PIONEER PORSCHE RETURNS HOME
In September ’63, Porsche showed a pre-production 901 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. A year later, the production model made its debut at the Paris Salon, but almost immediately Peugeot sent a letter to Porsche advising that it had the French copyright on the use of the ‘0’ in the middle of an automobile name. Though this only applied to the French market, Porsche quickly decided to change the new car’s model name to 911.
Porsche built 235 911s in 1964, the first 82 of which were designated as 901s – none of these were officially sold to the public as such, although a few did make it out of the Stuttgart gates wearing 901 tags. These are very rare and, until recently, the factory did not have an example in its collection.
Chassis 300.057 was purchased from its first owner by a Porsche enthusiast many years ago. After a time, marriage and children meant that the family no longer fitted into the car and it was sidelined.
When the factory staff heard rumours of a 901 standing at the back of a barn on a former farm in Brandenburg, they found it in a very poor state, with both front wings missing, a lot of rust damage and the interior in rough condition. However, many of the details that are only found on a 901 were there, so Porsche purchased the car and, after three years of restoration, it is now featured in the museum as a special exhibit entitled ‘911 (901 no 57) – a legend takes off’. We’re told that one of the most difficult parts to restore was the original ashtray!