Stuttgart: Porsche museum

Porsche museum, small yet chic. 

One of the questions a lot of people ask me is whether we have a car. A German car. No, we don’t. An obvious question since we do live in the city of Porsche and Mercedes Benz. But we don’t need one because public transportation is brilliant and we don’t have a parking space. But yes, there are a lot of nice cars on the streets, but some German cars can also be a luxury even for Germans. They’re that good (the cars) and they’re that practical (the Germans).

독일에 사니 독일차가 있을거라는 사람들의 인식과는 다르게 우리는 차가 없다. 일단 집 바로 옆이 전철역이고 조금 더 가면 기차역, 거의 모든 곳이 전철이나 기차로 해결 가능하고 자동차도로보다는 기찻길이 먼저 생겨나서 기차나 전철이 훨씬 편하기 때문.  무엇보다도 지금 살고 있는 집이 중심가에 위치하고 있어 주차공간이 없다. 우리 또래의 독일인들도 비슷한 상황. 특별히 필요하지 않은 이상 자동차, 그것도 포르쉐나 벤츠를 끌고 다닐 이유가 없는 것이 사실이다. 그렇다고 자동차에 관심이 없는 것은 아니다. 역시나 거의 모든 독일인들은 자동차에 대한 지식과 정보가 엄청나다. 자동차 박물관에 가도 몇번이나 방문하고 그렇게 가고도 취미처럼 다니는 사람들도 있을정도.

The original Porsche Museum opened in 1976, but the new one was completed in 2009. I sense there was a bit of an silent competition spark going on between the Porsche museum and the Mercedes Benz museum. The building is quite unique indeed, standing out from the usual red roofed houses and simple grey buildings around it. But then everyone seems to think the same thing. “Yup, that seems like the Porsche museum. Silver, sleek, shiny and simple.”

스튜트가르트는 포르쉐와 메르세데즈 벤츠의 본고장이다. 본사가 여기에 있고 박물관도 있다. 포르쉐 박물관은 1976년에 열었다가 (벤츠가 멋진 박물관을 개관한 후) 재공사에 들어가 2009년에 새로 개관했다. 회색빛 하늘, 주변 회색 건물들과 빨간 지붕 집들과 다르게 눈에 띄는것이 사실. 번쩍이고 뭔가 시크한 느낌. 포르쉐의 느낌을 살리려는 의도였겠지만 사실 디자인을 맡은 건축가들의 개성일지도.

Porsche was founded by Ferdinand Porsche, who was an automotive engineer/designer and the creator of the first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle, the Volkswagen Beetle and the Mercedes Benz SS/SSK, among others. (He was also an important figure during the World War II as a member of the Nazi party and also the SS). Stuttgart was already a highly demanded city for the automotive industry and Mr. Porsche spent a great deal of time creating, designing and perfecting various techniques and models.

One of his best known works was the assignment from the German government: to design a car for the people, or a “Volkswagen.” (Porsche also produced tanks during the WW2, which is something I never knew.) The first car to bear the Porsche brand was Porsche 356, which was produced in 1948 by Mr. Porsch’s son, Ferry Porsche, who made it because he couldn’t find a one he wanted to buy. How cool is that. The cooler fact was that when they first manufactured the 356, it was in an old saw mill. They made 49, built entirely by hand. WHAT? (It was named 356 because it was the 356th project)

포르쉐는 폭스바겐 비틀을 비롯한 자동차를 디자인한 페르난드 포르쉐의 브랜드. 정식적으로 스튜트가르트에서 시작되었다. 포르쉐씨의 뛰어난 기술력과 안목은 나치의 귀에도 들어가 후에 나치당의 일원으로 활동하기도 했지만 결과적으로 폭스바겐을 만들어내는 성과를 얻기도 했다. (자동차와 함께 2차세계대전에 사용된 탱크도 만들었다.) 포르쉐의 이름을 딴 첫 자동차는 포르쉐 356. 포르쉐의 아들 페리 포르쉐가 아버지를 대신해 만들었다. 아버지를 위한것도 있었지만 사실 본인이 사고 싶은 차가 없어서 직접 만든거였다고. 이름이 356인건 포르쉐가 계획하고 있던 356번째 프로젝트였기 때문이다.

