To ensure that the historic Porsche race cars can still be admired at race tracks today, Porsche now also offers customers a comprehensive service for historic motor racing in Germany and the USA. The priorities of the new business field are to restore vintage race cars as true to the original as possible as well as to repair and maintain them.
The figurehead for the new business service is the now completed restoration of a Porsche 917K. In 2012, Porsche Motorsport North America was commissioned to restore this race car to its 1971 condition and get it back on the track. This task was implemented using a variety of resources, such as the Porsche Museum archives with its extensive collection of documents, as well as in consultation with witnesses of that time and, of course, by relying on the experience and broad knowledge of older and former Porsche employees. To firmly anchor this expertise at Porsche and pass it on to future generations of staff is another important goal that Porsche is pursuing with the new area of business.
In addition to restorations and repairs, Porsche also offers a comprehensive service for owners of historic race cars to take their vehicles racing. This includes, for example, the replacement of safety-relevant parts. Especially now, this is an issue with many Group C vehicles that were built 30, 40 years ago. When it comes to safety, and only then, deviations from authenticity can be made. For instance, old safety belts are not fitted.
Another focus in the portfolio is the maintenance of historic race cars. As with current motor racing customers, Porsche not only takes care of supplying parts, also at race tracks, but is available for customers with advice and assistance in all technical matters. After the completion of the new Porsche Experience Centre (PEC) in Los Angeles, which is expected mid next year, customers are also offered the chance to store their historic vehicles on site. Between race meetings, they are maintained by experts, transported to the circuits if desired, and sent back to PEC afterwards. There, they are exhibited in a first-class Porsche environment for visitors to enjoy – until the next race.
