Slipstream - September 2015

First Porsche: Pick Up in Zuffenhausen
By Voy “Mitch” Mitchell
Photos courtesy of the Author
In 1963, the Cold War between
the US and the USSR raged in
full swing. We had earlier lived
through the U-2 “spy plane” incident,
the disastrous failure of a CIA-backed
invasion of Cuba, the building of the
Berlin Wall and, of course, the Cuban
Missile Crisis. No one knew when the
next incident might occur, or if that incident would suddenly
turn the Cold War into an all-out conflict involving
NATO countries and the Soviet Union, along with
its Eastern Bloc countries. Scary times indeed, especially
if one happened to be living in the area most likely to be
the starting point of it all.
At the time I was a 22-year-old Air Force staff Sergeant
stationed in Siegelbach, West Germany, which was located
about 10 miles from Ramstein Air Base. My unit
was the hub for all teletype messages between Europe
and Washington DC, and was tasked with providing a
secure pathway for classified messages between the US
and its NATO allies.
In March of that year, I ordered a new 1964 356C
Porsche through Georg Rittersbacher GMBH, the
Porsche dealer in Kaiserslautern,
with a down
payment of $200.00. The
car was to be delivered in
October, when the 1964
models were scheduled to
appear on the market. I
Receipt for $200.00 down
payment placed at time of
order— March 15, 1963
waiting was all that was left to do!
knew at the time of order
that the “C” model would
be the first to offer disc
brakes all around, a highly
desirable option. Now
Come October, I took a train from Kaiserslautern to
the Porsche factory in Stuttgart‐Zuffenhausen to take
delivery of my new car. There were about 15 other people
picking up their new cars, and we were given a tour
of the factory. The tour included all facets of production,
from the pressing of sheet metal into body shells,
to the assembly of engines, painting, quality control,
and the final run up and test driving of the completed
automobile.
I was interested in the tour, but was also quite anxious
to pick up my Porsche. The car was a coupe painted
Signal Red with a black leatherette interior and a standard
four-speed transmission. As options, I ordered a
radio antenna, two
speakers, one outside
mirror, Firestone
Phoenix 165‐15 tires,
chrome wheels, and
Coco mats. I also ordered
seat belts for
driver and passenger,
as the US military
began requiring all
automobiles owned
and driven by military
personnel in Europe
to have them installed.
Many cars brought
over from the United
States had to be fitted Original invoice from 1963
with belts to comply
with this regulation. Afterwards, I purchased and installed
a Blaupunkt Koln radio purchased from the U.S.
military exchange system.
The car was kept in Germany
from October 1963 until
mid-June 1964. During that
time I traveled all over West
Germany participating in
club rallies and gymkhanas.
First registration at
Ramstein AB, Germany,
October 3, 1963
Then new orders were issued
that required me to report
stateside; I made arrangements
to ship the Porsche to
the US. About a week before
I planned to drive to the
Hamburg port, I scheduled a
“major” check‐up for the car. I wanted the car to be in
top condition when I took it to the US and I wasn’t at
all sure that the mechanics there would be of the same
caliber as those in Germany.
In mid-June
of 1964 I drove
to the port in
Hamburg and
surrendered
the car for
commercial
shipping to
New York. Government
policy
at the time dic-
Voy outside the auxiliary gate to
the Rhine Ordinance Barracks,
Kaiserslautern,Germany, 1963.
18 September