Petersen Museum Pre-opening Gala for "We Are Porsche" Exhibition
 

Some nice Cars were on display on the Terrace like this one.

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Late arrivals continued to show up to the Event.

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Then at 6pm we were told to continue to the Exhibit Hall to get ready for the unveiling which was to occur at 7:45pm. More food and drinks were served in the Exhibit Halls.

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Petersen Museum Pre-opening Gala for "We Are Porsche" Exhibition
 

As we entered the Exhibition Halls, many nice cars were on display.
There was a section devoted to Cars from TV and the movies.

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Petersen Museum Pre-opening Gala for "We Are Porsche" Exhibition
 

I couldn't help but notice this beautiful BMW that's not in production yet.

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A large Screen video display was showing things relevant to the Show.
I recognized the old Dude in the Video, lol.

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Scenes from the old 1981 Eye on L.A. segment called Mulholland Maniacs was on screen.

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There was a large long white Curtain blocking off the new "We Are Porsche" Exhibit.
The Guard said that no admittance allowed until formal opening.
I mentioned that my Carrera was one of the cars on display and he said that he would look the other way if I wanted to sneak in for a preview.

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Petersen Museum Pre-opening Gala for "We Are Porsche" Exhibition
 

On display were a collection of Porsche 356 Cars and a wooden form for 356 model.

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Many incredible 911 models were shown on the floor.

I remember this 911 because I used to have a Garrard Turntable for playing Records.

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This beautiful 1973 Porsche 911S reminded me of the one I had in 1974, the one that I raced and beat Charley while he was driving his old GMC Pickup Truck.
He was wickedly fast in that old Truck. I never saw anyone drive Mulholland like he did that night.
No Professional Stuntman could do what Charley did. He deserved the nickname, Crazy Charley, believe me.

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Petersen Museum PreM-opening Gala for "We Are Porsche" Exhibition
 

I came around the corner and saw the Holy Grail of Porsche Racecars.
The Mark Donohue Porsche 917/30, fastest Car in the World.

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Porsche proved with this Car that there really is, No Substitute.

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Continuing around the Exhibit I saw a quite unique looking Porsche 911 with a slanted Windshield and lowered Roof.

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Petersen Museum Pre-opening Gala for "We Are Porsche" Exhibition
 

Only a few Porsches had large 6 foot tall banners to describe them.

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I was surprised and flattered that they gave me the nick-name "Porsche" Chris Banning.

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A couple of other owners had sneeked in and we were asked to leave until the formal opening.

What a fantastic tribute Chris, congratulations!

How did it feel seeing your car in that setting and to receive formal recognition as a Porsche trailblazer?

Fantastic stuff, sir. Thank you so much for all that you have shared in this thread.

I understand fixing the mirror.

At the same time, the first thing that popped into my head when I read what you posted was:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fDaONrHK1f8?start=3" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Petersen Museum Pre-opening Gala for "We Are Porsche" Exhibition
 

We toured the Main Hall and saw some fantastic Machines.

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Open Bar and complimentary food was located here as well.
Items included were, different kinds of German Sausage, 4 kinds of Mustard, French Rolls, special French Fries and more.

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Petersen Museum Pre-opening Gala for "We Are Porsche" Exhibition
 

Thank you very much. It was a special night as one can imagine.
I was happy to hear from the Curator that while it was sitting in the Vault Shop, important visitors would go directly to the Mulholland Carrera. There were some other incredible Cars down there so I was not expecting that.

They commented on how it looks like "the Real Deal" and retains battlescars from days gone by. They actually liked the fact that it doesn't look like a show car.

The Carrera has less than 5,000 miles on it, but they are some hard miles, lol.
Except for the time I joined Dave B on his New Years Day Run, it has only been driven on Mulholland.

Petersen Museum Pre-opening Gala for "We Are Porsche" Exhibition
 

You're most welcome, it's been a fun and informative time on this Thread.
I remember that line from the Movie, quite funny.

