Porsche Museum Stuttgart

By Greg MacLeman

| 8 Apr 2015

The glittering Porsche Museum dominates the industrial area of Stuttgart in which it was built, towering over the surrounding buildings with a gravity-defying grace. But it’s what’s inside the incredible building that really excites.

Split over a number of floors, the striking impression made by the exterior of the building is more than matched by the exhibits, which vary from early designs that pre-date Porsche as a manufacturer, through to the high-performance endurance contenders of the 1970s and 1980s.

The 1950 356 SL Coupé proved early in the firm’s history Porsche’s commitment to aerodynamics, and not just high power outputs. The streamlined and lightweight aluminium shell allowed the car to reach speeds close to 100mph, despite its 1086cc engine producing just 46bhp – less than a Ford Anglia 1200.

As with current 911 racing cars, the fuel filler cap is located in the centre of the bonnet, while the fuel tank was enlarged to a whopping 78 litres. It was affectionately known to mechanics as the ‘Alubüchsle’, or ‘little aluminium can’.

Towards the end of the 1960s, the FIA moved to reduce the maximum engine displacement of sports cars in the manufacturers’ world championship to three-litres. Porsche wasn’t caught out, having begun development of their new racer in July 1967 – some three months before the announcement was made. That car was the 908, and it featured a new three-litre, eight-cylinder boxer engine, plus a chassis and body combination based on the outgoing Type 907.

Porsche’s most successful design was unveiled to the world at the 1963 Frankfurt International Motor Show as a replacement for the 356. It had a longer, more elegant shape, as well as an extra two cylinders under its bonnet. It would become one of the most celebrated sports cars of all time, but its path to the showroom was more bumpy than you may imagine: the right to use the car’s original moniker – 901 – was contested by Peugeot, whose models followed the same numbering convention. As a result, Porsche replaced the 0 for a 1, and the 911 was born.

This special long-tailed 908 was campaigned by Hans Herrmann and Gerard Larrousse and featured an interesting tail section with two fins and a transverse wing, with flaps that moved in tandem with the spring deflection of the rear wheels.

The car was involved in an awesome battle at Le Mans in 1969, with Hermann duelling with the Ford GT40 of Jacky Ickx in the latter stages of the race. Ickx managed to pass the Porsche (which was suffering braking problems) on the last lap, and went on to win by just 120 metres.

In total, Porsche has accumulated in excess of 30,000 motorsport victories, with many of the trophies suspended in the museum in an alarmed display. Incredibly, more than two thirds of those wins can be attributed to the 911.

The layman may be surprised to hear that there was a Porsche with a top speed of just 20kph, but it was an important model to the firm in the 1950s. In total, more than 120,000 tractors were built between 1956 and 1963 – but the firm had been involved in the production of tractors as far back as 1934.

With the dark cloud of post-war austerity still hanging over Germany, Porsche produced the first sports car to bear its name. On 8 June 1948, the very first 356 rolled off the production line. Its Volkswagen engine produced 35bhp, while its sleek and streamlined aluminium coachwork was created by Erwin Komenda in just one month. By July 1948, the 356 had proved its sports car credentials at the Innsbruck City Race.

The 904 broke new ground when it was created in 1963: it became the first Porsche to be built predominantly from glassfibre. A broad range of engines was available for the 904 ranging from four to eight cylinders, making it elegible for – and successful in – a variety of competitions.

Four examples lined up at the 1964 Le Mans 24 Hours, with a class win, 10th and 12th places the spoils. The following year six 904s took part, with two winning their classes.

Before Porsche had produced its own sports car, it contributed to the success of others. Italian entrepreneur and racing enthusiast Piero Dusio collaborated with Porsche when launching Cisitalia in 1946. The Typ 360 featured a powerful 1.5-litre, 12-cylinder engine and driver-engaged four-wheel drive but, despite being completed in difficult circumstances and so shortly after the end of WW2, the car never got beyond the testing stage.

The 917 became one of Porsche’s most successful and well-known racing cars in the late 1960s and 1970s. This one-off variant, which was a combination of the long and short-tailed versions, became the subject of derogatory comments in the paddock, being compared to a fat pig due to its increased width.

In a rare display of sportsmanship from a major manufacturer, the car received a new paint job for the 1971 Le Mans 24 Hours, rolling into the pit lane sporting pink paintwork divided into different cuts of meat. The Porsche failed to finish the race, but became one of the most photographed cars at the meeting. It was known as The Pink Pig.

One of the most ferocious 911s ever built entered service in the 1973 season, replacing the outgoing 2.8-litre version. Its bigger rear spoiler and wide air vents on its wings differentiate it from the earlier car, as does its monstrous 330bhp power output. It heralded a new era in customer sports car racing and went on to become one of the most successful cars in Group 4, as well as winning the final Targa Florio at the hands of Martini works drivers Herbert Müller and Gijs van Lennep.

No, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you: the Rothmans-liveried 956 is mounted upside-down due to the designers’ claims that the car produced so much downforce that it could be driven as such through a tunnel.

In competition, the car made its debut at the 1982 Silverstone 6 Hours, with Jacky Ickx pairing up with Derek Bell. The duo missed the next round of the championship, but returned for Le Mans. They led the race from the first lap on the way to overall victory. Due to their win in 1981, the team’s car wore the race number 1.