As part of my birthday present Mum and Dad promised me a trip to the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart. Unfortunately you have to be 16 to go on the free factory tour where you can watch these swift cars be assembled. Alexander and Ben decided they wanted to come in with Dad and I while Sam and Mum rested in the car. We hired some electronic guides to help with the tour, but dad had trouble understanding his. His German isn't very good, so he had to get another in English.
The museum was very flash. On the top floor there were the cars and the bottom floor had the foyer. At the top of the escalator the first thing I saw was a slick prototype named ‘Type 64’ and is the father of all porches. Type 64 was far ahead of its time in aerodynamics. It was designed for the Berlin to Paris long distance race, but didn't get to compete due to WW2 breaking out. This aluminium car reached 130 km on public roads, a high speed for the time. After World War 2 the car was raced and was a winner in looks, streamline and handling. It was given the first Porsche label and the company began. The shape of this vehicle is the basis for all future models.
The creator, Ferdinand Porsche was a true genius. He not only created cars but he also wired his parents’ house for electricity as a gift, designed the first fire truck, designed aircraft engines and was the driving force for the VW beetle.
After 2 hours we had seen a concept model porsche that never went into production, a procession of LeMans racing cars, including a model that was bolted to the ceiling to illustrate that it went so fast, and had such huge downwards forces created by the body shape and rear spoiler that it theoretically could go upside down and drive on the ceiling. There was also a range of cars used for rally racing and the European racing circuit.
The Porsche museum was amazing and totally changed my opinion as to just how amazing they are. I'm definitly doing the factory tour next time!
Jordan
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