E-Zine August 2017

Quality: always a part of the Porsche legend

The third episode of Porsche’s 9:11 Magazine is dedicated to
quality, which has always been a part of the Porsche legend.
A recently launched online venture, 9:11 Magazine features a
series of high-quality videos that address the history,
mystique, and important building blocks of Porsche cars.
In Episode 3, viewers first witness the production of the onemillionth
911 and visit the Porsche Quality Center. The
presentation also delivers exciting views from behind the
scenes in preparation for Le Mans. You can vicariously drive
in a Porsche Turbo through the Canadian wilderness, and
take a closer look at a special anecdote: “Project Luna.”
The short segment on the one-millionth 911 features uniquely
personal commentary from Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, Chairman
of the Supervisor Board at Porsche AG, talking about his
brother and his father. He pages through original notes about
the creation of the 911. He considers how the car has
changed over the years while still keeping its iconic form.
“We’ve succeeded in improving the DNA while keeping the
basic DNA in place,” he says. Other images show the elite
team of Porsche technicians putting the finishing touches on
the car itself.
The next segment takes you to the track to experience 30
hours in the 919 Hybrid as it undertakes testing in preparation
for Le Mans. This segment emphasizes the team effort
required for successful endurance racing. It also talks about
the unique challenge of racing continuously from daylight
through nighttime.
The third part of this episode explores Project Luna. This
unusual effort involved a 944 S that was driven the distance
between the earth and the moon to prove durability and
reliability. Along the way, the car achieved three Guinness
World Records.
Following that, viewers are taken on a tour of the Porsche
Quality Center. Andreas Schmidt, head of corporate quality for
Porsche, explains the essential role of the Quality Center in
Porsche engineering. Even the details of how the center is
finished in bright white play an important part. Unbelievable
precision is involved as parts are installed to incredibly small
tolerances. And, just as in the other segments, Schmidt
emphasizes that quality assurance at Porsche is a “team
sport.”
The final chapter explores the history of Bill MacEachern and
his 930 Porsche, which has gone 1 million kilometers (more
than 725,000 miles). He is the original owner of the car, which
he has been driving for 41 years. “We are growing old
together,” he says.
To view the entire episode or see past episodes, go to:
//911-magazine.porsche.com.

Porsche planning to enter Formula E

Beginning in 2019, Porsche will compete with a factory team
in the Formula E Championship. As a result, the company will
with great regret end its involvement in the LMP1 class of the
FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the end of the
2017 season. At the same time, Porsche will continue to focus
its attention on international GT racing, campaigning the 911
RSR in the GT class of the FIA World Endurance
Championship. The highlight of the World Endurance
Championship is the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in addition to the
North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
and other long-distance endurance classics.
This realignment of motorsport activities for Porsche stems
from the direction set out for the company in Porsche Strategy
2025, which will see Porsche develop a combination of pure
GT vehicles and fully electric sports cars, such as the first fully
electric Porsche model, based upon the Mission E concept
car.
“Entering Formula E and achieving success in this category
are the logical outcomes of our Mission E project. The growing
freedom for in-house technology developments makes
Formula E attractive to us,” said Michael Steiner, member of
the Executive Board of Porsche AG responsible for Research
and Development. “Porsche is working with alternative,
innovative drive concepts. For us, Formula E is the ultimate
competitive environment for driving forward the development
of high-performance vehicles in areas such as environmental
friendliness, efficiency, and sustainability.”
Porsche has already taken the first steps toward developing
its own Formula E racing car this year.
At the same time, Porsche is increasing its commitment in the
GT class. “A diversity of manufacturers and the quality of both
WEC and IMSA have led us to strengthen our commitment
and concentrate our energies on using the 911 RSR,” added
Steiner. “We want to be number one. To do that, we must
invest accordingly.”
After four highly successful years, including three victories in a
row at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and World Championship
titles in both the team and driver classifications in 2015 and
2016, Porsche will be leaving the LMP1 class. Nevertheless,
the factory team from Weissach wants to defend the back-toback
World Championship titles one more time. The 2017
season ends on November 18 in Bahrain.
Fritz Enzinger, Vice President in charge of LMP1 and a central
figure in the return of Porsche to top-level motorsport in 2014,
commented, “Building up the Le Mans team from scratch was
a huge challenge. Over the years, we have developed an
incredibly successful and professional team. This will be our
basis going forward. I am certain that we will maintain our high
level in Formula E. Confidence is high, and we are excited to
get started.”
Porsche will keep the successful LMP1 team intact, including
the factory drivers. Alongside ventures in other racing series
and the intensive preparation for Formula E, Porsche is
examining other fields of application and development areas.
Formula E – the world’s first purely electric racing series – was
launched on September 13, 2014. The International
Automobile Federation, or FIA, which is also responsible for
Formula 1, has organized the series to make a statement in
favor of electromobility and to get more young people excited
about motorsport.