2 minute read time.

After a false start in January the Germany IET LN finally managed to visit the acclaimed Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen near Stuttgart on Saturday 9th. May. After polling members using Doodle we decided that a weekend visit would be appropriate even it meant missing the chance of a combining the museum visit with a factory tour.





This time there was no lack of initial support, especially from members and friends based in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. A group had planned to travel from Munich by train before the train drivers' strike made that virtually impossible.





Nevertheless, the hard core car enthusiasts were not to be put off. Some travelled by car whilst others braved the intricacies of the emergency train timetable or used hitherto unknown bus routes through parts of Stuttgart never before visited. In the end thirteen visitors enjoyed the tour of the museum which was given in English by our own museum guide.





The museum itself shows the roots of the company with a particular emphasis on its racing history. The exhibits clearly show how many vehicles from different decades contain that distinctive "Porsche DNA" - a concept that Porsche designers always try to express in their cars. Engineers of any type cannot fail to be impressed by the technology, but it's not all a new concept: there is even an electric car, the Egger-Lohner electric vehicle C.2 Phaeton "P1", built by the young Ferdinand Porsche in 1898!





No mention of the museum's exhibits would be complete without a word about the building itself. It's futuristic design was the winning entry in a competition with over 170 entrants, set up by the company in 2004. The building was completed in December 2008. The museum's website sums up the effect dramatically:





The building designed by Delugan Meissl is a bold statement. Supported on just three V-shaped columns, the museum’s dominant main structure seems to float above the ground like a monolith.





My photos and those kindly supplied by Mark Atkins give a good impression of the museum and its exhibits.





After the tour a number of the group met up in a Stuttgart beer garden for refreshments.





If you are resident in Germany and are interested in meeting like-minded engineers and technologists please register with our community website, read our blogs and look out for future events. Or just let us know what interests you. We look forward to seeing you in the near future at one of our events.



 



Howard Gray

July 2015