New Porsche Museum Opens in 2009

Klaus Bischof (left), head of the 'Rolling Museum', and Achim Stejskal, the director of the new Porsche Museum, with some of the first exhibits.

The striking new building is located in the Stuttgart suburb of Zuffenhausen, the home of Porsche for 50 years, opposite the head office of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG.

With more than 5,600 square metres of exhibition space, Porsche says there will be about 80 cars and associated exhibits on display at any one time. The first exhibits include an original ‘11’ model, a 356 Cabriolet and the first prototype of the 924.

"In the last few weeks, we have comprehensively restored all the vehicles and polished them up for their use in the museum," said Klaus Bischof, head of the ‘Rolling Museum’. In addition to the exhibition vehicles, the small exhibits and show cabinets have also already been arranged.

As virtually all museum vehicles are also used on the road, Porsche says that the display will be continuously replaced by other exhibits. The new building will also feature the museum workshops, a shop, the Porsche archive, a restaurant, a bistro and an event area.

The Porsche Museum will be open from 9am to 6pm every day except Monday. Admission costs 8 Euros, with children under 14 admitted free when accompanied by an adult.

More details at www.porsche.com/museum.

The 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera

You have to be a die-hard Porsche enthusiast to identify the many different 911 models. The key is to spot details like wheel designs and spoilers. Of course, you can cheat and look at the badge affixed to the rear trunk.

The Carrera marks the entry point of the 911 lineup -- I won't use the term "base model" to describe any 911. After all, the 325-horsepower Carrera is a premium sports car through and through. It thrills the heck out of you all the way to your intended destination.

The Carrera marks the entry point of the 911 lineup.

Beautiful, day and night
My tester was draped in a gorgeous, ultra-classy Ruby Red Metallic dress. While on my watch, the car received plenty of praise because this fiery color enhances the finesse of the 911's silhouette. The lack of a visible rear spoiler adds to the sleek and clean design of the Carrera. Over the years, using subtle upgrades, Porsche designers have successfully refined the physical beauty of the original model.

Tricky access
The Sand Beige leather interior of my tester wonderfully matched the scarlet exterior. Plus, the quality fit and finish was evident. To enter the cockpit more easily, you need to turn yourself 90 degrees to the left, sit your butt on the seat and then pivot inward. That's the trick with every sports car; otherwise, you risk hitting your head on the roof frame or getting your feet tangled up in the lower door frame.

Once inside, every control is intuitively found and ergonomically laid out, including the steering wheel and shifter. Personally, I would tilt the front of the seat cushions further down, however.

Locking and unlocking the doors with the key requires a single impulse, unlike some competitors. On a couple of occasions, I was sure I had locked the car but, in reality, I had unlocked it instead.

As for storage, don't kid yourself: this is not a big American sedan. The compartments are small and will only accommodate basic stuff. Use the 125-liter trunk up front if you have a carry-on bag or small-size luggage and put everything else in the rear trunk. That said, a pair of medium-size suitcases will fit in the back once the upper rear seatbacks are folded.

The storage compartments are small and will only accommodate basic stuff.

I don't recommend that you sit any of your friends in the back. Young kids might enjoy this confined space but not for very long.

The front passenger, on the other hand, benefits from the same level of comfort as the driver. Both front buckets are nicely sculpted and effectively supportive. The HVAC system does a good job overall -- and quietly so -- keeping the interior cool and comfortable at all times. What's more, the sunroof is designed in such a way that wind turbulence is limited.

The front passenger benefits from the same level of comfort as the driver.

Meanwhile, the audio unit of the 911 Carrera will delight music lovers during night drives on the strip. My only complaint is the tiny size of most buttons.

More than adequate power
Porsche's 3.6-liter flat-six engine met my expectations. Mated to an excellent 6-speed manual gearbox, it delivered progressive, confidence-inspiring accelerations. Even when not making extra efforts to take off at a blistering pace, I was able to reach 100 km/h in 6.1 seconds. The calibration of the gear ratios is outstanding.

The thing I really appreciated was passing maneuvers; it took me 4.5 seconds to sprint from 80 to 120 km/h in third gear alone. When using both the second and third gears, I almost shaved a full second off my time (3.6 seconds).

