Porsche Road & Race

Your favourite online journal covering Porsche's rich motorsport heritage

Porsche Road and Race Shop leaderboard ad
  • Motorsport
    • WEC
    • Supercup
    • Carrera Cup
    • Imsa Weathertech Sportscar Championship
    • Intercontinental GT Challenge
    • Other Motorsport
    • Fact Files
      • Current Race Cars
      • Racing Drivers
        • Current Racing Drivers
        • Past Racing Drivers
      • Team Personnel
  • Yesteryear
    • Motorsport
    • Race Cars
    • Road Cars
    • Profiles
    • Other
  • Road Cars
    • 911
    • 718 Cayman
    • 718 Boxster
  • My Porsche
    • My Story
    • Pic of the Week
  • News
    • Porsche News
    • Porsche Museum News
    • Around the World
    • Auction News
    • Other News
  • Videos
  • Books
    • Book Reviews
    • SPECIAL BOOK OFFERS
  • Calendar
  • About us
    • Contributors
      • Glen Smale – Editor
      • Elke Smale
      • Martin Raffauf
      • Kieron Fennelly
      • Lucian Sonea
      • Kevin Ehrlich
      • Andrew Hosking
      • Richard Wiley
    • What We Do
    • Disclaimer
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Basket
You are here: Home / Books / Book Reviews / 70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars

70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars

13th February 2019 by: Glen Smale | Leave a Comment

70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars - Edition Porsche Museum
70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars – Edition Porsche Museum – © Delius Klasing

Published in recognition of the company’s 70th anniversary, 70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars, understandably highlights and promotes the milestones along the way for which the Stuttgart motor manufacturer has become well known. The book is published under the Edition Porsche Museum logo by Delius Klasing, a publisher who has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Porsche.

70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars - Edition Porsche Museum
70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars – Edition Porsche Museum – Delius Klasing: © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale

Porsche really had no choice but to publish a book to recognise its seven-decade journey, and predictably, competition on this topic in the publishing market was always going to be high. But equally, Porsche was destined to win the race by including a group of high-profile names in their corporate publication, because many (but not all) of the names interviewed are on their payroll. This advantage ensured that Porsche gained the stories of certain race drivers, designers, engineers, celebrities and other notable personalities, first-hand. The list of celebrities includes the likes of: Patrick Long, Patrick Dempsey, Maria Sharapova, Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Keanu Reeves, Magnus Walker and Mark Webber.

Advertisements
70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars - Edition Porsche Museum
70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars – Edition Porsche Museum – Delius Klasing: © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale

Topics covered are as diverse as: Lifestyle, Technology, Company, Community, Models, People and Motorsport. The chapters include a colourful mixture of extracts and cover images from a number of Christophorus magazines, photos of celebrity Porsche owners, a brief history of Porsche’s motorsport achievements, a chapter by Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, and one about Ferry and Louise Porsche amongst others. Various personalities have been profiled in some of these chapters, and these have been chosen for their position in society, their field of expertise or high level of achievement.

Advertisements
70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars - Edition Porsche Museum
70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars – Edition Porsche Museum – Delius Klasing: © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale
70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars - Edition Porsche Museum
70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars – Edition Porsche Museum – Delius Klasing: © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale

With the above in mind, some might consider the book to be light on substance, but it in fact focusses instead on shorter and more diverse topics. There is some great history in the book, but this is perhaps at the expense of continuity, as the topics are not logically linked. Here though is perhaps where the book excels, because not every Porsche enthusiast wants chapter after chapter of in-depth company history, or a breakdown of every Porsche model ever produced. Instead, the modern reader is looking for short, bite-size topics that can be quickly consumed in between other tasks – it’s a case of horses for courses. At the end of the day it should be remembered that the reason for the book’s existence is to celebrate seventy wonderful years of achievement and recognition in the marketplace, and on the race tracks of the world.

70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars - Edition Porsche Museum
70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars – Edition Porsche Museum – Delius Klasing: © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale
70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars - Edition Porsche Museum
70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars – Edition Porsche Museum – Delius Klasing: © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale

There can be no doubt about the fact that Porsche does have something significant to blow its trumpet about, having grown from an almost cottage industry operation in a collection of sheds rented from a saw-mill, to the huge corporation it is today. The list of Porsche’s achievements in these last seven decades across a wide spectrum of operations is monumental, and could fill several books. But in comparison with most other motor manufacturers, remember Porsche is a niche market operator just like Ferrari (and some others), they still carry huge recognition in the industry. With nineteen overall victories in the Le Mans 24 Hour race, Porsche is way ahead of the next player, the mighty Audi race team, who has thirteen victories.

Advertisements
Advert for Porsche 956/962 book
70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars - Edition Porsche Museum
70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars – Edition Porsche Museum – Delius Klasing: © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale

Porsche’s other accomplishments in the sports car market have regularly confounded the predictions of the best brains in the industry, such as the launch of the 930 Turbo model at the height of the oil crisis of the early/mid-70s. The company’s engineering prowess has earned it handsome financial rewards and recognition in the industry. In other words, they have a lot to crow about!

70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars - Edition Porsche Museum
70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars – Edition Porsche Museum – Delius Klasing: © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale

Taking all of the above into account, would I buy this book to place it on my bookshelf? If I wanted to have a ‘complete’ collection of Porsche books, then I would undoubtedly buy it, because it celebrates a very important milestone in the company’s history. If you wanted a reference book, something that dug deep on a particular topic, then this book is perhaps not for you. But be assured, this is a handsome publication and a certain conversation starter. So, after all is said and done, I would probably make space for it on my bookshelf.

70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars - Edition Porsche Museum
70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars – Edition Porsche Museum – Delius Klasing: © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale

Key information

Title 70 Years of Porsche Sports Cars
Concept Dr. Josef Arweck & Edwin Baaske
Author(s) Dr. Josef Arweck & Christina Rahmens
Publisher Delius Klasing
Published 2018
ISBN 978-3-667-11328-3
Page count 300 pages
Image count 300 images
Format 270 x 230 mm (tall)
Price €39.90

Written by: Glen Smale

Save Article as PDF

OTHER ARTICLES YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN

Share this:

Categories: Book Reviews, Books, Featured Tags: Anne Philippi, Christophorus, Delius Klasing, Magnus Walker, Mark Webber, Mats Kubiak, Michael Mauer, Paolo Tumminelli, Patrick Long, Porsche, Walter Röhrl

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

E-mail Subscription

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE and be the first to receive new articles directly into your inbox:

Archives

Connect with us

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Book Reviews

50 Years Porsche 914

Whether you love it or hate it, the 914 served as a very important family member in the Porsche

DBR 9 – The Definitive History

At Porsche Road & Race, we receive many books for review, and these include books on all manner

Porsche 964: The Modern Classic

The history of Porsche sportscars is peppered with iconic models that stand out as special, from the

More Book Reviews ››

Our Other Websites

Virtual Motorpix new website icon
Virtual Motorpix blog link with new logo

OTHER ARTICLES YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN

Join us on Facebook

Join us on Facebook

Disclaimer

Porsche Road & Race is entirely independent and is in no way connected with the company Dr. Ing. H.C. F. Porsche AG or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries. Please also read our full Disclaimer.

Follow us on Twitter

Tweets by Porsche Road & Race

Contact us

We welcome your questions, comments and feedback. Please click here to contact us.

OTHER ARTICLES YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN

Advertising

Please contact us if you would like to discuss advertising opportunities on Porsche Road & Race.

OTHER ARTICLES YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN

Connect with us

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Please share our website

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Copyright © 2021 Porsche Road & Race