In Memory of Bob Garretson (1933–2025) Bob Garretson passed away earlier this year, just after celebrating his 92nd birthday. He leaves behind a legacy that resonates far beyond the podiums and trophies. Bob was a quiet giant of American endurance racing—a man who led by example, raced with integrity, and...
Entering Porsche’s World He was not in the first wave, that small group of engineers supporting Ferdinand Porsche when he decided to set up his own engineering consultancy at the end of 1930. They were chief designer Karl Rabe, engine man Josef Kales, chassis specialist Josef Zahradnik and drive-train designer...
Love at First Sight: Graham Lister In 1977, Graham Lister flew halfway around the world to collect his first Porsche, a 911, from the factory. For his second Porsche, he stayed closer to home. “I noticed a little 356 A Coupe on a side street in Napier, New Zealand, in...
Reproduced with permission from SportsCarDigest. Every legend has its debut day: this was the case of the Porsche 911, which, in 1965, had its baptism of fire in the feared Monte-Carlo Rally. This was the first chapter in the victorious path of the 911, an adventure marked by great challenges...
Words by Greg James. Photos by Dan O’Connell. The Overuse of “Supercar” A term that’s been flogged to death and overused for eons in the auto industry is “supercar.” Yes, I get that there’s no real definition (at least one that everyone agrees on), but it’s been used to describe...
Story by Greg James. Photos by Dan O’Connell. I love reading road tests. Especially those that involve shootouts when cars are pitted against each other. However, in the traditional automotive rags that get their revenues from advertisers, it’s often comical how close any number of performance cars finish points-wise when...
Aiming Higher Dr. Anna Lee Fisher started out as a medical professional – the training for which she regards as the toughest challenge she ever faced. As a reward, in 1977, she purchased a Porsche 911 Turbo – her pride and joy. Soon after, she would leave the medical profession...
“Aloha!” This Hawaiian greeting expresses compassion, sympathy, and affection, which all combine to form the multifaceted Hawaiian sensibility that also shapes the Porsche Club on the Big Island. One of the people who embodies this spirit in an extraordinary way is the President himself, Gunner Mench. “For the Pacific, we’re...
Photography courtesy of Alex Papke / FXD. Christopher Rünge, a self-described coach builder and automobile designer, began Rünge Cars with the humblest of intentions. A desire in 2010 to have something to rip around in nearby Minnesotan corn fields—a lightweight, aluminum bodied Porsche-Volkwagen mashup, to be exact—quickly evolved into a...
It all began with a decision that Ferry Porsche would long regret. Beginning in 1970, the familial tensions described by Ferdinand Piëch were: “In our family there’s a kind of unspoken law: Porsche is Stuttgart and Piëch is Salzburg.” Porsches were taking the top jobs in Zuffenhausen and some Piëchs...
To date, 27 different variants make up the current generation of the 911 model line-up. Chatting to its developers at a ‘speed dating’ event made one thing clear above all: each Porsche 911 has its own story. Chaos is the enemy of the engineer. Perhaps that would explain why there...
At the start of 2023, after a few years of teasing and testing, the Porsche Type 963 LMDh Hypercar was set loose on the track at the 24 Hours of Daytona. While the final design was revealed months before, and much of the talk leading up to Daytona was on...
The PFM 3200-powered Mooney is legendary among aviators. They all want this ‘Porsche of the skies’ – and today there are only five that are airworthy anywhere in the world. We had the extraordinary opportunity to take a ride in one. Oh, the boxer engine note is unmistakable. But what...
Behind the wheel of the 911 Dakar is a face familiar to the UAE’s diverse and fast-growing community of motorsports fans. Amna Al Qubaisi has emerged as a talent to watch in the world of single-seater racing after the young Emirati won two races in the F1 Academy championship last...
If you were lucky enough to visit Rennsport Reunion 7 in Monterey, California, then chances are you gazed at one of Mark Morgan’s illustrations without even realizing it. An illustrator based in the U.K., Mark has mixed his passion for Porsche and his artistic talents to yield some truly exciting...