Cruising or racing?
The Porsche 911 Carrera proves easy to drive in city traffic, although the sloping rear end demands that you pay attention when backing up. The available torque allows you to maintain a steady speed in dense traffic without having to shift gears.

On the highway, this German star purrs like a calm, complacent cat. Observing the tolerated speed limit of 120 km/h is challenging -- this is not the place to provoke the beast.

However, when you wind up on a deserted byroad or, even better, a closed track, you can finally act like a racecar driver. While the steering is a bit too light to my liking, I found the 911 Carrera quite easy to throw into corners. The exceptional handling allows you to slow down in a hurry, attack twists and turns with serious bite and get out just as quickly as you entered. The rear tires, in particular, make the car stick to the road and regain momentum in a flash.

Pleasure and magnificence
These two words perfectly sum up my road test of the 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera. There's no point in adding anything else.

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A New 4-Cylinder 911?

Porsche is ready to introduce four-cylinders into its vehicles – perhaps even the 911- if demand for greener products continues to grow.

Thomas Krickelberg, a powertrain engineer for the company, dropped the hint at the Australian introduction of the new 2009 Porsche 911 lineup. The 3.6 and 3.8-liter flat-sixes, he said, were redesigned with four-cylinder adaptation in mind. Should Porsche decide smaller engines are necessary, it will not need to invest much in time or engineering to produce them.

Porsche has a history of using four-cylinder engines, most notably in its iconic 356 and later its 924 models, but never in the 911(????). The company has more recently focused on going bigger, namely with Cayenne SUV and the upcoming Panamera sedan. But rising social and political calls for fuel efficiency seem to be influencing a change in direction.

Of course this raises the question: would a four-cylinder engine in a Porsche 911 or even a Boxster be sacrilege? Or is this merely the next logical step for a brand that has considerably expanded its lineup in recent years? Let us know what you think.

Source: www.drive.com.au

Racing the Sun - Ojai to Santa Barbara, California

Ojai, California - March 2008. First day behind the wheel. Beautiful winding stretch of highway - Ojai to Santa Barbara with the Californian sun streaming in. St. Patricks Day never looked so bright. By the way... car handles like a dream. Not bad for 32 years.

My 912e

Oxnard, California - August 2007. First look, feel and sound of the Porsche 912e. This is quick video, but it puts you in the same place I was prior to taking the car out for a spin through Ventura. The car was purchased six months later.

What is a 912E? Einspritzung?

The 912E is a rare beast indeed. Internally designated at the factory as the Type 923, it appeared for one model year only, primarily in the United States, as the companion to the 911S.

It was in many ways a stop gap between the 914 (1969-1976) and the 924 (1976-1988). In 1976 rising fuel prices and lowered U.S. speed limits helped make the 912E a practical model. The 912E was powered by the 2.0 liter fuel-injected 914-derived engine.With its 21 U.S. gallon fuel tank and fuel-efficient engine, the 912E's driving range may be the best of any Porsche ever made, 600+ miles.

Options included electric sunroof, limited slip, and air conditioning. The 2099th and final 912E constructed also became the last air-cooled four-cylinder car produced by Porsche. For the record... 912E (E = Einspritzung, fuel injected to you and I).

Technical specifications can be found at: www.carfolio.com/specifications/models/car/?car=957

The Adoption ~ 1976 Porsche 912e

"Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
~ Rick Blaine (Casablanca)

I've just bought a car. No she isn't new - though she is to me. She claims she is 32, but I've come across papers that tell me she was first adopted in December 1975. I've had my eye on this one for some time. A rare one-year model, offering style, class, great-handling and a resilient four-cylinder engine. Last August I had the chance to drive through Southern California and spend an afternoon with her. Four months later, and much internal debate on the sanity of making such as purchase - as they say in Canada.... I "shot the puck".

She is stunning. Original owner, meticulously maintained, garaged and covered, yet driven regularly... a valued member of her family. I'm hoping she will enjoy her new home. In less than one month's time I will fly to Ventura to pick her up - and god willing.... bring her home.