No. 19 - 10 Jahres Ausgabe, Lech & Zürs

„THE ORIGINAL: EGON ZIMMERMANN“
Egon Zimmermann was born in Lech, on 8 February, 1939.
The trained chef had started to ski at the age of six and in 1962 he became
Giant Slalom World Champion. Two years later followed the Olympic medal for
downhill skiing during the Innsbruck Winter Olympics. In 2019 Zimmermann
died aged 80, still living in his hometown. “This photo makes him immortal”,
says his brother Karlheinz Zimmermann about the picture that travelled
around the world. Back then it was a giant avalanche that had blocked the
road Flexenstraße, the only connection between the villages of Stuben and Zürs
am Arlberg. Huge snow cutting equipment was used to clear the road, the snow
was piled up high on both sides of the road. “The walls were higher than ever”,
remembers Zimmermann, “that’s what excited Hans Truöl and my brother so.”
The photo was the result of a whim when that rare occasion presented itself,
Karlheinz Zimmermann recalls. The most important requisite in the picture,
the ruby Porsche 356 B, was Truöl’s own car, he also remembers.
“Back then the 356 was an impossible dream for my brother and me.
” What was also a dream was the friendship that connected Egon
Zimmermann and Truöl after the stunt until Truöl’s death in 1981.
He waits for the right moment and takes the shot. Everyone
involved in the new edition of “The Porsche Jump” seems to
sense the magnitude of this enterprise. Executive Lutz
Meschke sums it up: “Today, we wrote history”. A history
that began with Egon Zimmermann and Hans Truöl. “If he
were alive today, he would be here”, a visibly moved Karlheinz
Zimmermann says about his brother. “Maybe he’s
watching from above.”
On occasion of the new edition, Porsche Museum will design
two high-quality prints that are expected to be available
from mid-December 2021 via the Porsche online shop.
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