Dr Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG is mourning the loss of the former racing driver and Operations Manager of the Weissach Development Centre, Herbert Linge, who died on 5 January 2024 aged 95. Linge played an instrumental role in setting up Porsche’s proving ground, while through his work with motorsport’s...
What makes the Porsche brand so legendary? What inspires people to keep it young and full of life 75 years later? And how does this emotional, often lifelong bond with the Zuffenhausen sports cars come about? A very personal declaration of love to Porsche and its global community. Introducing Pete...
For this special Porsche issue it was only right to interview the man who, in real terms, helped to put the Porsche name firmly in motor racing record books as a marque to be respected and feared. In 1970, together with Richard Attwood—some would say a most unlikely pairing—and from...
In the days before data logging transformed our sport into a science, the judge of all things was the simple stopwatch. This meant that the men in the cockpits could still make a difference in the performance of their cars, and George Follmer was one of those men. The Phoenix-born...
Porsches have scored a record 16 overall victories at Le Mans, 14 similar triumphs in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and eight 12-hour wins at Sebring, and upon all of them can be found the fingerprints of Norbert Singer. A 30-year-old graduate engineer with a Masters in Mechanical Engineer, Aviation...
Starting his career in the early ’60s behind the wheel of a Mini, John Fitzpatrick quickly worked his way to the top echelons of the endurance racing world. From winning the British Saloon Car Championship, Fitzpatrick went on to factory rides with Ford and BMW, as well as notching up...
For many Porsche enthusiasts, the name Emma Raducanu isn’t familiar. But if there’s one thing she shares with the world of Porsche, it’s a competitive DNA flowing through her veins and her love for Porsche since childhood. A British professional tennis player, Emma reached a career-high ranking of No. 10...
Celebrating Porsche icons on their 75th anniversary The Petersen Automotive Museum has launched a new Porsche-focused video series celebrating the people and icons that made the Porsche brand in America. This dynamic story-telling series, sponsored by Mobil 1, focuses on the personal stories of some of the world’s most renowned...
“Gregg, Peter (FA),” was filed between “Greenwood, John” and “Gregory, Masten.” The file, dog-eared and stained with the outline of a coffee cup, showed its age; it dated back to 1970. I recognized the handwriting, it was mine; the (FA) did not stand for Formula Atlantic. This brought a smile...
We’ve partnered with Sports Car Digest to share Porsche content from its 23+ years of archives. This piece was originally published in February, 2014, and is available for Stuttcars members to enjoy! John Von Neumann was one of those towering figures in the sports car world of the ’50s. He...
We have partnered with Sports Car Digest to republish some of their Porsche-centric mcontent on Stuttcars for our members to enjoy. This piece was originally published on May 11, 2021 on Sports Car Digest. In many circles, the term airhead applies to someone who is silly or lacking in intelligence....
80 years strong Porsche Newsroom: “The Porsche myth lives and will never perish!” – Dr. Wolfgang Porsche made this legendary promise to the Porsche team in Zuffenhausen in July 2009 and gave them confidence in difficult times. Today, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche AG is celebrating his...
Icons of Porsche – Taken seriously! Icons of Porsche is not just the theme for Rennsport Reunion 7, but represents the talented people who have pushed the limits, taken risks and bravely driven Porsche to success over the past 75 years as a sports car marque. Porsche Cars North America...
It started with the Porsche 356 As we all know, the 356 was the first globally sold car made by Porsche, and firmly planted Stuttgart on many an enthusiast’s map. It came in a variety of body styles, including roadster, cabriolet, and coupe, and quickly became one of the favorite...
Reno, Nevada’s Ranson Webster has carefully curated and assembled one of the world’s great Porsche Garajmahals. Other than a few vintage wood-bodied Chevy powered Riva boats, a musclecar or two, some trucks and Porsche TAG powered McLaren F1 cars, no other marques need apply. Ranson Webster was born in Oregon,...
