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Porsche Club News 5/03

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5. ReportsPorsche Club of America

Porsche Parade USA 2003

At the end of June, more than 1,000members of the Porsche Club of America met at Saddlebrook Resort,north of Tampa/Florida for a week ofcelebrations with friends and their Porsches in these semi-tropical sur-roundings – where alligators live in every pool and occasionally wanderacross the golf course, armadillos frolic with one another in the gardensand rare storks nest in the small firtrees.

Once the guests had arrived in theirvarious Porsches – including 356 and996s, Boxsters and, yes, even the Cayenne – they had time to get to knowthe hotel complex. It includes a largeleisure area with shops and restau-rants and numerous options for enjoy-ment and relaxation – from the 1.5million litre super pool with wave ma-chine to a wellness centre.

As the entrants in Sunday’s Concoursd’Élégance began to lovingly smartenup their Porsches, the fine weatherdisappeared and the rain came down

tacular collection of historic Porsches,could line up to be judged. The winnerswere drawn from across the Porscherange, including a 356, a Martini 935racing car, a 928 GT, a 911 RSR, a356 Carrera 2 and a 904, which wonthe spectators’ prize.

The competition had only just finishedwhen a storm came in. Thunder andlightning raged over the resort, depo-siting plenty of “liquid Florida sun-shine”. Even the photographers fledfor cover, thus missing out on theextraordinary spectacle of a PorscheDiesel tractor having to tow some ofthe historic cars to safety.

The Cayenne made its appearanceduring the rally through the Florida wilderness, where moss was growingover the oak trees and beautiful long-legged birds like herons, cranes andibis were cavorting everywhere youlooked. With the fewest penalty points,the event was won by Joe Boucher andTom Gould, driving the first Cayenneever to participate in a parade.

This was followed by three days ofmotor sport on the spacious course at

in torrents. The grassy area where theevent was due to be held was sooncompletely waterlogged, but thankfullythe organisers, Ellen and Bill Riley andtheir team, not only had an umbrellaready for everyone, but also an alter-native site at higher altitude, where thecompetition could be held.

Incredibly, Monday morning started offhazy but then the sun came out andthe wonderful cars, including a spec-


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the airport in Zephyr Hills. Some peo-ple had also signed up for the one-daydriver training course at the famousSebring circuit, but there were plentyof other activities on offer. A coachload of PCA members travelled toNaples to visit the private Collier col-lection, an impressive collection ofPorsche racing cars and other famousautomobiles. There was also a golftournament, a competition with remo-te controlled cars and trips to attrac-tions in the region, including thehistoric town of Ybor and the fantasticaquarium in Tampa, where the childrenof the parade guests had the chanceto spend the night in sleeping bagsnext to a coral reef with the inhabitantsof the deep seas.

Special attention was paid to thealmost 100 children throughout thisyear’s parade. The “Parade Kids” pro-gramme organised by Janet Ledesmaprovided activities and fun for the whole week. These included a “dive-incinema” night for the older children,who watched a film from rafts in thepool, while their parents were enjoyingdinner alone. Lanean Hughes organi-sed a slalom race for children of all

farewell to new and old friends. For thevoluntary helpers, who had worked for almost three years to put on theone-week event, it must have been amoment of great relief when the lasttoast was over and the last glass ofwine had been finished. A well-plannedparty came to an end. We raised ourvery last glasses to Ellen and Bill Rileyand their hardworking team. Cheers!

Porsche Club of AmericaPresident: Tom BobbittTel.: +1 703/451 90 00Fax: +1 703/451 01 45

ages, where they used bicycles, scoo-ters and pedal cars, or even tricycles,which had to be pushed by parents orother guests. One young lady comple-ted the course turning cartwheels. There were no losers, with every childreceiving a medal.

On the last day of a Porsche Parade,you always need to get up early to takepart in the technical quiz, while the galaevening is the ideal opportunity to say


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“On this amazing track with its tightcurves, driving a Porsche is really fun”,said Porsche Club President Juerg Widmer, who was driving his 911 Turboon a closed racing circuit for the firsttime. The other Club members decla-red themselves to be equally pleasedwith the event, and Club Sports OfficerSven Brobeil immediately scheduled asecond date for this season. “Word ofthe success of our first Porsche DrivingSchool spread incredibly quickly in ourClub and among other Porsche dri-vers”, he said, adding: “We have tooffer more courses now – definitely anadvanced course for those people whocompleted the first one, but probablyalso another basic course for otherClub members and Porsche drivers.”

