Porsche has been chasing speed since the company came into being seventy years ago. It’s a relentless endeavor to go as fast and as quickly as they can using whatever they have at their disposal. Sometimes it comes in the form of borrowing Nurburgring time from Chevrolet. Sometimes it involves using a 935 to deflect air for a cyclist’s world land speed record attempt, or Christina Nielsen’s championship racing efforts, or the gorgeous art of Erich Strenger, or the only production-homologated 911 to ever win Le Mans. Speed is in the blood of every worker in Stuttgart, Zuffenhausen, or Flacht. Speed and its pursuit is the difference between Porsche and every other manufacturer out there.
In just nine minutes and eleven seconds, Porsche will tell you three tales from their speed-chasing past, as well as two contemporary ones. You can learn from those who care why what they do matters. The recent GT3 RS naturally-aspirated Nurburgring record was already awesome, but hearing that this was Lars Kern’s first timed lap in the Porsche makes it all the more exciting. Hearing the passion in Nielsen’s voice as she recounts the hard moments she’s faced to get where she is today, it simply cannot be explained. It’s likely you’ve seen the modified 935 Henri Pescarolo drove to aid in Jean-Claude Rude’s bicycle top-speed record attempt (as we first wrote about it years ago), but it’s more fun to hear the story recounted by Henri himself.
Whatever the speed you’re chasing in your Porsche, you can rest assured that Porsche is along side you chasing that dream as well. They never seem to quite be able to reach their intended speed, because the ball is always moving. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and as sure as that is true, Porsche will always be dreaming of going faster.
