Celebrating in style

Porsche Club Great Britain is one of the oldest and largest Porsche owners’ clubs in the world, founded more than 60 years ago by a handful of 356 early adopters. Over the decades, the club has grown in step with Porsche itself, forging strong professional ties and enduring friendships with the brand, thanks in part to an annual pilgrimage to Zuffenhausen known as the ‘factory tour’. 

Last year, the 70th anniversary of Porsche Clubs worldwide gave the British group a perfect excuse to extend the traditional tour into a pan-European road trip, meet up with fellow Porsche owners’ clubs and visit a variety of locations that have helped shape the Porsche story.

Months in the planning between club officials and Porsche Cars GB, the route would take in six countries over ten days and cover close to 3,000 miles along some of the best driving roads on the continent. More than 80 club members and up to 45 cars made the trip, and models in the convoy ranged from an early 356 to the latest Taycan Turbo, with a smorgasbord of 911, Boxster and Cayman models in between, plus several examples of the Macan, Cayenne and Panamera. GT3 and GT4 cars also figured, as did several generations of the 911 Turbo. The initial assembly point for this technicolour cavalcade was the GP circuit at Spa, the site of countless Porsche victories, where the group was welcomed by Porsche Club Francorchamps. An intensive afternoon of track driving on the challenging Belgian circuit preceded a series of close-formation parade laps and dinner in the Pit Brasserie, where members were regaled for the first of several times by 1970 Porsche Le Mans winner and guest of honour Richard Attwood.

The following morning, the group continued on to Stuttgart, from where a series of events were scheduled in and around the Porsche factory. Drive-outs through the Black Forest and visits to local castles were followed by back-to-back factory tours in Zuffenhausen – one for the 911 and 718 production lines, and a visit to the new Taycan facility.

The first evening in Germany finished with an informal dinner, to which several luminaries of Porsche past and present were invited, including recently retired designer Tony Hatter, GT Vehicle Coordinator Henry Freude and Rob Powell, the livery designer responsible for the hugely influential Rothmans 956. The second day concluded with a private tour and gala dinner at the Porsche Museum, with PCGB members joined by visiting guests from Porsche Club America and Porsche’s own Global Community team.

The next morning, the group returned to the road, with tantalising stretches of derestricted autobahn giving way to the winding, wooded countryside of south-west Germany and an overnight stop near Innsbruck, in the shadow of the Tyrolean mountains. With winter yet to arrive, there was the chance to tackle some of the famous mountain passes that have become a part of early Porsche folklore, and several smaller convoys formed at first light the following day to tackle the Timmelsjoch, a 1.5-mile-high pass over the Ötztal Alps that blends snow-capped peaks with some of the fastest high Alpine roads in the region. The most committed also made a brief detour to the Stelvio Pass, the highest paved road in the eastern Alps. The 48 hairpin bends and sudden snowstorms combine to offer a demanding ascent, rewarded by one of the most dramatic photo ops in Europe. 

On the southern side of the Italian Alps, the next stop was the Porsche Experience Centre Franciacorta, which opened in September 2021 just west of Brescia. The largest such centre in the world, it boasts 5,600 square metres of exhibition and entertainment space alongside a 1.5-mile FIA-approved circuit, low-friction arena and off-road course. Here, members enjoyed a full day of instruction in high-speed driving, on-the-limit handling and off-road techniques, exploring the performance and dynamic potential of 911, 718, Taycan and Cayenne alike under the tutelage of Franciacorta’s instructors.

The final days of the trip allowed the group to further explore Brescia, with private tours of local vineyards, the restoration workshops of classic boat builder Riva and the celebrated Mille Miglia museum. The return drive to the UK took in both Lake Como and the Gotthard Pass – another stunning Alpine ascent that offered a fitting final test for the cars. 

For much of the tour, PCGB was joined by Mathias Menner, a specialist in Porsche’s Global Community Management with close ties to the club. ‘I’ve been organising the factory tours for years but this was the first time I actually joined the drive,’ said Menner, who led a spirited dash over the Timmelsjoch in a Shark Blue 911 Turbo S. ‘It is wonderful what we have been able to do together to celebrate this anniversary. It was an amazing few days, especially crossing the Alps and spending so much time at the Experience Centre Franciacorta. It really has been an incredible occasion.’