The Cayenne also made its debut onthe track: A Cayenne S and a CayenneTurbo both lined up for the start. Thetwo cars, which had been providedspecially for the event by importerAutomotores y Marina S.A., not onlylooked excellent but also made alasting impression on the Club mem-

Porsche Club Guatemala

First Sports Driving School in Guatemala

On the last weekend of April, the Porsche Club Guatemala successfullyorganised its first Sports DrivingSchool in Guatemala City. The two-daycourse was attended by a total of 17Porsche Club members and one otherPorsche customer, and they comple-ted the Porsche driver safety trainingin five stages.

At the “Autodromo los Volcanes” cir-cuit, situated at a height of 700 metresclose to the city, Porsche Sports Driving School instructor Harald Beckerwho had flown in specially from Germany, introduced the participantsto the secrets of driving a Porscheunder specific conditions: as well as abraking exercise, the drivers also prac-ticed correct cornering and swervingin dangerous situations. After the sla-lom on the second day, the partici-pants finally had the chance to taketheir cars around the whole circuit inthe free driving session.

bers. “The Cayenne passed all the braking and moose tests with flyingcolours and in the free driving, I couldnot get away from the Cayenne S!” marvelled one participant, who was dri-ving a 964, which he had inherited fromhis father and which he wants to hangonto, despite the power of the Cayenneand the superiority of the new 911models. “Maybe I will buy myself a Cayenne sometime – as a second car”,he told his friends in the Club.

Markus Nels/Porsche Latin America

Porsche Club GuatemalaPresident: Juerg WidmerTel.: +502 631 20 33Fax: +502 631 20 34


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Porsche Club de Venezuela

“German Speed Afternoon” in San Carlos

With support from the German Embas-sy and in conjunction with various localsponsors, the German Speed After-noon was held on 13th July at the SanCarlos international racetrack in Vene-zuela.

Over 1,500 VIP guests attended thelaunch of this event, where they wereable to admire the highlights of German

This demonstration was even moreimpressive for those guests who tooktheir place in the passenger seat of a Porsche for a lap with an experiencedracing driver.

After this excitement, it was time forlunch, which provided an insight intotypical German cuisine.

To round off this excellent day, a Porsche Club race was held, with ClubPresident Bernard Bohn Breuer drivingthe pace car, a Cayenne S, and thenstarting the race after the parade lap.After five extremely fast laps, the winner was Marion Donoso, driving a Porsche 996 Turbo. As well as the ClubPresident, the subsequent presenta-tion ceremony was attended by JochenOberrauter, Regional Sales Managerof Porsche Latin America and a numberof well-known figures from the nationalmotor sport scene.

Everyone had an exciting day and islooking forward to the next PorscheClub Venezuela event. The Club wouldlike to take this opportunity to thank allvisitors, helpers and everybody whohelped to make this event possible.

Porsche Club de VenezuelaPresident: Bernard Bohn BreuerTel.: +58 2 271 93 62Fax: +58 2 271 87 31

automotive engineering at an exhibi-tion of various luxury marques, whoseproducts are marketed in Venezuelawith the “Made in Germany” qualitymark.

The highlights of the event were thePorsche presentation in front of thepits, the driving exhibitions and the Porsche Club race at the end. The Porsche Club members, accompaniedby their families and friends, broughtmore than 60 vehicles of all modelsand years to San Carlos. CorporaciónGerman Cars, the Porsche importer inVenezuela, also had a gleaming stand,where the new Cayenne model was on display. Many visitors took thisopportunity to gain their first impres-sion of Porsche’s SUV and everybodywas particularly enthusiastic about itsdrive qualities – a car that was madefor the conditions in Venezuela.

After the German Ambassador HermanErath had opened the event, the Porsche Club members took their ve-hicles onto the track for 20 minutes,providing an impressive demonstra-tion of what a Porsche is capable of.


