The Porsche MARTINI RACING partnership dates back to its appearance on the 917 back in 1971. Since then, Porsche MARTINI RACING cars went on to take Le Mans titles in 1976 and 1977 and many, many other wins along the way. To celebrate this long and storied relationship, Driver’s Selection by Porsche Design introduced the MARTINI RACING collection back in 2007 and has been adding and improving to it ever since. This year is no different. Below is a look at 5 of the many new items we won’t be without this summer*.
1. Martini Beach Towel
Last year we received a MARTINI RACING beach towel and pretty much haven’t stopped using it since. This year, Driver’s Selection update the collection with the towel you see above. It’s similar in size (this towel is huge at 6′ 5″ x 3′ 2″) and material (super soft, 100% cotton that’s lasted through over 50 washes at this point). At $85 bucks it’s pricey for a towel, but based on how long our first one has lasted, the cost per use is next to nothing. Not to mention it makes one of the best looking picnic blankets at the track!
2. Martini Belt
It’s embossed with the Porsche logo and woven in the Martini colors. John wears his almost daily in the summer and it works with everything from jeans to khakis. Yours for $70.00 bucks.
3. Martini Board Shorts
I like this year’s addition much better than last year. The branding is much more subtle (last year’s had the PORSCHE name in white running down the full width of the leg). Last year if John wore his board shorts with anything else Porsche based it was a bit too much. This year, the red shorts are accented with the Martini blue around the pocket and the branding runs vertical down the left leg seam. They can be had for $125 bucks, but remember to check sizing as they are a “European Fit”. In other words, you need a bigger size than you think.
4. Martini Flip Flops
Perhaps the ultimate “fan boy” accessory, these Martini flip flops have the Porsche logo embossed on the sole and the Martini colors where you slide your feet in. These are the original style directly from flip*flop® and fit accordingly. You can purchase them for $65 on the Driver’s Selection site. Like the Board Shorts, be sure use the sizing chart to make sure your order correctly.
5. Go-Kart Porsche Pedal Car
My nephew turns 4 this fall and I keep telling myself he’s too young for this Go-Kart. However, I can feel the pull, I mean he’s really big for his size and he’s already zipping around the neighborhood on his balance bikes and scooters. He “needs” this, right? At $900 it’s not cheap, but I remember my brother’s Big Green Machine and this looks like it might be faster. More importantly, it’s designed for kids ages 5 to 8 and can hold up to 110 lbs. I think I can justify it if I know he’s going to play with it for 2 or 3 years. There only available at your local dealer so I’m waiting for mine to let me know when it’s in (it should be any day now). If it’s as good as I think it is, I’m going to have a lot of explaining to do when I show up with this at my sister’s house.
A Word of Caution
I love the entire MARTINI RACING collection and would buy each piece if I could afford it. However, be mindful of how much you have on at any one time. I had to stop John the other day when he tried to leave the house wearing jeans with a Martini branded belt, flip flops, sunglasses, polo shirt and hat. I don’t think he saw anything wrong with the outfit, but I’m fairly certain someone would have beaten my absent minded fan boy if I hadn’t intervened.
Other Porsche Blog Posts You Will Enjoy
Reviewing the Retro Style of Porsche’s Colors of 1968 Collection
Take a Ride in This Six Passenger Porsche to the Top of a Snow Covered Mountain
A Porsche Designed to Compete with Hummer
History of the Porsche Design Group
*While Driver’s Selection is a sponsor of this site, we do own and use all of the items we mentioned above (plus many more) except for the Go-Kart (which we plan on purchasing soon) and believe it is good quality product worthy of our endorsement.