Porsche Museum

The museum opened in 2009 opposite the Zuffenhausen factory, designed by Delugan Meissl as a white monolith carried on three angled columns so the exhibition floor appears to hover above the plaza. Around eighty vehicles are shown from a collection of several hundred, and the museum operates them: most cars are kept in running order, taken to historic events and races through the year, so the displays rotate and a specific car may be away. Exhibits run from the Lohner-Porsche of 1900, an early hybrid with wheel-hub motors, through the 356 and 911 to Le Mans winners.

History

The first Porsche museum opened in 1976 in a side street near the factory, a small works museum with little parking that could show only about 20 cars at a time from a rotating stock of 300 restored and drivable vehicles. Work on the concept for a new museum began in 2003, and after the new Mercedes-Benz Museum opened in 2006 Porsche built its own beside its headquarters at Zuffenhausen; budgeted at 60 million euros, it cost 100 million and opened on 29 January 2009 (Wikipedia, Porsche Museum).

What to look for

• The hovering block - an exhibition floor carried on three angled columns.
• The running collection - cars kept operable and driven at events.
• The Lohner-Porsche - a 1900 hybrid with electric wheel-hub motors.
• The racing history - Le Mans and endurance cars across the decades.

When to go

Year-round; the museum closes Mondays. Cars rotate in and out for events, so specific vehicles cannot be guaranteed. Factory tours are booked separately.

What to expect

Cars leave for historic events, so the display changes and a particular model may be absent. It closes Mondays. The collection is smaller than the Mercedes museum.

Nearby

The Mercedes-Benz Museum lies southeast; Ludwigsburg is north.

Key facts