World’s first Porsche Classic Centre

29 November, 2015

More than 70 per cent of the vehicles ever produced by Porsche are still running today. Following the lead set by organizations such as Ferrari Classiche, Porsche intends to establish an international dealer and service network to provide optimum support for all classic Porsche sports cars.

While the establishment of an international dealer and service network comprising some 100 centres is expected to reach completion by 2018, on November 26, 2015 the Porsche Classic Centre Gelderland, just outside of Arnhem/Netherlands, opened to offer services for classic cars of all ages from Zuffenhausen. This is the first time that service, workshop, and sales exclusively for Porsche’s classic sports cars have been brought together under one roof. 

Porsche customers, and potential customers, can expect the complete range of Porsche classic services — these will not only include the supply of some 52,000 original spare parts, complete and partial overhauls but also repair and maintenance work and the sale of classic cars. 

At present, Porsche’s classic-focused network comprises 24 Porsche Classic Partners around the world — ten of them are in Germany, the others in Estonia, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Hungary, South Africa, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates. Locations where new centres are being developed include Australia, Belgium, Canada, and the USA. 

Motorman – The saga of the Temple Buell Maseratis

Swiss-born Hans Tanner and American Temple Buell were apparently among the many overseas visitors who arrived in New Zealand for the Ardmore Grand Prix and Lady Wigram trophy in January 1959. Unlike Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Ron Flockhart, Harry Schell and Carroll Shelby who lined up for the sixth New Zealand Grand Prix that year, Tanner and Buell were not racing drivers but they were key players in international motor sport.
Neither the rotund and cheery Buell nor the multi-faceted Tanner were keen on being photographed and the word ‘apparently’ is used in the absence of hard evidence that Buell actually arrived in this country 64 years ago.

Luxury by design

How do you define luxury? To some it is being blinded with all manner of technological wizardry, from massaging heated seats to being able to activate everything with your voice, be it the driver’s side window or the next track on Spotify. To others, the most exorbitant price tag will dictate how luxurious a car is.
For me, true automotive luxury comes from being transported in unparalleled comfort, refinement, and smoothness of power under complete control. Forget millions of technological toys; if one can be transported here and there without the sensation of moving at all, that is luxury — something that is perfectly encapsulated by the original Lexus LS400. It was the first truly global luxury car from Toyota, and one that made the big luxury brands take notice.