Petersen Museum Pre-opening Gala for "We Are Porsche" Exhibition
 

People were slowly making it to the Exhibit Halls from the rooftop Terrace and waiting for the Curtains to be pulled back for this special Event.

There was time to see all the wonderful Cars.

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Petersen Museum Pre-opening Gala for "We Are Porsche" Exhibition
 

As the Museum was preparing to unveil the "We Are Porsche" Exhibit and roll back the Curtains, folks began to crowd the area.

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Then one of the Museum speakers talked on a microphone about Porsche and its important Legacy and what this was all about.

He then introduced the CEO of Porsche North America to speak with some interesting stories and information.

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By now it was packed and I wasn't near the front so it took time to enter.
People moved to the Center of the Exhibit so I had time to check out some other Cars.

I spotted this 1976 Porsche 935 that used to belong to Otis Chandler.
He used to stop by the Porsche Repair Shop in Santa Monica that I began working on Porsches in. It was 1971.
He would always show up in a remarkable Car.

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I was startled to see the names on the Car.
I had completely forgotten that John Thomas drove this 935 with Otis Chandler.

John ran the Racing division at Bozzani Porsche Audi in the 70's and he was the one who made sure that the Engine, Transmission, and Suspension for the Carrera were built correctly to RSR Specs at his Porsche Dealership in Monrovia.

I think that they prepared a few of the I.R.O.C. Porsches for Racing there.

John was the one who wrote the letter of introduction for me for the Porsche Racewerk at the Factory in Stuttgart.
I got the red-carpet treatment in Germany thanks to him. I was just a young Punk but the Porsche Factory gave me many Factory Research Manuals to prepare a Car to Race Mulholland. They even gave me an Original Carrera RSR Owner's Manual, incredible.

I will always be grateful to him for his help and leadership.

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Petersen Museum Pre-opening Gala for "We Are Porsche" Exhibition
 

I was interested in hearing comments about The Mulholland Carrera when the Crowd came around to it's location.

It was impossible to reach the Car as too many people were crowding around it.
I was shocked to see that so many guests wanted to get close to my Car.
After all, there are so many other famous and more important Cars to look at.

I had to go back to the beginning of the Exhibit and wait until it thinned out near the Carrera. It took awhile. I missed hearing comments from the Crowd.

Wayne Dempsey of Pelican Parts fame came up to me and wanted a photo.
We talked for some time and he showed me his amazing Car collection with photos.
It was fun talking to him.

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The Museum Head named Brian came over to talk to me after I had spoken to Wayne.
He's in charge of everything that goes on at The Petersen. He's very nice and very much in control.


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One of the Curators said that The Carrera was so popular that they decided to print new Lanyard Placards before the Event ended.


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Everyone was given a poster to mark this special Event.


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On the way out I took one more look at my all-time favorite, the Porsche 917/30

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Driving up Laurel Canyon I drove thru the old Racecourse to get home.
It seemed a fitting and serendipitous end to this memorable Evening.

Thanks for all the details, Chris. I’m really happy for you! So cool that the Carrera has such a reputation and following to so many. I’m going to try to get down to the Petersen this week just to see the RSR.

Petersen Museum Pre-opening Gala for "We Are Porsche" Exhibition
 

Thank you for your kind words Derek and thank you also for starting this Thread.
It led to many different positive things. I hope to see you sometime in the near future.

Best wishes to you.

Congrats, Chris. Very cool.

I may try to swing down there on Wednesday afternoon, work permitting.

So cool! Wish I could make it out to see the exhibit.

Made it to the Petersen today and I was not disappointed. The “We Are Porsche” exhibit is excellent. And of course the star of the show for me was the RSR. Haven’t seen it in a while, but it looks great. Wearing the patina well. Also, saw an old poster to this thread Jim Bauer (nameisbauer) out in the parking garage! Considering he lives in Austin now, it was pretty wild running into him there.

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Petersen Museum Pre-opening Gala for "We Are Porsche" Exhibition
 

Thank you very much Derek, glad you enjoyed the Exhibit as much as I did.
Here's one more photo of the 917/30. This 917 Porsche is the most awesome car Porsche ever produced.

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