Automotive

Here some pictures and a short verdict. 

The museum focuses more or less on the main models being made in the past, with some race cars and almost no prototypes or show cars. In that sense it’s OK but nowhere near as spectacular as some newer museums, like the Loh Collection (here:  https://www.watchprosite.com/page-wf.forumpost/fi-1076/pi-16026886/ti-1599421/s-0/t--nationales-automuseum-the-loh-collection-is-well-worth-a-visit/ for a short pictorial).

Still, nice to see the 550A and some others live. 

Diesel has been an early favorite of Porsche, too. As the sports car business has been economically marginal for most of the brand’s existence, other businesses needed to support it throughout. Actually, had VW not violated patents after WW2, with the subsequent deal with Porsche (car dealership exclusivity in Austria, subsidized parts supply…), the brand would have probably never made it through the Sixties. 

Another one of my early favorites, the 904…

One of the few prototypes - a precursor to the 911. Incredibly roomy, with proper space for four. 

First gen 911 (there’s one from most generations)

A 906 camera car…

Another one of the rare specials - the 914S. They have two here - actually both ever produced. The only 8 cylinder 914s, made for the families. 

The Sau, the rare sense of humor 🐽 

Was surprised to see that these LeMans racers still had a second seat inside…

A bit of laziness - having a Dunlop sponsored race car on Pirelli tires 🙄

The possibly least loved but most important Porsche of all times (both the 924 and 944). Without these the lights would have gone off way before the Boxster entered the fray. 

My favorite from the brand. Somehow the only car of theirs that really touches me emotionally. The rest are competent, great to drive but do nothing for me emotionally 🤷🏻‍♂️

A great example of how they managed to get into profitable personalization way before most other brands caught on 👌🏻👍🏻

A bit of Swabian corruption on this one - quite how the car would pass modern exhaust regulations to get a green plaque is beyond physics 😂

Another one of those life savers (together with the Audi RS2 Avant, which funnily was nowhere to be seen) - the Mercedes 500E. Designed and part built by Porsche during one of the final financial crises. A truly epic car. 

Finally after the Boxster the brand managed to get their own way of staying afloat, the Jagdwagen a prime example 😊

And here the final unique specimen of the museum. Nice one 👌🏻

And here the future. If the Macan is not a success, the brand will suffer badly. So far sales seem to lag far behind expectations, with the Chinese volumes (a key market) having cratered over the past years. Audi is now tasked with creating an ICE Macan based on the Q5 platform to do some damage control. The first test mules can already be spotted in the area. But having the same ‘model’ on two different platforms is a sign of utter insanity in automotive industry terms. Not a recipe to keep a healthy profitability 🤷🏻‍♂️

Overall it’s a decent museum and a good way to spend an hour or so (there’s not that much content for much more). For those with Porsche in their blood I would certainly recommend a visit, if in the area. Where it falls short in my opinion is that there’s so many more fascinating cars they could have shown, from various prototypes, showcases, one offs. In other words, it falls a bit short of the potential, and as mentioned earlier, some private endeavors, such as the Nationales Automuseum - the Loh Collection are so much more. 

Finally, the quote from the title. As often in this part of Germany, there seems to be an animosity towards children. We wanted to go to the restaurant first, as the kids were hungry and a haughty waitress immediately claimed they are fully booked for the day. Would be more believable if there was a single guest in there. In fact you can see the restaurant from the museum and there were never more than two tables occupied. The sad thing from their perspective - if they wanted to capture them young they failed miserably with this behavior. When my wife later asked if we want to take a family picture in front of one of their cars the kids’ response was, ‘Why, it’s only a Porsche.’ So if you visit with kids, book a table in advance - they cannot turn you away that way. 

Hope you enjoyed the short stroll 👍🏻

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