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Club Porsche de France, Région Méditerranée

VIII. GT Passion

The passion for sporty and attractivecars was the focus of our big weekendat La Grande Motte. This 8th runningof our GT Passion event attracted morethan 80 car enthusiasts. On the Satur-day, the emphasis was on enjoyment.While some people set off for a disco-very tour of our beautiful Camargueregion, the rest gave the full horsepo-wer of their cars free rein at the Alèscircuit, without the fear of coming intoconflict with the law.

At the Pole Mécanique it was really thedog days of summer, with almost unbe-arable heat. At 3pm the temperatureat the circuit was measured at 65°C,while the air temperature was morethan 40°C. This made it a good day forthe tyre manufacturers, as we woredown more than a wagonload of tyreson the hot circuit. The time trials wereheld during the hottest part of the day.The drivers of a 911 SC and two 911Carrera 3.2 made it onto the podium,which reminded us all once again howreliable our classic models are.

Around 5pm we gratefully met up againback in the car park in front of the har-bour master’s building in La GrandeMotte, where the sea breeze was abreath of fresh air after the heat of theday.

Those who chose the tour of theCamargue had an excellent trip. At9.45, the first vehicles reached theMas de la Chassagne, accompaniedby a blazing sun and a gentle Mistral.By 10.30 everyone had arrived and westarted our visit. Face to face with aherd of three-year old fighting bulls,we discovered a lot of interestingthings about the breed from owner LucJalabert. Later, we were even allowedto watch young bulls in an arena andwitness a demonstration of a bullfightto the local rules, which emphasise theskills of the horses and their riders.After an aperitif, it was time to eat,with L’Anchoiade and braised veal onthe menu – delicious specialities of theCamargue.

Who was it that said there were mosqu-itoes in the Camargue? Nobody wastroubled by the little creatures, but thatwas almost certainly down to the slightMistral. The wind had also blown a bitof dust over our cars – a souvenir ofthe Camargue. At 8pm, more than 75guests gathered in the restaurant at


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the La Grande Motte golf course for anoutstanding meal followed by dancing.The night owls in the group then wenton to a nightclub or even the casino.

On the Sunday, all the vehicles lined upin the car park at the harbour master’sbuilding, which the harbour master hadkindly provided for our use. The 70spotlessly clean Porsches had beenjoined by several Italian sports carsfor the Concours d’Élégance. A largenumber of spectators came to look atthe vehicles and to share our passionfor fast cars. This part of the eventwas presented by Laurent Bernard, in typically professional and stirring style. “Alliance Auto”, the regional Porsche dealer, presented every par-ticipant with a bottle of Muscat de Luneland a T-shirt.

At 12.00, the Mayor invited the parti-cipants to take an aperitif, and theoppressive heat meant that everyonewas delighted to accept his offer. The

parade through the town then beganat 3pm, accompanied by Jacques Monniot. This year, the cars were pres-ented on the pedestrian promenadeon the waterside in La Motte. Many ofthe people visiting the beach theretook the chance to experience thisspectacle (see also photos of the eventon the Internet at:www.club911med.com).

At about 5pm, our President, suppor-ted by the Mayor of La Grande Motteand a representative from the localbranch of “Credit Agricole”, presentedthe various prizes and trophies to thewinners of the Concours.

Mario Pagés

Club Porsche de FranceRégion MéditerranéePresident: Jean Paul VialaTel.: +33 (0)46 76 94 892Fax.: +33 (0)46 76 94 892


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Porsche Club Seetal Luzern

Porsche Weekend in Barcelona with driver training at theCircuit de Catalunya

Over Ascension Day and the followingweekend, the Porsche Club SeetalLuzern organised a two-day driver trai-ning course at the Circuit de Catalunyain Spain. Despite the long journey of well over 1,000 kilometres, the Porsche weekend attracted a largenumber of participants for this trip tosunny Southern climes. The sunshineand temperatures of up to 35°C cer-tainly contributed to the good atmos-phere.

