The Silence Inside the Porsche Factory is Deafening

It’s striking how quiet the Porsche factory is. During engine assembly the loudest sound seems to be the gentle clatter of the machine which sets the pistons into the ring compressor. Even the chain hoists operate with a near silent “tick-tick-tick” as the chains move over the rollers. Six decades ago, when the 356 was in production, the Porsche factory was a noisy place. Bodies were hammered out within view of engine assembly. The ceilings were low, and the brick buildings were natural echo chambers. For decades Porsche manufacturing didn’t stray far from this model.

Perhaps we owe Porsche’s quiet efficiency to Toyota, who helped the brand revamp its production facilities in the mid 1990s. On some level most modern manufacturing is like this, but the quiet, efficient perfection suits Porsche.

Each task is achieved with a minimum of wasted effort and motion, making it almost shocking that three people are present as this Targa’s roof closes for the first time.

Like any modern factory, the Porsche works are heavily automated. A surprising level of human input is still present, from engine assembly to mating the unibody to the rear subframe and engine cradle.

Even the Porsche script on the rear decklid is still applied by hand using a special jig.

YouCar should really be commended for this video. Well worth the twenty minutes, it shows the inner workings of Porsche without music or voiceover(apart from the introduction to the video), and it addresses all facets of the model range; from the Macan to the 918.