We Are Porsche—The Dreamers, The Drivers, and The Legends

December 4, 2024
Images by Shawn Glad

If you’re into Porsches—or just have a thing for iconic cars—you might have caught the “We Are Porsche” exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Running from April 2023 through July 2024, the show was an incredible journey through 75 years of Porsche history. The exhibit didn’t just feature the cars; it told the stories of the people—the architects, dreamers, drivers, and fans—who’ve shaped what Porsche is today. I finally got around to sifting through the photos from two separate visits, and as we wrap up the year, I wanted to look back and share some of them.

Walking into the exhibit was like stepping into a curated timeline of Porsche’s greatest hits, divided into sections like “The Dreamers,” “The Personalizers,” and “The Celebrities.” Each area highlighted how different individuals—from legends like Ken Miles and Steve McQueen to modern influencers like Rod Emory and Patrick Dempsey—left their mark on Porsche culture. It wasn’t just about lining up cars; it was about the passion and the relentless pursuit of performance that defines the brand.

Some standouts for me included the 1951 Porsche 356 SL that won its class at Le Mans, showing off the brand’s racing roots. Rod Emory’s 1964/1998 356 “Emory Special” was a perfect blend of vintage style and modern engineering. And Jeff Zwart’s 2019 Porsche 935/19—the actual car he blasted up Pikes Peak—is just sitting there, daring you not to drool. Each car isn’t just a static display; it’s a narrative about pushing limits and redefining what’s possible on four wheels.

What really resonated was how the exhibit captured the essence of Porsche’s impact on car culture, especially in a place like Los Angeles. It’s not just about the cars; it’s about the community, the shared obsession, the late-night garage sessions, and the early morning canyon runs. The exhibit text summed it up nicely: ‘Together, we are Porsche.’ It’s a nod to everyone who’s ever been part of the journey, from the engineers and racers to the fans and collectors.

Below are some of my favorite photos from the exhibit, each accompanied by a brief summary. Additional shots can be found in the gallery at the bottom.

Cheers!

2019 Porsche 935/19

2019 Porsche 935/19

* At the 2018 Rennsport Reunion at California’s Laguna Seca Raceway, Porsche unveiled a new 935 track vehicle to celebrate the company’s 70th anniversary. It was inspired by the storied 935 that dominated endurance races in the late 1970s and ‘80s in the Special Production Cars Group 5 class. The second generation 935/19 is based on the 991 GT2 RS, with bodywork reminiscent of the 935/78. This example competed in the 2020 Pike’s Peak race with American driver Jeff Zwart piloting, completing the course in 9:43.92, a then personal best for Zwart.

1951 Porsche 356 SL

1951 Porsche 356 SL
Chassis 063

* Following the prototype 356/1, Porsche completed the first 356/2 aluminum-bodied production cars at its facility in Gmünd, Austria, before relocating the company to Germany. Approximately 52 complete 356s were made in Gmünd, as well as 11 bodies later used to build competition cars in 1950 and 1951. These lightweight SL (Sport Light) racing variants included louvered-steel “rear side windows,” wheel spats, and streamlined aluminum belly fairings. The cars were Porsche’s introduction to international motorsports. The SL coupes competed for three years at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where this example won first in class in 1951.

1964/1998 Porsche 356 “Emory Special”

1964 Elva-Porsche MK VII Body Panels

1964/1998 Porsche 356 “Emory Special” & 1964 Elva-Porsche MK VII Body Panels

* Rod Emory created this unique car for Porsche’s 50th-anniversary celebration in Monterey, California, in 1998. He started with the shell of a 1964 356C Cabriolet and performed extensive modifications, including using an appended tubular space frame to give the car a vintage 550 look. In addition, the vehicle features the specially developed Emory-Rothsport Outlaw-4 engine, based on the Porsche 964 powerplant and making use of a shortened camshaft housing. Emory “Specials” like this example feature distinctive body modifications, whereas Emory “Outlaws” maintain a near-stock appearance.

Elva was a British manufacturer of lightweight sports and racing cars founded in 1955. In 1963, Midwest United States Porsche distributor Oliver Schmidt thought the addition of a four-cam Porsche engine to an Elva MkVII would make for a formidable SCCA competitor. Porsche then supplied 15 engines to mate with Elvas. These body parts came from an 8-cylinder equipped car raced by Herbert Müller and were purchased in 1975 by Rod Emory’s father, who soon sold them to a friend. They were recently reacquired by Emory for a future project.