The 1979 Sports Car season at Dick Barbour Racing would once again start with probably the toughest race, the Daytona 24 hours. In late 1978 we had just sent the Team’s Porsche 934 1/2 down to Mexico City for the Trans Am race in November of 1978. Janet Guthrie had...
Reviewed & Edited by Rex McAfee Only in SoCal: The Urban Outlaw Last year, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the release of the short film Urban Outlaw, Walker was invited by the Petersen Automotive Museum to display 10 of his most prized Porsche’s within the facility’s highly exclusive Vault. “From...
In the past, we have covered a Type 964 911 Carrera 2 Speedster, a Type 986 Boxster spec race car, and even a 914/6 Restomod. Today, we continue our Porsche Profiles series with a Type 987 Porsche Cayman S that is, for one man, his complete unicorn car. As well,...
He was the center of attention everywhere he went at the 2022 Targa Florio. Autograph seekers and selfie-obsessed fans all wanted an up-close moment with this 79-year-old hero as he returned to the scene of one of his greatest triumphs. No Subscription? You’re missing out Get immediate ad-free access to...
Editor’s note: Harvey Sherman recently covered several of the most iconic Porsche race cars in the Pacific Northwest. Below, he shares his thoughts and observations on the highlights. The BP Racing Garage Bob Rygg and Peter Juvet (who own two of the cars featured below) use this garage as their...
All photos by the author and courtesy Magnus Walker. Magnus Lucian Titus Bennett Walker is known for many things, and as many things. Most people just call him Magnus; yet much of the world knows him as the Urban Outlaw Porsche guy. No Subscription? You’re missing out Get immediate ad-free...
Images by: Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale and Corporate Archives Porsche AG The Porsche 908 is widely regarded as one of the Stuttgart manufacturer’s most reliable and important racers. The 908 came in many different guises, including Coupe, Spyder, long tail, short tail and turbo, and it excelled in all of these...
Get to know Akira Nakai as he talks about his work tuning Porsches and cutting up 911s. No Subscription? You’re missing out Get immediate ad-free access to all our premium content. Get Started Already a Member? Sign in to your account here....
Let’s face it, the Porsche 914 was not the most iconic of sports cars in the storied history of the brand. A joint collaboration between VW and Porsche, it was designed to be both the entry level car for Porsche, as well as a sports car for VW that would...
If there is one thing that Porsche does better than pretty much any other car manufacturer, that is providing their customers with race cars thinly disguised as road cars. This has been the way of things since the original 356 Speedsters and 550 Spyders, to the Carrera 2.7 RS (RennSport...
The Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0, which was produced for only 2 years in 1976 and 1977, is a very special version of the inimitable 911. Due to its low production numbers, with only 3,687 units produced, it is also one of the rarest of the non-special edition 911s out there....
Porsche’s Forrest Gump—the irrepressible Herbert Linge—pops up everywhere in Porsche history even after his retirement almost thirty years ago. The amazingly varied Porsche career of Herbert Linge would be unimaginable today—from wartime apprentice to manager of Weissach via workshop, development testing, race track, Porsche in the US, and Formula 1....
Note: Some images from this article provided by Roger Katz. The Type 964 Porsche 911 was a revolutionary car when it came to market in 1989. It was the first non-supercar Porsche to feature all wheel drive as an option. It was the first 911 to come as standard with...
Except perhaps at one or two retirement parties or other formal occasions, no one ever saw Roland Kussmaul wearing a suit and tie. Racing or workshop overalls, Porsche’s pit lane uniform perhaps, even a mere pair of grubby shorts in those shots of the sweltering Dakar where he raced during...
Follmer was born in Phoenix in 1934, though effectively he became a Californian as his family moved to Pasadena before he was two years old and it was in this northern suburb of Los Angeles that he grew up and raised his own family. He was, he says, a reasonable...
