“Thank god there’s no 48-hour race anywhere in the world, because chances are nobody could beat Porsche in a 48 hour race. They’re probably the only cars in the world that would stand up for something like that.”
-Carroll Shelby
Who are we to argue with Carroll Shelby, or Porsche’s endurance racing record? It’s no secret that Porsche builds extremely durable and versatile sports cars. To the best of our knowledge no other manufacturer has claimed a class win at Le Mans, and an overall win in a long distance rally with variants of the same car, much less in the same year (1986, with variants of the 959). Much of this legendary reliability and durability can be attributed to the development center at Weissach; the subject of the latest Porsche Top 5 video.
Since the center’s inauguration more than fifty years ago, Porsche has applied the Weissach name to several models. In the 1980s Porsche produced both 911s and 928s as a tribute to their testing center, and more recently the 918 offered a “Weissach package” offering improved performance and lighter weight. Even the rear suspension in the 928, which offered passive rear steering, was known as a “Weissach Axle.” This video details some of the center’s features and tests used to develop Porsches since 1966. These range from the skidpad and handling circuit, to more unexpected elements like the off-road loop and in-house crash test facility.
This is the last video in the first season of Porsche’s Top 5 series. While the series has covered some interesting content, from wings to racetrack milestones, we hope this latest video heralds a new direction for the series. This video’s use of archival footage, along with a little extra depth given to each item feels like a step in the right direction.