1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.8 RSR

1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.8 RSR

* The 911 Carrera 2.8 RSR was developed purely for competition and stood as the lightest, fastest, most powerful, and most agile 911 ever to have entered in GT racing. It was 176 pounds lighter than the legendary road-going Carrera RS, and its engine had close to 100 additional horsepower. This example was built specifically for Brumos owner and driver Peter Gregg in 1973. In it, Gregg, with Hurley Haywood co-driving, won both the IMSA and Trans-Am championships in 1973, including victories at the IMSA 3 Hours at Daytona and Camel GT 250 at Daytona.

1958 Porsche 356A Carrera GT Speedster

1958 Porsche 356A Carrera GT Speedster

* Car dealer Max Hoffman keenly understood the postwar American market; when he suggested that a cheaper, racier version of the 356 would sell well, Porsche listened, and in 1955 the 356 Speedster was born. The car featured few amenities, including bucket seats, minimal weather equipment, and a simplified dashboard. It was immensely popular with racers because it was durable and easy to master. Porsche built an estimated 12 “Carrera GT” versions using a high-tuned Carrera four-cam racing engine. Even more stripped down and lighter than a regular Speedster, they were purpose-built for competition.

The vehicle on view is the winningest Carrera GT Speedster ever, with three Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) National Championships (1958 with “Pup” Pupulidy; 1960 and 1963 with Bruce Jennings) and 67 National SCCA race victories.

1970 Porsche 914/6

1970 Porsche 914/6

* American Jeff Zwart bought his first car—this 1970 Porsche 914/6—using money that he earned and invested during high school. The lightweight and well-balanced 914 was released as an entry-level car for the 1970 model year with a 1.7-liter four-cylinder engine. The 914/6 variant was more performance oriented, with a 110-horsepower flat-6 engine. After owning the car for nearly two decades, Zwart modified it for rally racing. It features an oil cooler, two ignition systems, a rally clock, and a custom hatch cut between the seats to allow for easy maintenance.

2014 Porsche 911 (991) GT America

2014 Porsche 911 (991) GT America

* The GT America is a factory-built race car developed to compete in the GT Daytona class of the United Sports Car Racing series. Based on the 911 GT3 Cup, it was sold exclusively in North America by Porsche Motorsports North America. This example was used by Patrick Dempsey’s Dempsey Racing in the 2014 IMSA season where it was driven by Dempsey in the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, the Lone Le Mans at Circuit of the Americas, and the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

1968 Porsche 911S

1968 Porsche 911S

* In addition to establishing the first all-Porsche dealership in the United States, Vasek Polak managed a racing program that would become successful in the 1960s and ’70s. Davey Jordan drove this 911 S for Vasek Polak Racing during the 1967 SCCA season. One of the few such models imported legally into the United States for racing, the 911 S was equipped with the “Rally Package” and “Sport Kit II” and featured many factory modifications, including a roll bar, lightweight construction, and a 100-liter fuel tank.

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup PCA Edition

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup PCA Edition

* Attesting to the influence and cultural presence of the Porsche Club of America (PCA), in 2018 Porsche Motorsports honored the PCA with a special limited-production version of its 911 GT3 Cup race car. Based on the car Porsche campaigned in international one-make series racing for the 2018 season, the PCA Edition was tuned for exceptionally high performance. Its design adds an upgraded exhaust system, a “double-bubble” roof, vented front fenders, mirrors, and doors made of lightweight carbon fiber.

1956 Porsche 356A (Valkyrie Racing)

1956 Porsche 356A (Valkyrie Racing)

* In preparation for her “Project 356 World Rally Tour,” Renée Brinkerhoff and her Valkyrie Racing team extensively modified this 1956 Porsche 356A for off-road travel on snow and ice. Brinkerhoff’s journey, undertaken to raise awareness and money for her charity to fight child trafficking, stretched 20,000 miles over seven continents and necessitated multiple modifications to the car’s original design. As displayed here, the vehicle features a unique track and ski system as well as numerous mechanical upgrades to allow it to operate in extremely cold conditions.