On 28th May, a total of 94 Porscheand speed freaks set off for the longdrive towards Barcelona. Sixteen vehi-cles made the journey on car trans-porters, as their owners preferred totravel by air or overnight train. Onceagain, numerous friends from the Glarner Porsche Club joined us thisyear. Everyone stayed in the ideallysituated Hotel Alfa in Vilanova, whichhad a view of the circuit.

The Circuit de Catalunya is a modern,fast Formula 1 circuit. On the morningof the holiday, 63 drivers (includingtwelve ladies) took the opportunity tocomplete short exercises under theguidance of the local RAAC instructors.

After lunch in the paddock restaurant,we spent the afternoon getting to knowthe secrets of the circuit on high-speedintroductory laps with the instructors.

The evening was spent enjoying anaperitif and dinner in the hotel garden,accompanied of course by lively discus-sions of the day’s driving experiences.

The Friday saw all drivers return to thecircuit. We had ample opportunity topractice handling all the horsepowerof our lovely cars under the guidanceof sports officer Heinz Arnold. We dro-

ve in three different groups, with theinstructor from the PCSL Racing Teamleading to remind everyone of the ide-al line, the braking and steering pointsand the vertices of the corners; thiswas important as the circuit includesdemanding uphill and downhill sectionsand fast combinations of corners. Dri-ving skill and excellent control of thevehicle were called for.

We found ideal conditions to enjoy ourPorsches to the full, and to acquireeven more driving experience. As thesaying goes: “Practice makes perfect!”Our resident professional and sportsofficer Heinz Arnold was responsiblefor the outstanding running of our schedule and the driving programme,and we would like to take this oppor-tunity to thank him.

For the drivers’ companions who didnot want to spend their time watchingfrom the wall of the pits, a guided tourof Barcelona was organised on theThursday, followed by a visit to theMaremagnum (giant aquarium) and the“Ramblas” (Barcelona’s main shoppingstreet) on Friday.


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In the evening, the whole group met upin the hotel garden in good spirits foran aperitif and gala dinner with music.The guests relived the events of thelong weekend, exchanged experiences,swapped tips and made new friend-ships.

In addition to the driving activities, there was an interesting supportingprogramme. Saturday saw a coach tripinland, where we visited the huge Cor-doniù champagne cellars and had thechance to sample their excellent wine.Our journey then continued to Monts-errat, one of the most visited places inCatalonia. We enjoyed the breathta-king scenery of the Montserrat moun-tains and visited the Santuario de laMare de Déu de Montserrat, a famouscentre of adoration of the Virgin Mary,where the patron saint, the BlackMadonna, is worshipped.

On our return trip, we treated ourselvesto a sumptuous, typical Catalonianlunch with an extensive selection of thepopular tapas. To round off our stay,our itinerary included another tour ofBarcelona, on which we discoveredmuch more about the many attractions

of the city (the buildings of Antoni Gaudi, the endless building work, thechurch of the Sagrada Familia).

Our big trip was brilliantly organisedby our Club member Martin Kammer-bauer, who deserves immense praise.We would also like to thank all the spon-sors who have generously supportedus once again this year.

Porsche Club Seetal LuzernPresident: Esther FribergTel.: +41 (0)17 131 278Fax: +41 (0)17 131 541


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Porsche Club Beider Basel

Trip to Poland

To Poland? In a Porsche? At first, manypeople were sceptical when our trea-surer announced the destination forour traditional trip over the AscensionDay weekend. But more and more ofthem soon came around to the ideaand there were eventually 19 of us inthe group that set off on 28th May.

People made their own arrangementsfor the journey, with some driving thewhole distance in a group and othersmeeting at the Görlitz border crossing,but that night all the cars had arrived

safely at the hotel after their 1,000kilometre route. And what a hotel itwas! Even as they arrived, some peo-ple were still thinking: “Where have weended up here?” No wonder; after all,it does make you think when you passthrough tiny villages on narrow, bumpyroads in the darkness and then have toturn off onto a forest track. But there,in the middle of the woods, a fantasticnewly built hotel awaited us. In short,the welcome was warm, the roomswere comfortable and the dinner waswonderful. It was only the next mor-

ning that we could really appreciatethe hotel’s romantic location. It is situ-ated in a sunny wooded valley nearKowary, formerly known as Schmiede-berg, next to an old mine tunnel. Thistunnel is the reason why the hotel cameto be built here. In the 20th Century,first the Germans and then the Russi-ans mined uranium here. In doing so,they discovered the healing propertiesof radon and, from 1974, the tunnelwas used as an inhalatorium for peoplewith respiratory diseases. The wateremerging from the tunnel is also con-sidered beneficial, said to promotepotency and cure related problems.Some of the people in our group cer-tainly drank plenty of water over thenext few days.

