It had been a vigorous day of shooting, with several hundred images already made in and around Porsche’s center in Leipzig. The trip, showcasing the new Cayenne Turbo on a cold and drizzly February day in 2006, had given us the chance to drive this potent monster on both Porsche’s highly technical test track, with its various corners inspired by race tracks around the world, and on a muddy off-road course. There was a jaunt upstairs to the track control room and a mid-day walk to the adjacent factory, which was producing Cayennes (and was also where the last of the Carrera GT run was being finished up).
Photographically speaking, it had been a target-rich environment, and what we had seen and photographed had been more exciting to me than the driving of the mighty Cayenne turbo. After the considerable frenzy of the day, we had finally entered the hurry-up-and-wait phase, standing around our van in the cold, anticipating transport back to the hotel. Happily, the van was parked down the hill from the entrance to the delivery center, so I could do some more shooting while keeping an eye on my ride back to town. Of the several shots of Porsche’s now iconic and often photographed “spaceship”, this was my favorite. The low angle and wide view of the surreal building seemed most appropriate, and provided a nice end to an incredible day. The next morning it was snowing at the airport, and we were on the way to a desert—but that’s another story for another time.
If you look closely you can see the Carrera GTs waiting for their new owners.
About Leonard Turner and “The Last Turn”
With a background in photography spanning more than 5 decades, Leonard Turner was Porsche Panorama’s chief photographer for some 40 years, shooting several hundred covers for the magazine and countless feature spreads involving racing, new car introductions, portraits, technical illustrations, and a plethora of other topics. In the course of doing this, he has traveled widely over the United States and Europe, visiting the Porsche factories and shooting at many venues, including a portfolio of the world’s greatest race tracks.
Leonard’s photographs have been published in many books including Porsche: Portrait of a Legend; Porsche Specials; Porsche, the 4-Cylinder, 4-Cam Sports & Racing Cars; Sebring, the Official History; Carrera RS; and Porsche: Prototype Era 1964 to 1973. His magazine credits, other than Panorama, include Autoweek, Road & Track, Automobile, Christophorus, and Excellence.
It was with this background in mind that we asked Leonard to open up his archives to share with you here on FLATSIXES.com. His personal files, both digital and film, contain tens of thousands of images of Porsches, Porsche people, and events they shaped and which shaped them. Our plan is to share one of Leonard’s images with you every other week, and the story behind it, in this newest feature, “The Last Turn” here on FLATSIXES.com.
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