Slipstream - April 2018

The Porsche Effect: A Taste of the Petersen Museum
By Michael McGrath
images courtesy of Author
Founded on June 11, 1994, by magazine publisher
Robert E. Petersen and his wife Margie, the $40 million
Petersen Automotive Museum, on Wilshire Blvd in Los
Angeles, CA, is owned and operated by the Petersen
Automotive Museum Foundation.
diagrams of the model evolution through the years.
Photographs also adorn the walls illustrating the history
of the Porsche family, the leaders of the organization
over time, and the evolution of the factories and
special projects.
In 2015, the museum underwent an extensive
$125 million renovation. The building’s façade was
redesigned by the architectural firm Kohn Peterson
Fox, and features a stainless steel ribbon assembly
made of 100 tons of 14-gauge type 304 steel in 308
sections, 25 supports, and 140,000 custom stainlesssteel
screws.
In February 2018 the museum launched a new
exhibit known as “The Porsche Effect.” The exhibit
runs through January of 2019. This is one of the
largest collections of Porsche automobiles and artifacts
in one location outside of Stuttgart, Germany.
It is designed to tell the story of Porsche through the
years and the company’s influence on culture, as well
as illustrate the passion that exists for the cars and
the brand.
As soon as you enter the museum you
are surrounded by amazing Porsche history.
I stopped in my tracks to gaze at the 904
Carrera GTS and the 910 racing car. This is followed
by no less than two GT1s. Then as you wander
past the ticket stand you find a deep blue 918 Hybrid,
a 1956 550 RS Spyder, and the one car that I stopped
and stared at for a very long time admiring its beauty: a
1951 Sauter Porsche 356 Roadster.
Once you have your entry ticket, you are free to
enter the main exhibit of 28 vehicles in the Mullin
Family Grand Salon. Upon entry you are greeted by a
sleek 1939 Porsche Type 64 60K10 in gloss black. The
aerodynamic styling of this vehicle must have made it
appear as it was from out of the future in 1939! This
two seat compact coupe was conceived for a planned
race from Berlin to Rome in late 1939. This smooth
aerodynamic styling influenced the next model to come
-- the 356. From the Type 64 you are escorted through
time and the history of Porsche, as you are treated to
original scale models for product development, original
drawings, schematics, and other historic documents.
The walls of the museum are full of interesting information
about the company history, as well as full scale
As you snake past the artifacts and around the perforated
dividers, you are greeted by a pristine example of
the 1955 356 Cabriolet, briefly referred to as the “Continental.”
The Continental was conceived by influential
New York importer Max Hoffman, who believed that
the American market would be more likely to embrace
a vehicle with an evocative name, rather than a mere
number designation. Porsche was forced to re-badge the
Continental when Ford informed them that they had
already trademarked that name. As a result, few Continentals
were produced and the name briefly changed to
“European,” then back to 356.
18 April