We moved on to Zuffenhausen and the factory museum where one of my
friends came back from retired life just to be one of our guides.
The museum staff pushed cars out and opened them for our close
inspection. They were available for questions and staging photo
opportunities for all of us. After a detailed tour of the assembly
facility we were hosted to a fantastic lunch in the company cafeteria,
nicer than any that I have seen in any American corporation.
After lunch we bused to Weissach, where we were greeted by four test
drivers ready to take us on as many high speed laps around the test
track as we wanted. The only rule was no cameras. A Turbo,
Carrera 2 and 4 and a Boxster S were using up tires as we all got dizzy.
Edith Schumacher was first in line as she had been waiting for this day
for over a year. I had never been a fan of the Boxster until this
day - what a gutsy Porsche that was - far more stable than any 911 I
have owned. My apologies to my Boxster and Cayman friends - I was
wrong. After a few hours at the track we went back to Zuffenhausen
to visit the restoration shop. The staff at the factory could not
have been more friendly and open to us throughout the day. But
more was to come.
Our factory representative, Mathias Menner, and his lady Louise Anna
were our hosts at an incredible dinner where we were admonished by the
owner of the Inn if we left anything on our plate. This was the
end of a special day hosted by genuinely nice factory people who
expressed their gratitude to us that we came and that we support the
fine products that they enjoy building for us true enthusiasts. It
was hard to get to bed after such a high powered day and all that
adrenalin running through our veins. So in standard 356 tradition
the Club closed the bar at the hotel.
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