The mine museum is also definitelyworth a visit, and is made up of anunderground route, passing showca-ses of minerals and making it clearhow hard the work of the old minersmust have been. For our tours of theregion, a minibus was provided, and itwas definitely better suited to the localroad conditions than our Porsches.Meanwhile, the cars stood in front ofthe hotel, well protected around theclock by the team from the local karateclub, whose boss was our guide andfriend during our stay.

We travelled around the whole of thislovely region, visiting a Western cityand a farm in Myslakowice where, afterwe had eaten, the local choral societyentertained us with their songs whilewe sat around the campfire. And thenthere was the food! We did not knowhow excellent and substantial Polishmeals could be, with their soups,salads and, of course, the vodka. Thatevening, we almost fell into bed.


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The next morning, we were standingunder the spotlight. Representativesof radio and TV stations were there.The cars were filmed, we had to rev upour engines for the radio broadcastsand our President gave an interview.The items were broadcast throughoutPoland and, as a result, a large num-ber of visitors arrived at the hotel tohave their photograph taken with thePorsches.

We also had a reception with the Mayorof Kowary, followed by a tour of thetown.

And all the time we came across placeswith unpronounceable names – likeSzklarska Poreba. Here, at the edgeof a natural park, there is a tourist area,which is ideal for walking in summerand for skiing in winter. The lovely walking trails passed waterfalls and acastle, where you can find out thesecrets of the mountain people and, ifyou are lucky, even be knighted.

On Saturday, our itinerary included atour of Jelenia Gora, formerly Hirsch-berg, with its beautiful old town. Aftera lunch break in an idyllic old inn abovea reservoir, we continued to Siedlecin(Boberröhrsdorf), where there is an oldtower house, which was built in 1313.In itself, that is nothing special – butthis one contains a mural from around1345 showing the story of the knightof the round table, Sir Lancelot, andthat is unique in Europe. Upon ourreturn to the hotel, there was not muchtime to get ready for the formal fare-well party. Once smartened up, we setoff for Karpacz, where a room hadbeen reserved for us in a nightclub.

Porsche Club Beider BaselPresident: Günter RichterTel.: +41 (0)79 64 45 341Fax: +41 (0)61 69 10 709

Awaiting us there were a tasty dinner,plenty of wine and vodka, good musi-cand an accomplished stripteaseshow. We then danced deep into thenight. The following morning, after breakfast we set off for home – with alot of great memories in our luggage.

Wolfgang Hetzinger


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Porsche Club Südtirol

30 years of the Porsche Club Südtirol

The Porsche Club Südtirol was formedin 1972 in Bolzano and our anniver-sary was an occasion that merited ahuge celebration for our members.Trauttmansdorff castle near Meranopened its gates to us, and the Clubwas able to welcome all its guests inthe courtyard. A visit to the attractivelylaid out botanical gardens provided an

opportunity to catch up with a lot ofold friends. Some people also took the chance to add a visit to the newtourism museum.

We then set off on our way to Marling.A convoy of Porsches, headed by theoldest 356 models represented in ourClub, snaked through the Etsch valleyvia Lana to Marling.

At the anniversary celebrations in theSporthotel Nörder, former President

Fritz Egger gave a review recognisingthe highlights of the Club’s 30-yearhistory, while the current PresidentWerner Gramm provided a compre-hensive overview of current events andissues.

Particularly popular was the PorscheGallery, which included various docu-ments, badges, photos and video filmsgiving an insight into past events andawakening feelings of nostalgia inmany of those present. The eveningended in fitting style for the occasionwith a gala dinner in the gourmetrestaurant.

