70 years of Porsche to be celebrated in style
Exhibit will have details of company’s history, VR display and five most famous cars
There are some brand names that need no introduction. Porsche is one of them.
For 70 years, the German car company has been producing premium luxury vehicles that are as much about lifestyle as they are a mode of transportation, and are particularly prominent for speed, especially on the racetrack. The 2018 Canadian International AutoShow will feature a “70 Years of Porsche” display on level 100 of the North Building of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The exhibit will include information on the company’s history, specific individuals who have been significant in Porsche’s evolution, a virtual reality display and five of its most famous cars over the decades — the 356, 912, Carrera GT, 918 Spyder and 911 Turbo. Collectively it will be a look at the past and glimpse into the future.
“Porsche is among the most iconic of automotive brands and the Canadian International AutoShow is thrilled Porsche has chosen our event in which to tell their story, from the beginning in 1948 to the present,” AutoShow general manager Jason Campbell said.
Marc Ouayoun, Porsche Cars Canada’s new chief executive officer, is excited about being part of the AutoShow.
“We look forward to using this display to tell the story of Porsche from the beginning to the present, from the evolution of the brand from the 356 to the current Cayenne SUV and the Panamera sports sedan, plus its motorsport history that has seen it win the 24 Hours of Le Mans a record 19 times,” Ouayoun said.
The 356 model is being sent directly from the company’s museum in Germany. The car was constructed in an Austrian sawmill, but was later moved to Stuttgart, Germany.
Porsche’s success in motor sport was sufficient motivation for it to upgrade its road-going design and the result was the first 911, another rear-engine sports car but one with a six-cylinder boxer engine.
“This is what is so exciting about the Porsche story,” Ouayoun said.
The virtual reality display will be about the Mission E, Porsche’s first purely electric sports car — the 911 of e-cars. It was first displayed a few years ago and, according to the literature of the car, boasts every Porsche standard in terms of performance, fuel efficiency, driving dynamics, and everyday practicality — based on revolutionary technology.
This is also Porsche’s 10th anniversary in Canada, and new-car sales have been strong with record numbers in 72 consecutive months. Porsche reported 8,249 new car sales in 2017, an increase of17 per cent over 2016.
Three Porsche model lines experienced historic results in 2017, led by the Panamera, which had a growth of 86 per cent, followed by the Macan at 35 per cent, and the 911 at 31per cent.
Last May at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park north of Bowmanville, Ont., Porsche began offering two-day courses to teach people what it’s like to drive one of its cars. Porsche launched this initiative in Birmingham, Ala., in 2015 and it has proven to be quite popular among car enthusiasts who are coached on the skills needed to drive Porsches on the road and on the racetrack.
Emma-Jayne Wilson, one of Canada’s top thoroughbred jockeys, owns a 2014 Porsche Cayman S. In her opinion, there is something unique about owning and driving a Porsche.
“I love driving it,” she said. “Cars are cars in general, but Porsches are of another level. One of the things I did for the car was honour a horse that I won a lot of races with, Just Rushing. I always said a really good licence plate would be Just Rushing. So the license plate is JUSTRSHN.”
Toronto photographer Tracy Rueben has owned several Porsches and now drives a 2001 911 Carrera with the licence plate SLOTCAR, an homage to the interest he developed in slotcars as a youth.
“You’re driving one of the only cars with the engine in the back,” he said. “It’s amazing to let the car out.”
Geoff Corlett, whose North American company, TDI Golf, provides restoration services to the golfcourse industry, has been collecting Porsches for some 20 years and owns almost 40 of them.
“These cars are designed and engineered to drive at much higher speeds and experience significantly higher lateral forces than you would ever get on a street-driving experience,” Corlett said.
Whether it’s the past or the present, Porsche has held its own in the pantheon of premium luxury cars with a particular emphasis on speed.