I've heard the key is on the left so you can use the hand-throttle with your right hand?

Either way I think it's pretty bad-ass!

Adam, that is far too rational for this board.

The fact that Porsche mass produced millions of production cars in the last 50 odd years with the keys on the wrong side so that a couple of dozen men could start thier engines while selecting gears (or whatever) once a year or so sometime back in the 60's as a means of shaving 1/10th of a second is far more plausible.

EDIT - Some further rationale:

The key is on the wrong side because the dashboard designer put all the controls in his mouth, sat in the drivers seat and sneezed in the direction of the windscreen

I think that some Porsche race car keys only start the electrical current flowing in the car ( and perhaps start the fuel pump) then a push button actuates the starter. Could the key have been placed on the left of the dash so that one could run, plop, twist, AND push in rapid succession? Hmmm...

I am not going to fire up my Le Mans DVD right now, but I think Michael Delaney does it this way. I also recall seeing several 911 GT based race cars start with a push button and a key.

Mike

Victor,

Clever and hilarious.. I was having a ****ty day until i read that

That is very funny. :D

And true.

:D

Thanks, Victor!

I could have sworn they had a standing start....

eeny, meeny, miney, moh . . .

Left side it is!

:D

BR,

Kurt

Hey, board, this Victor guy from down under is rapidly turning into a valid challenger to Nostatic's hitherto unique wisecrack status, isn't that a fact? And, Momo32, where did this Michael Delaney character get his information from?
I was very surprised recently to see a Porsche 550 with the ignition key very much in the middle of the dashboard, to the right of the steering wheel!

I would be REALLY interested in someone's theory as to why SAAB's ignition key is between the seats, then...

saab key position
 

i know i know.
the saab key position is based on the premise that if you are in an accident that you can't be cut to shreds by the keys dangling in front of you. they placed them between the seat to take them out of harms way. gotta love the swedes and their safety.

db (rare that i get to chime in with a bit of tech)

EDIT: No idea about Porsche key location beyond old LeMans lore.

On many SAABs you have to put the car in reverse to get the ignition key OUT. Once the key is out, it's locked in reverse!
I'm not joking! Probably to make them harder to steal.
The key is between the seats to make the locking mechanism work.

I don't know why Porsche put the key to the left, but the Le Mans theory makes sense.

Anyway I appreciate the placement everytime I'm working on the engine and have to start it from outside the car. :)

The key in the ignition, in a head on collision, has an uncanny propensity for filet-ing your kneecap from the knee.

Remember, not all 914's had the key on the left. Many had VW steering columns.

Jerry Kroeger

Steve Masraum:

The 904's were the very last of the dual-purpose road and race cars. The 906's were the very first ( by intent...by design) to be race-only cars. Pivotal point in history. The years 1964-65 or so are when all other car manufacturers faced the same thing. Look at the Ferrari GTO of 1963 and the Ford GT-40 of around 1965. By 1966-67....everyone was making race-only prototype cars.....

Just a bit of arcane history...

Key on the left?... I've only heard of the racing story quoted earlier....right hand on shift lever. Interesting... as this design feature is found on 911's ....on 914/6's ....and not on 914/4's or the 924/944/968 family. I believe no 928 had this either. Just made the psycological gap wider for these cars to be considered "real" Porsches by many.....hmm...

---Wil Ferch

Same thing happened to me the other day. Different photo though. Wayne attributed it to a browser bug.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=160186&highlight=subjec t+line

My brother who used to work for Land Rover told me that in the old LRs they were on the left so once you finished hooking up farm implements, you could read through the window and start the engine without getting inside. I suppose it made it easier to shut off if something goes wrong too. I guess you could have the same advantage if you wanted to hook an auger or something to your 911.

With the lack of a "clutch in" safety switch, it gives you a way to lean through the window and start it up while still jawing with your buds at the track. :) Or you can almost see the motor and start it at the same time, if you're a bad mechanic and don't trust your own work. :D

Re. why Saabs have the key on the floor, I'm sure it isn't the reason, but it sure infuriates me every time I drive a conventional car while wearing shorts, like going to the gym, and that damn ignition-key ring is perfectly placed to constantly tickle my right knee...

Stephan

My 64 Mini Cooper had not only a key on the dash, but then after you turned the key you had to push a button on the floor! I spilled coffee on the button once, (no cup holders in that little garbage can) and could not start it until I pulled the switch out and cleaned it. What PITA!

I tow a lot of farm gear with my 911, and I do like being able to turn it on after hooking up the trailer without having to get into the car. Then I can check the trailer lights from outside, you see. Given the Porsche built tractors early in their history, I suspect that's where it comes from. (tongue firmly in cheek)

Dan