Porsche Club SüdtirolPresident: Werner GrammE-mail: [email protected]: +39 (0)471 979 468


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Porsche Club Ortenau

Joint Club excursion

On Sunday 4th May 2003, the Ortenau,Pforzheim, Baden-Baden, SüdlicheWeinstraße, Kurpfalz, Bodensee-Ober-schwaben and Elsaß Porsche Clubsmet for a rally. The meeting point wasthe former Hotel Alexanderschanze inKniebis, where the numerous partici-pants arrived from all directions. Wenumbered 86 people and 48 Porsches.

Like last year, the event was organi-sed by Jürgen Zeferer from the PCOrtenau. In 2004, this kind of eventwill be able to look back on a certaintradition and the planning will pass toone of the other Clubs involved.

At 11.30 prompt, we set off in convoyfor the Dollenberg sport and spa hotelin Bad Peterstal-Griesbach, where allthe vehicles assembled in the car park, making for an impressive sight:Porsches from almost every year werethere to be admired.

Everyone liked the hotel, which has awonderful view over the Black Forestand into Alsace. The buffet, from the

Our rally ended at the car park in Ruhe-stein. The Club members bade eachother farewell and everyone took awayhappy memories of a lovely day spentwith old and new friends.

Jürgen Zeferer

Porsche Club OrtenauPresident: Peter ScheidTel.: +49 (0)7835 547 40Fax: +49 (0)7835 547 454

slightly French-influenced kitchens,was particularly well received. Weenjoyed a little more rest before con-tinuing our journey at 3pm. From BadGriesbach we drove via Bad Peterstalto Oppenau, where we turned righttowards Ruhestein. The uphill stretchto the Allerheiligen waterfalls wasespecially enjoyable driving – hillclimbs were once held on that route.


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Porsche Club Göppingen

Annual trip to the Burgundy Region

On 19th June, the guests at the Pforz-heim motorway service area couldhardly believe their eyes or their ears,as 15 spotlessly clean Porsches witha total of 4241 BHP assembled to setoff together towards France. Twentynine members of the Porsche ClubGöppingen used the long holiday week-end for their traditional annual trip. Thisyear’s destination was the Chateau deRigny, which is wonderfully situated inthe Burgundy region. From Pforzheimto Mulhouse and then on via Besanconto Rigny, all the vehicles made for animpressive convoy. After our relaxedarrival, the shady terrace or a refres-

hing bathe in the castle pool were mostinviting.

On Friday, the “Burgundy wine route”was on our itinerary. On a charteredcoach with driver, we first of all disco-vered the historic centre of Dijon. Thetemperature climbed relentlessly to38°C, so the first wine tasting in thecool vaults of the Chateau de Marsan-nay was very welcome. Snail terrine,cheese and rosé wine fortified us forour journey onward to Beaune. In theafternoon heat, air-conditioned bouti-ques and shady pavement cafes werethe preferred destinations, before we

went on to our next wine tasting at the“Patriarche” wine cellars. There, wewere particularly impressed by thevast size of the premises, wherealmost four million bottles are stored.

That evening, discussion turned to theart of driving a kart and on the Satur-day morning, the elite racing drivers,along with their fans and their ownphotographer, set off for the “KartingCircuit Dijon-Prenois”. Qualifying washeld first, with an exciting battle forplaces. Fifteen drivers, including onelady, then provided some scorchingduels out on the track, and there wasclearly no place for gentlemen. Theother Club members used this time fora shopping trip, refreshing themselvesin the pool or relaxing on the hotel terrace.

Anne-Sophie Travers and Daniel Depa-ris, who organised this excellent sum-mer Club trip perfectly, then drove usto a river terrace in Gray for our fare-well meal, which provided a friendlyand enjoyable end to the day.

After a generous breakfast on the Sunday, the Club members set off forhome. Glorious weather and some veryquiet stretches of motorway even helped to make the journey home apleasure.

Porsche Club GöppingenPresident: Gerd MüllerTel.: +49 (0)7162 460 001Fax: +49 (0)7162 460 002


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Porsche Club Isartal-München e.V.

