'Porsche Effect' exhibit to celebrate brand’s design, engineering

Porsche is celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2018, starting with "The Porsche Effect" exhibit of more than 50 rare sports cars from around the world, opening Feb. 3 at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Touted as "one of the most comprehensive displays of the marque outside of Stuttgart," the exhibit will explore the history and significance of the brand's design, engineering, advertising, partnerships and racing legacy. It will feature five thematic sections, each using a variety of automobiles, artifacts, film footage, archival material and visual reproductions. A museum vault tour will also be featured. The museum has been heavily promoting the exhibit on social media.

Some of the highlights include:

• A 1986 Porsche 962C, the "Jägermeister Porsche," that was based on the 956 prototype race car that didn't meet IMSA GTP race safety regulations.
• A 1964 Porsche 901 coupe that is instantly recognizable as a 911 but under its earlier name.
• A 1955 Porsche Continental Cabriolet with whitewall tires, conceived by New York importer Max Hoffman, who reckoned that Americans would embrace a vehicle with a conventional, rather than numeric, name, until Ford quickly informed the brand it already owned rights to the Continental name.
• A 911 RS from 1973

Porsche's first vehicle registered was a 356 No. 1 Roadster on June 8, 1948. It was succeeded by the iconic 911, which made its debut in 1964 in Frankfurt.

"Although the 911 has been consistently developed in the intervening decades and enhanced many times over with new, innovative technologies, no other vehicle has managed to retain its original essence in the same way as the 911," said Oliver Blume, chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG, in a statement. "All Porsche models to be developed now and in the future are based on this sports car. As the centerpiece of the brand, the 911 has become the sports car of dreams, winning the collective heart of enthusiasts all over the world."

"The Porsche Effect" will be staged in the Mullin Grand Salon at the Petersen Automotive Museum. The show runs through Jan. 27, 2019.

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