Some men have crazy dreams and seek out a way to follow them. But how do you start an adventure or a quest; how do you gather compatriots around you? You do that with a call to arms. No Subscription? You’re missing out Get immediate ad-free access to all our...
Words by Glen Smale / Images by Glen Smale & Corporate Archives Porsche AG The motorsport world woke up on Monday this week to learn of the passing of one of the sport’s greatest drivers. Vic Elford, or ‘Quick Vic’ as he was affectionately known, passed away on Sunday 13...
There are 934s, and there are 934s… The Porsche 934 has long lived in the shadow of its more powerful sibling, the Porsche 935. This is a shame. Not only was the 934 faster than the Carrera RSR that it supplanted (naturally!), but many 934s went on to have very...
British GP meeting which Nick Faure led outright, starting from the second row, against the Falcons and BGG Escorts. But the fan belt came off due to a rag left in the engine by my mechanic! Nick Faure was one of the first to race a 911 in Britain: he...
Obviously these two attractive models from the lingerie manufacturer Triumph (München) like this Porsche 914/6 – Rutesheim Athletics Club, Baden-Württemberg, Germany (1969) Very different from previous production Porsches, the 914 was an attempt by Zuffenhausen to introduce a lower cost model. Commercially it was only a moderate success, but it’s...
Arno Bohn at Weissach with the 968 Cabriolet (1991) Arno Bohn was managing director of Porsche from 1990-92. An outsider who came from the computer industry, he arrived at a company seared by falling sales and riven by internal division about future direction. He left a Porsche which though still...
Porsche mourns the death of Hans Mezger – this photo was taken in 2007 It was with great sadness that the motoring and motorsport world learned last week of the passing of Hans Mezger, Porsche engineer extraordinaire. He died at the age of 90 years, having grown up and lived...
Gérard Larrousse (2017) Former Porsche works driver, Gérard Larrousse, celebrates his 80th birthday on Saturday 23 May 2020. Gérard Gilles Marie Armand Larrousse was born in 1940 in Lyon, where his father ran a textile factory. “I was fascinated by motorbikes and sports cars from a young age but my...
Sir Stirling sits back and relaxes at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed after being interviewed by the author It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Stirling Moss over the Easter weekend. He died on 12 April 2020 in Mayfair, London, England at the age...
Richard Attwood relaxing between stints in the Drivers’ Paddock during the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed On 4 April this year, Richard Attwood will celebrate his 80th birthday, but speaking to him just a few months back about his win at Kyalami in ’69, you would not have thought as...
For two years in the early 1960s, South African André Loubser had the time of his life, working not just for Porsche in Stuttgart, but for Huschke von Hanstein, one of the most colourful figures in the company’s history. Von Hanstein’s death, in early 1996, prompted Loubser to recall those...
A huge banner adorns the side of this high bay warehouse in Werk 2, announcing the 25th anniversary exhibition of Exclusive from 1st March to 1st May 2011 Rolf Sprenger was a versatile engineer whose Porsche career was founded almost entirely on customer service. “If I want a trailer (caravan)...
Professor Ferdinand Porsche (centre) with F. A. ‘Butzi’ Porsche (left) and Ferdinand Piëch (right), ca. 1949 Ferdinand Karl Piëch was born in Vienna, Austria, on 17 April 1937, to Louise (daughter to Ferdinand and sister of Ferry Porsche) and Anton Piëch, a lawyer. He was the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche,...
Toine Hezemans in his Brussels home, 2015 One of the Netherlands’ most successful racers, Toine Hezemans is part of a motorsport dynasty that began with his father who raced Porsches in the 1950s. This family tradition continued with Toine who began racing 911s in the late ‘60s, but after his...
Norbert Singer, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1996 Norbert Singer must rank as one of the most successful race engineers in Porsche’s long and glittering motorsport history. Porsche Road & Race spoke to him about his four-decade career with Porsche, the race cars he helped develop and the 24 Hours...