The museum is lovely. Many people have said that it was a bit small (compared to the Mercedes-Benz museum) and so not so spacious for a museum and I agree. The museum is indeed a bit small (5,600 square meters, to be exact. The MB museum’s exhibition space is 16,500 square meters).

But I found that this was the charm. The building itself looks very futuristic and avant garde with its shiny silver metallic and white walls, but it was very easy and practical to see every single car and display in the room. (This style seems to be Delugan Meissl Associated Architects‘ speciality.) Avant garde can sometimes be a bit too overwhelming, but it works well especially with the overall image and design of the Porsche brand. It’s basically a big, white room divided into smaller ones, but each space is very well structured and organized. Follow the map painted on the wall, and you’ll get to see every car without having to go back and forth, trying to catch the ones you missed. It’s very flowy, which was a big plus for a museum with cars, not paintings or smaller artifacts.

크기로 봤을때는 벤츠 박물관이 승. 포르쉐 박물관은 5,600 제곱미터, 벤츠 박물과는 16,500 제곱미터이다. 크기로 봐서는 당연히 그렇겠지만 난 사실 포르쉐 박물관, 가볼만했다. 작은게 매력. 크기는 작지만 없는게 없었고 (레스토랑, 카페, 기념품샵, 작은 극장 등) 작은 공간을 정말 효율적으로 사용한 티가 난다. 벽에 그려진 지도대로 걸아가다보면 자연스럽게 모든 자동차를 쉽게 볼 수 있었고 바닥부터 천장까지 흰색이라 환한 느낌.

The Volkswagen Beetle.

Porsche 356 No. 1 Roadster and all its glory. Red leather seats and all. The first car to bear the name Porsche.

포르쉐의 이름을 딴 최초의 자동차, Porsche 356 No. 1 Roadster.

The details were amazing. A leather belt to open and close the hood.

본네트를 열고 닫는데 가죽 벨트를 적용한 센스란.

This one was one of my favorite, just because of the color. I’m not a fan of green anything except for plants and trees, but this one was very special. It’s the Porsche 356 A 1600 S Coupé and also took part in the Mille Miglia race. It was also the company car for German racer Huschke von Hanstein.

The Porsche 911 S 2.2 Targa. This was a model that was developed to match the U.S’ stricter laws on safety. It’s a hybrid between a convertable and a coupe: the Targa. The headlights kind of give the age away.

Porsche has been very successful in various motorsports, mostly long distance races. It’s currently the world’s largest race car manufacturer. And they are good. They have the trophies to prove it. Loved the idea of hanging them all together. Very arty. There are almost always special exhibitions, so it would be a good idea to check out the exhibitions section on the museum’s website before visiting.

자동차 브랜드답게 레이싱에도 큰 활약을 보이고 지금도 보이고 있는 포르쉐. 대부분은 장거리 레이싱이었다는데 현재 세계에서 가장 많은 레이싱카를 제작하는 브랜드라고 한다.

In 1900, Mr. Porsche combined the wheel-hup electric drive with a petrol engine, creating the world’s first full hybrid automobile: the Lohner Porsche Semper Vivus. It looks like a cross between a wagon/tractor and a time machine.

The Cayenne is one of the most popular Porsches here in Stuttgart and I have to say, it’s nice. The museum has an interesting prototype of the Cayenne hybrid, and it was one of the busiest spots yet.

현재 포르쉐 모델 중 가장 인기있는 카이엔. 여기서도 인기만점.

• The Porsche Museum (The Porsche museum is also included in Stuttgart’s StuttCard program)

All photos by rachelsanghee