Summer trip to Lago d’Iseo

To make our schedule for the year asattractive and varied as possible, aswell as motor sport events, our calen-dar includes excursions and socialevents.

The summer trip is one of the high-lights every year, and this year it tookus to Northern Italy to Lago d`Iseo. Arsvivendi, the Italian way of life and German sports car engineering –always an attractive combination.

To encourage our members to join thetrip, a brochure showing the mostimportant highlights was produced inadvance, and as a result the rooms originally booked had soon gone. Lucki-ly, we were able to add to our booking.We did not want to leave anyone whowas interested at home.

On 27th June, 31 people and 17 Porsches met at the Inntal motorwayservice area to set off southwards.From there, it was just a stone’s throwover the Brenner Pass. We drove in

Well refreshed, the afternoon saw uscontinue towards our destination atLago d`Iseo. Italy’s seventh largestlake remains something of a hiddengem, considerably more Italian, authen-tic and tranquil than the other NorthernItalian lakes.

A warm welcome awaited us at the“Relais Mirabella” hotel, high above thevillage of Clusane. With a wonderfulview over the lake, a refreshing aperitifon the terrace and a dip in the swim-ming pool, we soon forgot about theItalian summer heat, well over 30°C.

In the evening, we enjoyed a first classmeal on the hotel terrace.

Saturday’s itinerary provided the nexthighlight of the trip – an exclusive visitto the renowned RIVA shipyard. Since1842, it has been producing classicships in typical wooden design to thehighest demands. Our factory tour was both fascinating and impressive.A group photo in the shipyard roundedoff our visit.

For the afternoon and evening, we had prepared something very special.A hired coach took us to the port,where a specially chartered boat waswaiting to take us on our very own lake cruise. The captain had been well prepared, and we enjoyed an aperitifon board, to the gentle motion of thewaves and with fantastic views of Monte Isola.

It was on Monte Isola, the large den-sely forested island in Lake Iseo, thatwe were expected for dinner. Thisisland has preserved its original charmthrough the centuries: the old housesare carefully restored, tiny villages are

small groups, as staying together isvirtually impossible with this numberof cars.

In Trento we left the motorway to drive along idyllic mountain roadsthrough the back country towards LakeGarda. Before reaching our final desti-nation, we had something special planned: after driving along the pictu-resque corniche road we reached Bardolino, where we were met by theMayor Signor Valter Rizzi in person,for a guided tour of the town. Our “offi-cial” escort meant that our group notonly got a very special impression ofBardolino, but also a close look at thehistoric local government buildings.

Our walk around the town was roun-ded off by an excellent lunch at the “LaLoggia Rambaldi” restaurant, situateddirectly on the waterfront. The pede-strian zone was also where we assem-bled our vehicles for a photo shoot.We had special approval to drive themthere – much to the delight of the manyItalian and German onlookers.


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well maintained and the mountainsidesare covered in lush green vegetation –the only downside is that no cars areallowed on the island! At the “Canogo-la” restaurant, we were treated to avariety of typical Italian specialities.The platters of appetisers and deliciousseafood dishes made our mouthswater.

Although our return involved choppywaters and a heavy storm, we made itback to the mainland unscathed, andan excellent day came to an end.

Our return journey on Sunday first ofall took us to the earth pillars at Zoneon the Eastern side of the lake and onfor a brief visit to the small town ofLovere at the Northernmost tip. We

then continued on country roads alongthe Val Camonica towards the PassoTonnale and then over the Mendel Passto Bolzano. This route provided a treat for all the fans of corners andhairpins.

We definitely all have fond memoriesof our three great days in wonderfulsurroundings – we would recommenda similar trip anytime.

Erwin Pfeiffer

Porsche Club Isartal-München e.V.President: Günter BrennerTel.: +49 (0)89 904 44 40Fax: +49 (0)89 904 44 43


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Porsche Club evening at the IAA 2003

17th September 2003, 7pm: The exhi-bition halls at the 60th IAA in Frankfurtwere almost deserted – with oneexception. In Hall 5, the Porsche standwas still crowded with people. Around350 guests had arrived there for thePorsche Club evening, which had beenorganised exclusively for Porsche Clubmembers.

