Back to Back - Space Coast Region - Porsche Club of America
Back to Back - Space Coast Region - Porsche Club of America Back to Back - Space Coast Region - Porsche Club of America
The Fast Lane to Where It All Began Article by Ron McCall Photos by Ron and Libby McCall Last spring, I received an e-mail from the Porsche Club of America announcing that Peter Sontag’s Fast Lane Travel Fall TREFFEN would include a visit to Gmünd, Austria, which all Porschephiles know is where it all began – the birthplace of Porsche. From 1948 to 1950, a total of 44 Coupes and eight Cabriolets were built at an old sawmill in Gmund, as well as the most famous Porsche of them all, Type 356 Nr. 1, which is now in the new Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. Being a recently converted Porschephile, I knew that I had to be one of the chosen few to visit the birthplace of Porsche. I mentioned to Peter that, if possible, it would be nice to see the Porsche family estate in Zell am See enroute to Gmünd. Peter said that there wasn’t time given our tight schedule. It is just that I had read about it in Christophorus Magazine, and if by chance we passed by it, Peter could simply point it out. Well, in the typical Sontag fashion, my wish was his command. Not only did we stop at the residence, but Peter called ahead and Wolfgang Porsche (Ferry‘s son) came out to greet us. What a treat that was! The author with Wolfgang Porsche at the Porsche family estate in Zell Am See As every Porschephile knows, Gmünd is where Ferdinand and Ferry Porsche moved during World War II to escape the allied bombing of Stuttgart. The only thing remaining from the old sawmill is the original gatehouse and Ferry Porsche’s conference room and office. The caretaker and owner of the property is Helmut Pfeifhofer. In 1982, Mr. Pfeifhofer founded the first and only private Porsche museum in Europe, which is just down the road from the old sawmill. The museum has some rare and original Porsches and photographs of the early days. But the real gem is the gatehouse and Ferry Porsche’s office. The buildings are not open to the public except by special arrangement with Mr. Pfeifhofer, which of course Peter took care of. Gatehouse and Ferry Porsche’s Office in Gmünd, the birthplace of Porsche 1 volume 5, Issue 1 We had a personal tour of the buildings narrated by Mr. Pfeifhofer in German and translated by Peter, who is a native Austrian and thus, fluent in German. On the Grossglockner High Alpine Road enroute to Gmünd While seeing the original site was worth the price of the trip, the Fast Lane journey to Gmünd was right up there as well. There were two groups for a total of twelve Porsches nose-to-tail at over 150 MPH on the Autobahn, and traversing the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. The High Alpine Road takes you over the Grossglockner, the highest mountain in Austria at 12,460 feet. The road is 30 miles long with 36 hairpin turns and an altitude ascent of 8,215 feet. The road was built between 1930 and 1935 and was used by Ferry Porsche to test the newly constructed Gmünd 356s. Rest stop on the top of the Grossglockner pass with all 11 Porsches lined up and ready to go I can’t speak for Ferry Porsche, but it sure was a lot of fun for me in a 911S when our lead driver Thomas Höferlin exclaimed over the radio “eagles let’s fly” - and fly we did - up and down the mountain and around all 36 of those hairpin turns. Be cautioned, this trip is not for the faint of heart, but it is a piece of cake for a Porsche. This is what these cars were designed to do. This is home field for the Porsche and Fast Lane Travel. It was truly a special and once-in-a-lifetime experience for my wife and me. More information can be found at www.fastlanetravel.com. Happy Treffeners
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- Page 1 and 2: Volume 5, Issue 1 Published Quarter
- Page 3 and 4: Greetings Space Coast Friends, Pres
- Page 5 and 6: Roar Before the 24 Article by Steve
- Page 7: 901 Shop Tour As announced at the H
- Page 10 and 11: HSR Sebring Fall Classic Article by
- Page 12 and 13: 2010 Best FEST Article The 2010 Fal
- Page 17 and 18: The Dyno Day Dish Article and Photo
- Page 19 and 20: at Sebring A pair of 962’s fight
- Page 21 and 22: By Mike Steele, Porsche of Melbourn
- Page 23 and 24: Gimmick Rally Libby and I entered t
- Page 25 and 26: Idle Time Article and Photos by Ken
- Page 27 and 28: approved my request to visit the Cl
- Page 29 and 30: Q & A with Ron and Libby McCall Esc
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