[fireant911]

I think that it was Jack Olsen who posted some links to some YouTube videos that demonstrated the old processes. I watched these videos in awe - surprised at the meticulous detail that was involved with the creation of each vehicle. The picture of manufacturing that that SLR alludes to sounds like the lean processes introduced by Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking. This was quite a transformation from old as the 911 previously took six weeks (120 hours) to assemble / the lean change reduced this to three days (40 hours). Porsche originally had 950 different suppliers and had to do a 100% inspection on all in-coming parts / the lean system resulted in just 300 suppliers. 28 day's of inventory on-hand was previously the norm / just-in-time is now the standard.

The process has lost some of the original hands-on lore that differentiated these cars from the rest of the mass-produced automobiles. Just like SLR, I find the history of this car company to be nothing short of fascinating. I certainly feel as if my car is special.