Saturday, April 30, 2011

Porsche on board to celebrate 125 years of the automobile.

Coming up next weekend in Stuttgart, Germany. Porsche will be teaming up with Mercedes Benz and Audi to stage a 125 car parade through Germany's car crazy town. 2011 marks the 125th birthday of the automobile and what a great way to mark the occasion. Porsche will be pulling 45 of their most historic cars. Porsche's presence will include everything from 1948 Porsche 356 no.1 to a 917 that won LeMans in 1970 to a Carrera GT to a 356 Cabriolet police car. Many of the cars will be driven by current and former Porsche  factory race drivers which is an added bonus. All of the festivities will kick off in the Porscheplatz in the center of Stuttgart. This will certainly be a birthday to remember.

Source: Porsche

Press release:

The "125 years of the car" birthday procession kicks off on the Porscheplatz

Porsche classic cars on the streets of Stuttgart


Stuttgart. On Sunday 8 May 2011, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, will be teaming up with Mercedes-Benz and Audi, two other car brands also based in Baden-Württemberg, to stage a car procession through Stuttgart. 125 vehicles, contemporary witnesses all, will bring the history of the three carmakers to life – in some cases with well-known drivers at the wheel. The Zuffenhausen sports car manufacturer will be putting 45 current and historic vehicles from more than six decades of Porsche history on the start line.

The “125 years of the car” procession will get under way at 11.00 a.m. at the Porsche museum, which will be offering visitors free admission on the day. Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Board of Management of Porsche AG, will head the birthday procession in a Porsche 911 Turbo S – together with his Mercedes-Benz and Audi opposite numbers. Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE, will be driving the first Porsche prototype, the Type 356 “No. 1”, developed by his father Ferry Porsche in 1948.

Current and former Porsche AG works and racing drivers will also be taking part in the drive through the town. For example, racing legend Hans Hermann will be piloting the Porsche 917 KH on the streets of Stuttgart, the same car he and Richard Attwood drove in the 1970 Le Mans 24 Hours when they won the first ever overall victory for the Zuffenhausen company. The three times winning Porsche 908/03 Spyder is being withdrawn from the Porsche museum’s exhibition for Porsche works driver Marc Lieb. Finally, the 612 hp (450 kW) Carrera GT high performance sports car, once limited to 1,270 units, will be driven by double world rally champion Walter Röhrl.

In addition to a “police presence”, the car procession will also give an outing to the Swabian sense of humour. Stuttgart “Tatort” (Crime Scene Investigation) Inspector Richy Müller will be switching on the blue lights on the Porsche 356 C Cabriolet. In the Sixties, this classic car was used by the Württemberg motorway police. And cabaret artist Christof Sonntag will be behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 Targa (Type 964).

The destination of the procession that will start at Zuffenhausen’s Porscheplatz is the Schlossplatz in the centre of Stuttgart. Here there will be an opportunity on Sunday afternoon to admire all the participating vehicles at close quarters. Porsche will also be showcasing itself on the Schlossplatz as part of an innovation exhibition true to its “Porsche Intelligent Performance” philosophy: more power with lower consumption, increased efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions. Three modern day Porsche vehicles await the visitor there, providing an impressive demonstration of alternative driveline technologies: the Porsche Boxster E, the Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid and the Porsche 911 GT3 R.