The event was hosted by Porsche AGand Porsche Deutschland GmbH, butonly a limited number of places wereavailable. Ultimately, some applicationshad to be rejected, as the response tothis invitation turned out to be overw-helming. “More proof of how vigorous-ly the Clubs are working”, emphasisedHans Riedel, Sales and MarketingDirector, in his address during the eve-ning – an evening where there was plenty to celebrate. The 40th birthdayof the Porsche 911, for example, theongoing history of that legendarysports car that celebrated its launchat this exhibition back in 1963. Or the

“The GT3 RS is our favourite car here”,enthused Tina and Mark Trewartha, amarried couple from California. How-ever, the two members of the PorscheClub of America regretted the fact thatthe model is not available in the USA.They found the IAA “very big andimpressive” and they admitted thatthey were using their eleven-day stayin Germany not only to visit the exhibi-tion but also for a “Factory Tour” atPorsche in Zuffenhausen and in Leipzig,“to take a look what Porsche is doing”.

They and all the other guests wereinformed about the models included inPorsche’s current range by a high-tempo show typical of the marque,which was introduced by the sound ofPorsche engines starting up. Thisyear, for the first time, Porsche AG hassigned up two professional presen-ters, who will be used at various eventsand trade fairs, like this IAA: René Hiepen, ZDF sports reporter and pre-senter with a soft spot for boxing and

incredible range of innovations: the911 anniversary model, the Carrera4S Cabrio, the Turbo Cabrio, the Cayenne with six-cylinder engine andthe GT3 RS.


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Eve Scheer, actress and presenter, forwhom Porsche is a synonym for “topquality fast cars”.

This well co-ordinated team providedthe visitors with useful details aboutthe 21 vehicles on the 1,800 squaremetre Porsche stand. They alternatelypresented from one of the five infor-mation levels, which were devoted tothe new models in the 911 range, the Carrera, the Boxster, the Cayenneand the Porsche accessory range. In between the presentations, modelsdemonstrated various items from theSelection Shop, accompanied by livelyrhythms. The dynamic yet informative20-minute show, which was staged sixtimes on each day of the IAA, impres-sively underlined Porsche’s slogan forits appearance at the IAA: Porsche.One step further. This is an importantelement of the Porsche legend, whichcontinues to cast its spell over Clubmembers, and which they experiencefirst hand and enjoy at events like this

one – in the company of fellow enthusi-asts, the frequently mentioned Porschefamily. Jean-Marie Erpelding, Jean-Claude Wahl and Pierre Petesch con-fessed: “We come here because of the

special atmosphere.” The trio had nottravelled from Luxembourg alone. Atotal of 15 members of the PorscheClub Luxembourg had made the journeyto Frankfurt. After they had sampledthe buffet, they used the friendlyatmosphere to tell other Club mem-bers about their excellent co-operationwith the Luxembourg Porsche Centreand how they are committed to gettingother people interested in the Porschemarque.

All the Porsche fans who had travelledto the event, whether they were fromGermany, Switzerland, Luxembourg,Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria orthe USA, had interesting tales to tell.The remainder of the evening passedby in the wink of an eye, with musicalaccompaniment provided by the groupHarmony Central. At around 23.00,Isabella Alexa, Club Co-ordinator forPorsche Deutschland GmbH, said fare-well to the guests. Gradually, they allbegan to make their way home or, like


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the 60-strong team Porsche AG teamworking on the stand, to their hotel.The Porsche team was staying at theArabella Sheraton Congress Hotel,which among its other services provi-

ded a popular shuttle bus serviceduring the exhibition. But for that evening, the Club Co-ordination hadlaid on its own bus to take Club mem-bers back to the “Rebstockgelände”

car park. Shortly afterwards, Hall 5was also deserted.

Bernd Woytal On behalf of the Porsche Club Co-ordination

When it was new, you tolerated only original parts.

Why should it be any different today?

Porsche Classic.

Original parts, advice and assistance.

Information at www.porsche.com.

5. reportscontent3.eu.porsche.com/prod/clubs/clubs_worldwide.nsf/... · 2005. 3. 22. · porsche...

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