes as well as other sports car makes, raced against the likes of Hudson Hornets, Oldsmobile 88s, Ford V8s and the like in sanctioned NASCAR dirt track events in the 50’s, principally in the Northeast.
The post below and book review is courtesy of Henry. If any of you have an interesting factoid about Porsche or would like to guest post, please feel free to contact me to discuss your ideas.
Edgar Otto Sr. puts Porsche into Nascar
I apologize in advance to the author of the article mentioned above. I have misplaced the magazine, and don’t know the author’s name, so I can not provide credit. I remembered reading in the article that Edgar Otto Sr. promoted the first Foreign against American car race of its kind at Langhorne Speedway, in Langhorne, Pennsylvania in 1951.
And as I recall from the article, he personally purchased the Porsches, Jaguars, Aston Martins, and others sport cars from local dealerships in the Northeast and then hired highly qualified drivers to race these cars against the powerful American lead sleds of the day at various race tracks through 1954.
For a little bit of historical trivia, at the Linden airport in Linden, New Jersey in 1954 A.J. Keller in a Jaguar XK120 coupe became the first foreign car to win a sanctioned NASCAR race event in America. The June 13th event was open to both American stock cars and foreign sports cars. Nearly half of the entries in the 43 car starting grid were foreign cars.
Book Review: Nascar’s Silent Partner
Being an admitted Porschephile and wanting to know more about these diminutive Porsche 356 coupes racing in NASCAR, I Googled Edgar Otto Sr. and among other things, I found that this book, Ed Otto: Nascar’s Silent Partner, had been published in 2008. I ordered the book to see if I could find information and perhaps photographs of the Porsche 356 coupes in action.
Although I didn’t find the Porsche 356 photographs I was looking for nor did I find much useful information on the subject, I did find the book to be a very interesting read nevertheless.
The book is part biography and part oral-history of Edgar Otto Sr. and his unique involvement with promoting motorsport events from motorcycles, midget racers, and jalopies to the introduction of stock car racing throughout the Northeast parts of the U.S.A. and abroad. Beginning in the 1920’s his career spans nearly 60 years in motorsports.
The first part of the book is primarily focused on Mr. Otto Sr.’s formative years and introduces many of his “firsts” in motorsport racing history. Using his public relations savvy and vision for promotion, Mr. Otto saw a way of extending the reach of the midget car racing sport with the first live television broadcasts of an automobile race in America. In the world today of multi-billion dollar deals for televised events such as Le Mans, ALMS, NASCAR, NHRA and other racing venues, this first television broadcast by Mr. Otto ushered in a new era for the sport.
The second part of the book describes from an oral-history standpoint how Mr. Otto’s genius in successfully promoting the sport in the Northeast and beyond, caught the attention of the dirt track boys in the Southeast. One chapter of the book describes an organizational meeting held December 1947 to discuss the possibility of solidifying a fragmented and confusing group of auto racing sanctioning bodies at the time, which ultimately lead directly to the formation of NASCAR with Mr. Otto becoming a Vice President and a 40% owner of the organization.
Ed Otto Molds Nascar
The authors takes the reader through the leadership and involvement of Mr. Otto during formative years of NASCAR and how this imaginative marketing genius help mold NASCAR into the phenomenon it has become today and sadly, only to be forced out of the organization as a result of greed and avarice of a few.
This is not to say that what is known today of the historical origin of NASCAR and its pioneers is untrue, but rather that it is widely incomplete, edited and tightly controlled-information releases to humanize and enhance the public image of NASCAR to the benefit of a few.
This book is a rollicking ride of never before told stories through the early days of racing, in particular NASCAR through the eyes of Edgar Otto Sr., sewn together with inputs from dozens of other people who have contributed greatly to the sport of auto racing in America.
I found the book to be entertaining and enlightening. If any of you have more information on the whereabouts of these NASCAR participating Porsches (or any of the other cars mentioned) we would love to know more. Please feel free to contact me or comment on this post below.
Email
, had been published in 2008. I ordered the book to see if I could find information and perhaps photographs of the Porsche 356 coupes in action.