1968 Porsche 907K

1968 Porsche 907K
Chassis 024

* The 907 was a critical step in Porsche’s evolution from a sports car manufacturer to a builder of dominant race cars. This example, chassis 024, perfectly illustrates Miles Collier’s restoration philosophy. The car’s body was covered in an extra layer of fiberglass that took almost 3,000 hours to chisel off. Collier’s goal was not to restore the car to its pristine original condition but to recreate its state from a moment in time. “You can never get back to absolute originality. In this case, we made the decision to go back to the car’s most important event, the [1968] win at Sebring,” Collier says. The result is a fascinating racing time capsule.

Driven by Jo Siffert and Hans Hermann, chassis 024 won the 1968 12 Hours of Sebring race, reaching an average speed of 102.512 mph.

1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS

1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS
Chassis 078

* The Porsche 904 represents the company’s return to a full focus on sports car racing after their experiment in Grand Prix with the 804. F.A. “Butzi” Porsche was in charge of styling, with engineer Gerhard Schröder designing the chassis. For the first time, fiberglass was used for the body shell that was bonded to a ladder chassis, keeping costs and weight down and creating a stiffer race car. The 904 would be highly successful in FIA racing from its debut in 1963 until 1965 and would herald a new era of Porsche motorsports.

This example, chassis 078, was campaigned in events such as the 1964 Targa Florio, 1,000 Kilometers of Nürburgring, and 12 Hours of Reims where Andrea Visnini and Nasif Estefano drove it to fifth place overall and first in the GT 2000-cc class.

1959 Porsche 718 RSK

1959 Porsche 718 RSK
Chassis 023

* The 718 RSK was the successor to the 550A that had a more aerodynamic body, revised suspension, and a full tubular space frame. This car was owned and raced by former US Air Force pilot Roy Schechter. Schechter owned a Porsche and Volkswagen dealership in Florida and had always had an interest in sports car racing. Many of his clients were involved in the pursuit, so in 1957, he began competing himself. Schechter naturally ended up racing Porsches, including a 550 Spyder, a 718 RS 60 (in which he finished second overall at Sebring), and this 718 RSK, which he drove to a victory in the Courtland Sports Car Races in Alabama in 1959.

1976 Porsche 935

1976 Porsche 935
Chassis 027

* This 1979 Porsche 935 was built to order for Los Angeles Times publisher and Porsche enthusiast Otis Chandler. It was one of only 37 customer examples constructed between 1977 and 1979, and it represented the final evolution of the 935 platform, which saw success in such endurance races as Daytona, Sebring, and Le Mans. This car—chassis 027—was driven by Chandler in the inaugural LA Times Grand Prix of Endurance in 1979, though it did not complete the race due to engine trouble. Its aerodynamic fiberglass body is painted “Vintage Racing Blue” to match Chandler’s Porsche 917/30.

1973 Porsche 917/10

1973 Porsche 917/10
Chassis 003

* The 917/10 was the open-top follow-up to the 917 race car that proved dominant in the 1970 and 1971 World Sportscar Championship seasons. Porsche developed the 917/10 for the Canadian-American Challenge Cup, where it debuted in 1971 and finished fourth in that year’s standings. In 1972, twin-turbochargers were added, boosting the flat-12 engine’s horsepower from 530 to 850. Driver George Follmer, taking over for an injured Mark Donohue, piloted this car for the Penske team to the 1972 championship, winning five of the eight races he started.

1965 Porsche Type 550 A/1500 RS

1965 Porsche Type 550 A/1500 RS
Chassis 550A-0112

* Introduced in 1953, it became a racing icon, but it was notoriously difficult to drive. In 1956, Porsche released the upgraded 550A, which featured more predictable handling thanks to its lightweight, full-tube spaceframe and improved suspension. This 550A raced at the 1957 12 Hours of Sebring as a Porsche factory works entry and was then sold to California dealer John von Neumann. Renowned female driver Ruth Levy drove it in practice and, in 1957, entered it in a race during Hawaiian International Sports Car Week at Dillingham Field near Honolulu, Hawaii.

1980 Porsche 935

1980 Porsche 935
Chassis 0028

* The 935 was introduced in 1976 and was based on the 911 Turbo road car. It was built to the relatively lenient Group 5 regulations, which meant only the windscreen, roof, and doors had to be carried over from the production version. The 935 became one of the most dominant race cars of its era, winning over a third of the races in which it was entered. This car was the last 935 built and was delivered to the Brumos team in 1980.

* Petersen Automotive Museum, “We Are Porsche.”