Porsche is celebrating the 60th anniversary of car production in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.
Zuffenhausen has been Porsche’s home address since 1938 and more than one million Porsche sports cars have been built in Stuttgart since 1950.
The first Stuttgart built Porsche 356 rolled off the assembly line in April 6th. In 1950 a total 369 cars were produced. In 1952 company opened there a second plant. In 1956 the 10,000th Porsche 356 left the plant. Porsche Plant 3 was opened in 1960, also housing the Sales and Customer Service Departments.
In 1964 Porsche KG(company name at the time) took over the Reutter Coachbuilding and Body Construction Company with its workforce of approximately 1,000 employees, that helped increase the production of the 911 model series.
To celebrate this milestone, the Porsche museum will host a special exhibit with a series of early production photographs and the first 356 Coupe built in Zuffenhausen. The event runs from March 20th to May 9th.
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Special Exhibition in the Porsche Museum from 20 March to 9 May 2010
Sixty Years of Porsche Production in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen
Stuttgart. The home of today's Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart,
has a very special sound in the world of motoring: Zuffenhausen. Indeed,
Zuffenhausen is far more than "just" a production plant rich in tradition
for Porsche AG, since it is here in Zuffenhausen that the heart of the
Company beats to this very day. Zuffenhausen has been Porsche's home address
for more than 70 years and more than one million Porsche sports cars have
been built here in Stuttgart since 1950.
The Porsche Design and Construction office moved from Kronenstrasse 24 in
downtown Stuttgart to the new group of buildings in the District of
Zuffenhausen way back in June 1938. Right from the beginning, important
chapters in the history of the automobile were then written in Porsche's
home plant: This is where the first series of the car destined to become the
Volkswagen Beetle was built in 1938, followed in 1939 by the Type 64 as the
great-grandfather of all Porsche sports cars to come in later years.
Originally planned for the Berlin-Rome long-distance race, this aerodynamic,
highly streamlined sports car became the trendsetter for all Porsche models
to follow.
After the first few units of the Porsche 356 had been built in the
Austrian town of Gmünd as of 1948, Porsche returned to Stuttgart as a
genuine "car city" in late 1949. With the Porsche Plant in Zuffenhausen
still being occupied at the time by the US military, Porsche first rented a
production hall on the premises of the nearby Reutter & Co. GmbH
Coachbuilding and Body Construction Plant, starting to prepare production in
early 1950.
With the first Type 356 being completed in Stuttgart on 6 April 1950,
overall production up to the end of the year amounted to 369 units. The
success of Porsche's sports cars is borne out clearly not only by the
Company's sales figures, but also by the further expansion of the production
facilities in Zuffenhausen. The buildings forming Porsche Plant 2 designed
by the well-known architect Rolf Gutbrod were completed in 1952 and in 1956
the 10,000th Porsche 356 left the plant, which was consistently enlarged and
upgraded over the years. Porsche Plant 3 followed in 1960, also housing the
Sales and Customer Service Departments.
Immediately after the introduction of the Porsche 911, Porsche KG, as the
Company was still called at the time, took over the Reutter Coachbuilding
and Body Construction Company in 1964 with its workforce of approximately
1,000 employees. Today the complete 911 model series as well as models of
the Boxster series and all Porsche engines are built in Zuffenhausen.
The Plant is split up into the Bodyshop, Paint shop, Vehicle Assembly,
Upholstery, Engine Assembly and Test Dynamometers. To ensure flexible
production in a confined area, Porsche has developed special solutions
including multi-floor production in the Bodyshop and Vehicle Assembly. A
further special feature is that Porsche's series models are built together
with the racing versions on one and the same assembly line. As yet a further
highlight a new, particularly ecological Paint shop will be opened in 2011.
Currently being built in the direct vicinity of Plants 1 and 5, the new
Paint shop will be situated on the former premises of Dürr AG purchased by
Porsche in spring 2008.
The new Porsche Museum was opened in January 2009 as an additional pledge
to Zuffenhausen. Here, virtually on the Company's home ground, some 80
historical cars and exhibits from the history of the Company are presented
in an exhibition area of 5,600 square metres or 60,200 square feet. As the
most spectacular building project commissioned by Porsche, the Porsche
Museum has not only gone down in the history of the Company, but also
enriches the entire Stuttgart Region as an outstanding highlight in culture
and architecture.
The Porsche Museum is honouring the 60th anniversary of Porsche in
Zuffenhausen with a special exhibition: The beginnings and the ongoing
development of production at Zuffenhausen are being presented by a series of
photos in this exhibition from 20 March to 9 May 2010. A further outstanding
highlight is the first Porsche 356 Coupé built in Zuffenhausen shown for the
first time in the Museum after an unusual restoration process.
The Porsche Museum is opened Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:00 to 18:00. For
further information, see the internet at www.porsche.com/museum.
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