Porsche Factory Tour

[cool5]

Hi All,

My son Patrick is going to be in Stuttgart around the 20th. of June. He would like to tour the Porsche factory. Is there advance scheduling or ??

Thanks, Matt

[group911@aol.co]

A reservation used to be necessary. I would check ahead to be sure. I think they have a contact on their web site.

[Don Plumley]

contact Sigrid dot Mauz at porsche dot de

Ask for the English tour (unless he speaks German), one slot might be open. You could also show up as there are usually no-shows and cancellations. Well worth it.

[MaquinaVerde]

I was in Stuttgart a couple weeks ago on business with about a week advance notice. I contacted PCA and was given the name of the main contact at the factory:

Mathias Menner- Factory Visit Coordinator
49-711-911-78307

I called up 6 days before and was told that the reservation waiting list is several months long. The lady answering phones seemed amused that I thought there was a possibility for a tour within a few days.

The current museum has some neat stuff including an Abarth Carrera, a 917 tube frame and engine, the original Frankfurt show 959, America Roadster #1, a 73 RSR, the GT1 from a few years back, etc. The current museum is a row of two cars, probably 12 total and consists of about 30% gift shop. The new museum is being built next door and looks like it will be pretty cool when it is finished.

Unless your son can work a miracle I suggest he hits the Porsche museum then drive across town to the Mercedes complex. They have a fantastic museum and free walk on tours of the plant a couple times daily. Early afternoon seems to be the hot time for the English tours, but you need to reserve a place earlier in the day.

If he has time for more neat stuff he should check out the Sinsheim Technical Museum about 30 min north of Stuttgart. They have a great collection of vintage cars, planes, WWII hardware, etc. There isn't a whole lot of Porsche content other than a 356 Carrera and a wrecked '55 speedster, but the collection is enormous and fascinating. They have a Concorde and Tupolev Tu-144 to go through, an enormous collection of WWII planes, tanks, rockets, jets, weapons, F1 cars, and prewar classics. I only had half a day to check it out but I could have easily killed a whole day walking around. http://www.technik-museum.de/uk/sinsheim/

[cool5]

Thanks for the replys, good info and much appreciated. He drives an old Mercedes 190e so If he can't squeeze in at Porsche I'm sure the Mercedes tour would be just as intresting to him.

Matt

[Tim K]

Originally posted by Don Plumley
...You could also show up as there are usually no-shows and cancellations. Well worth it.

My wife and I showed up at the desk in the museum just as the first tour of the day was starting. When asked if there were any cancellations, the guy looked doubtful, but came back a minute later and took us to catch up with the group! He said "you are very lucky". You never know.

[Rick Lee]

You don't need a reservation to see the museum and that's where the tour starts. So do ask about cancellations. And if your son speaks German, it's probably a lot easier to get into a tour group, since I think most of their visitors are English speakers. I got bumped from the English one when I was there and in my German group there were only two other people there - a father and son picking up their new car that day.

[Wil Ferch]

(quote).." The lady answering phones seemed amused that I thought there was a possibility for a tour within a few days.

...I can say this as I am of German heritage.... this is typically German and arrogant and non-customer-focused. Seems they'll never learn.

- Wil

[John P (w/a T)]

I just went on the factory tour in March. I booked 1 month in advance. Having previously tried to go before with 2 days’ notice (when I was there on business), I’m glad that I booked early. My reservations were through:

Sigrid Mauz
Public Relations
Sigrid.Mauz@porsche.de

If you can’t get reservations, as noted, the tours tend to begin at 10 AM, and there are often cancellations/no shows.

The factory tour is amazing. While I’m mostly a pre-’73 911 guy, I was still blown away by the tour. Being inches from workers building GT3 engines, cars being assembled, the engine dyno rooms, etc., is a great experience.

The tour is free – ask for the English tour – but no photos are allowed.

The museum is a big disappointment. Very small and only a handful of cars. I’m encouraged by the large museum being built across the street, however.

As noted above, the Mercedes museum is impressive, and definitely worth going, as it’s close to Porsche (a quick cab ride).

Good luck,

John