The German press is reporting this morning that there's been an explosion at Porsche's factory in Stuttgart where the 911 and many of its variants are built. Apparently a furnace used for drying coating sheaths was the source of the boom, which set off the sprinkler systems and ground 911 production to a halt. Reports say production will be down at least 2 - 3 days, which means Porsche could lose about 320 to 480 units of production, not to mention the cost of damage to property. Fortunately, there were no fatalities, but two Porsche workers were hospitalized with injuries. As to why the furnace blew up, the cause is unknown at this time.
UPDATE: Automotive News confirms that the explosion happened at Porsche's spray-painting facility in Zuffenhausen, Germany.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
plim @ Feb 25th 2008 10:12AM
in other news, the mayor of london was seen fleeing the porsche factory in Stuttgart
Way of the Future @ Feb 25th 2008 10:15AM
ROFLMAO
Ben H. @ Feb 25th 2008 10:43AM
Awesome!! LMAO!
Franz @ Feb 25th 2008 11:28AM
That's a very good one. Two thumbs up, plim.
nagmashot @ Feb 25th 2008 1:03PM
LOL
almost Dr. G.. @ Feb 25th 2008 1:58PM
good one! give props when due! and hey! the reply finally works!! WOO HOO!
berne1 @ Feb 25th 2008 10:18AM
Why couldn't it have been the Cayenne plant??
Artoo @ Feb 25th 2008 11:20AM
I would have made them evacuate the plant and blown it to oblivion.
Jeff @ Feb 25th 2008 11:30AM
I'm glad to hear nobody was killed. I hope the two employees were not hurt too badly.
jjd @ Feb 25th 2008 11:43AM
Here's an article in English about it, which says that parts of the plant are underwater!
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/25/business/EU-FIN-COM-Germany-Porsche-Production.php
nate @ Feb 25th 2008 12:23PM
Best wishes to the injured workers and their families. Get well soon.
993C4S @ Feb 25th 2008 12:45PM
Looks like only two people were hurt (with minor injuries) and the plant has some pretty good water damage.
Link to the article http://993c4s.com/wordpress/?p=149
Below is from Reuters this morning.
FRANKFURT, Feb 25 (Reuters) - A gas explosion at Porsche's (PSHG_p.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) Zuffenhausen plant on Monday has put a halt to its 911 sports car production for at least 48 hours.
"Assembly of the 911 model line will be idled for at least two to three days based on preliminary estimates. The daily production capacity is currently 160 units," the company said in a statement.
A spokesman for Porsche said the company expects it can recoup the lost production in the course of the year by negotiating Saturday shifts with labour leaders. The explosion in the plant's paint shop did not affect other areas of production, such as the line that assembles the engines used in all Porsches. As a result, output of Cayenne and Boxster/Cayman models in Leipzig and Finland, respectively, will not be affected.
Two employees were taken to hospital with minor injuries due to the blast, which occurred around 0400 GMT at the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) thermoplastic gelling oven in the paintshop.
"The amount of damages cannot yet be quantified," Porsche added.
The paint shop will be replaced in 2013 by a new one with daily capacity of 170 units, which is to be built at the cost of roughly 200 million euros ($296 million). (Reporting by Christiaan Hetzner; Editing by Quentin Bryar)
almost Dr. G.. @ Feb 25th 2008 2:00PM
"production will be down at least 2 - 3 days, which means Porsche could lose about 320 to 480 units of production"
i had no idea so many of these were built per day! lots of people with lots of money worldwide..
jeffzekas @ Feb 25th 2008 2:18PM
Not that it matters. Middle class folks haven't been able to afford Porsche products since 1970! (back when the list price of a 911 was $8000!!!)
jeffzekas @ Feb 25th 2008 2:34PM
Oops. According to NADA guide, list price of a new, 1970 Porsche 911T was $6,430... equivalent to $36,000 in 2008!!! Porsche, where have you gone? Bring back the 914 and 924! Rich folks aren't the only people who love German engineering!
porschedevotee @ Feb 25th 2008 2:27PM
It depends. My parents, a self-employed architect and a schoolteacher, both managed to have Porsches (a 911 Targa and 912 respectively). We got the 911 used, 1 year old... not sure about the 912. It all depends on what your definition of "afford[ing] Porsche Products" is - if you insist on a brand-new 911, you are probably correct for most middle class people. However, with the introduction of the Boxster and Cayman, plus good financing deals and/or European delivery (not so much right now with the exchange rates), plus a plethora of lightly-used Porsches running about, I don't think they're unreasonable to acquire at this point.
porschedevotee @ Feb 25th 2008 2:29PM
Oh yeah, forgot to mention that they bought them in the early '70s. My dad managed to put nearly 250K on the 911 before finally trading it in for... a Honda. Sigh. I guess the Porsche didn't fit my baby seat too well.
jeffzekas @ Feb 25th 2008 2:30PM
And what really makes me laugh is the comment from Porsche AG Public Relations: "The entry level Porsche is a USED Porsche." Um, yeah... whatever.
jeffzekas @ Feb 25th 2008 2:40PM
My son bought a used Boxster, then sold returned it after four days (luckily, he had the doctor who owned it, sign a four-day, buyer's remorse contract). Turns out the doctor let his 16 year old son "borrow" the Boxster for a year-- no oil changes, no tune-ups, no maintence-- so the engine was trashed. But, my son said, "It was an awesome car, even if I only had it four days! And what a babe magnet!" (it was a black Boxster). My son's lesson: even though used Boxsters are "affordable", without proper maintenance, you can end up buying a beautiful money pit.
993C4S @ Feb 25th 2008 7:13PM
Jeff,
Running the risk of going way, way off topic. Used Porsches are a great option to get into Porsche ownership without parting with serious, serious dollars.
A lot of the early and mid 80's SC models and Carreras are great buys right now and can be had anywhere from just $10k +. Porschedevotee makes a great point about "determining what it means to afford a Porsche".
The only thing you have to remember in buying a used Porsche is that service and maintenance history is more important than anything else. Combine that with a well done Pre-purchase inspection and you can purchase a 20 year old Porsche that's basically bullet proof and easy to maintain. IMVHO