The Porsche success story begins with the fulfilment of a dream. In 1948, Ferry Porsche realised his vision of a sports car and designed the Porsche 356 “No. 1” Roadster with his team. 75 years later, the Porsche Heritage and Museum department presents a special selection of exhibits at RETRO CLASSICS®.
The leading trade fair for historic car culture will attract classic car fans and sports car enthusiasts from all over the world to Stuttgart from Thursday to Sunday, 23 to 26 February. “We are not only showing special milestones in the company’s history, but also the people behind the Porsche brand,” says Achim Stejskal, Head of Porsche Heritage and Museum. “People who are driven by the realisation of their dreams.”
As part of the special show “75 Years of Porsche Sports Cars”, the company will be represented at RETRO CLASSICS® in two presentation areas: In the Atrium at the East Entrance and at the exhibition stand in Hall 1 directly next to the Porsche Clubs. For the history of sports cars, Porsche will take visitors on a journey through time over the past 75 years and also venture a look into the future. Important stations here: the 356 “No. 1” show car, which represents the original state of the first sports car bearing the Porsche name as accurately as possible. The brand history began with the first vehicle bearing the Porsche name and with it: 75 years of production and manufacture, 75 years of sports cars, 75 years of people with Porsche.
The company is also showing a 356 Coupé from 1953 at its stand, as well as a 550 A Spyder. With this model, Umberto Maglioli surprisingly won the overall victory at the Targa Florio in 1956. For the first time, he succeeded in beating established teams and the supposedly stronger competition. After this victory, the still young company enjoyed worldwide recognition. Another eye-catcher on the stand is the McLaren TAG Porsche Formula 1. At the beginning of the 1980s, Porsche received an order from the McLaren racing team and the TAG group of companies to develop a turbo engine for Formula 1. The six-cylinder engine created by Hans Mezger wins a total of 25 Grands Prix up to 1987, three drivers’ world championships in 1984, 1985 and 1986 and two constructors’ titles in 1984 and 1985. More than 30 years later, the one millionth Porsche 911 rolls off the production line and, like its predecessors, presents the core values of the brand as an icon from Zuffenhausen: the past, the present and the future. For a visionary look, Porsche will be showing the Mission R concept car from 2022 at RETRO CLASSICS®. The purely electric racing car combines the idea of a future design language with state-of-the-art technology and sustainable materials.
Already in the atrium at the East Entrance of the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre, visitors will encounter the 911 2.0 Targa, 918 Spyder study, 956 and 356 SL models alongside the 356 “No. 1” show car as part of the special show “75 Years of Porsche Sports Cars”. The Belgian Gilberte Thirion won races in such a 356 SL 70 years ago. Another special crowd puller is the 959 Paris-Dakar, with which Jacky Ickx and Claude Brasseur finished second in the rally of the same name in 1986. The Porsche Heritage and Museum team, together with their colleagues from Porsche Classic, have been working on the restoration of the vehicle over the past few months. The history of the 959 Paris-Dakar has remained authentic thanks to the gentle reworking, and the team has preserved traces of the entries. Timo Bernhard wins the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland in 2001 with the 996-generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. The racing car with which he fulfilled his dream of starting a professional career more than 20 years ago is also on display at the show.
Autograph session at the stand and reduced admission to the Porsche Museum
On 25 February at 2 p.m., Porsche welcomes visitors to a Dreamer talk followed by an autograph session at the exhibition stand. Racing drivers Hans-Joachim Stuck and Timo Bernhard will be talking to Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Complete Vehicle Architecture and Features. In the more than 500 square metre area, there is also the opportunity to find out about driving programmes from the Porsche Experience. The museum shop offers guests literature on the sports cars from Zuffenhausen, among other things. Anyone who presents their exhibition ticket at the Porsche Museum by the end of 2023 will only pay half price there on their next visit
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