Ernst Fuhrmann at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 12 June 1977 Porsche’s first CEO is frequently maligned as the man who tried to kill off the 911. There is far more to his Porsche career than this misconception as he was the inspiration behind the 911 Turbo. This Porsche...
Anatole Lapine, 1973 Anatole Lapine who was in charge of styling at Porsche under two disparate CEOs, Fuhrmann and Schutz, looks back on quite a CV: Chevrolet Corvette, Opel GT, Porsche 928, Porsche 964. But there is a lot more to this designer whose career spans two continents and most...
Rallye Paris-Dakar 1984: Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 4×4 (Type 953) – driven by (from L-R) #175 Jacky Ickx, #176 René Metge, #177 Roland Kussmaul For many years, the éminence grise of Porsche’s competition department, but now in retirement, Roland Kussmaul seems busier than ever. He left Porsche officially at the...
Hans Herrmann at the Retro Classics in Stuttgart, Germany 2010 Hans Herrmann, one of the most successful and popular racing drivers to join the Porsche AG works team, celebrates his 90th birthday this year on February 23. The endurance and Monoposto specialist, born in Stuttgart in 1928, is regarded as...
Brendon Hartley, Porsche works driver, Le Mans 24H, 2016 Born: 10th November 1989 Where: Palmerston North, New Zealand Lives: Monaco Height/weight: 1.84 m/65 kg Hobbies: Playing the guitar, fitness, poker, squash, tennis, mountain biking When he first turned up in the Formula 1 paddock back in 2008, he looked more...
Solitude, 15 July1962: Dan Gurney behind the wheel of a Porsche 804 Formula 1 at the Solitude Dan Gurney, the well-known racing driver, passed away on 14 January 2018. Where does one start with a driver like Dan Gurney? He was an inspiration to many, admired by both rivals and...
Tilman Brodbeck poses with a 1973 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Coupé (left) and a 911 Sport Classic (right) – 21 September 2009 To be able to write on your résumé that you worked for one of Porsche’s CEOs would be quite an achievement. Tilman Brodbeck can however do a little...
Mark Webber being interviewed at the Geneva Motor Show 2014, on the occasion of the world debut of the Porsche 919 Hybrid Porsche’s return to the top category of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) was announced by Wolfgang Hatz, Porsche AG Board of Management Member for Research and Development, on...
The formidable Carrera 6 outside the Porsche headquarters, Stuttgart Zuffenhausen, 1966 The Carrera Six, as Porsche officially called the 906, was a radically different car from its predecessor, the 904 GTS. The 904 was a sleek glass fibre bodied racer penned by Butzi Porsche, and it took over as Porsche’s...
Jean Behra following his accident at Caracas 3 November 1957 Staring out of period black and white photographs, Jean Behra’s handsome, but battered face tells its own story: a combative soul who seemed to thrive only when living on the ragged edge and for whom an exploit was either going...
Dr. Ulrich Bez (1988) Hailing from the Bad Cannstatt district of Stuttgart, Ulrich Bez, who as Porsche Technical supremo hatched the 993, had two significant stints at Porsche. During the 1970s he worked in research and was responsible for establishing Porsche’s crash test programme; in the 1980s, he followed Porsche’s...
Peter Falk sits on the sill of the famous #23 Porsche 917 KH Coupé, winner of the 1970 Le Mans 24 Hours. On this occasion it is located in the Porsche Museum Workshop on 28 June 2010 In a 34-year career at Porsche, the influence of Peter Falk – Porsche’s...
The inspired engineer behind so much of Porsche’s success, Helmuth Bott has long remained the company’s eminence grise, but little has been written about him. Now, Porsche Road & Race, looks at both the professional and private life of one of Porsche’s most devoted servants, revered by his subordinates, but...
Mont Ventoux, 18 June 1967 – Rolf Stommelen won this hillclimb driving a Porsche 910/8 Bergspyder Rolf Stommelen was one of Germany’s leading racing drivers for over a decade and if as the title (above) of his biography implies, he could drive anything anywhere, this was largely true. Although his...
Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood won the 24 Hours of Daytona on 3/4 February 1973 driving this 911 Carrera RSR 2.8 Peter Gregg was the IMSA driver every one strived to beat. He started in the early ‘70s with Porsches and had done very well. He won the first championship...
Autograph card signed by Jürgen Barth (ca. 1980) More books have been written about Porsche than any other car company so the publication in English of another tome is hardly headline news until you realise that the author, exceptionally, is a Porsche insider, but not just any insider. Jürgen Barth...
The Seikel Motorsport team last raced in the 2007 Le Mans, having participated on no less than eleven occasions in the 24-hour race. The team’s highlight in la Sarthe was in 2001 when they won the GT category, finishing sixth overall. No Subscription? You’re missing out Get immediate ad-free access...
Valentin Schäffer (1978) Another keen young recruitee to Zuffenhausen in the early 1950s, Valentin Schäffer, would become Porsche’s racing turbo specialist and engineer the induction systems that endowed Porsche sports racers with a dominance that lasted decades. The compact figure of Valentin Schäffer trotted up the steps of the Porsche...
Patrick Pilet, Porsche driver of #92, at the Silverstone 6h, 10 – 12 April 2015 Born: 8 October 1981 Where: Auch, France Lives: Le Chesnay, France Marital status: Married Height/Weight: 1.76 m/67 kg Hobbies: Golf, cycling, fitness, cinema He is a man for all occasions. Regardless of the championship, Patrick...
Nick Tandy, Porsche works driver, Le Mans 24H, 2016 Born: 5 November 1984 Where: Bedford, UK Lives: Bedford, UK Marital status: Married, 1 child Height/Weight: 1.78 m/71 kg Hobbies: Badminton, darts, golf, iRacing When Nick Tandy clinched Porsche’s 17th overall victory at the long distance classic in 2015, he fulfilled...
Mark Webber, Porsche driver, Silverstone 6h 2014 Born: 27th August 1976 Where: Queanbeyan, Australia Lives: Buckinghamshire, UK Height/weight: 1.83 m/76 kg Marital status: Partner Ann Neal Hobbies: Sports, mountain biking, flying helicopters It’s been two years now since Mark Webber has had a roof over his head. After 215 Formula...
Marc Lieb, Porsche works driver, Le Mans 24H, 2016 Born: 4th July 1980 Where: Stuttgart, Germany Lives: Ludwigsburg, Germany Marital Status: Married to Alexandra, two sons (Benedict and Jonathan) Height/Weight: 1.82 m/74 kg Hobbies: Football, jogging, reading At the age of 20, the native Stuttgarter won the Porsche Junior driver...
Fritz Enzinger, Vice President Porsche LMP1 (Silverstone 2016) Born: 15 September 1956 Where: Oberwölz, Austria Lives: Munich Marital status: Married with one daughter Hobby: Icelandic horses At the end of 2011, the Styrian started to shape Porsche’s return to top motorsport, with a new building, new staff and a new...
Fred Makowiecki, Porsche works driver, 2016 Le Mans 24H Born: 22 November 1980 Where: Arras, France Lives: Perpignan, France Marital status: Married, 1 child Height/Weight: 1.76 m/66 kg Hobbies: Cycling, music, karting He already underlined his strong passion for Porsche in his campaign to win the Porsche Carrera Cup France....
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport (Le Mans 2016) Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser joined Porsche as a mechanical engineering student in 1995. With a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering specialising in combustion engines and technology management, Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser held the position of General Manager of Motorsport Strategies at Porsche...
Andreas Seidl, Porsche LMP1 Team Principal (Le Mans 2016) Born: 6 January 1976 Where: Passau, Germany As a team boss, Andreas Seidl is responsible for the technical running of the vehicles, and as race director, he coordinates the entire organisational aspects of the World Championship races. For the LMP1 drivers...