75 years of Porsche celebrated at LeMay-America's Car Museum in Tacoma
2Whether they have 100 horsepower engines or 1000 horsepower engines, Porsche sports cars are fast, loud, and part of a success story that celebrates 75 years in 2023.
At LeMay-America's Car Museum, Northwest car collectors have lent their precious head-turners to an exhibit, "Porsche at 75," that celebrates the all-conquering race cars and roadsters that have earned the German manufacturer a fervent following.
LeMay's executive director Gary Yamamoto first drove one when he was 18 years old.
"My dad had one when I was younger," he said. "And I got to drive it and it was like nothing else I'd ever driven before so I can understand why people, once they own a Porsche, just fall in love with it."
Since 1951, Porsche has been the car to beat at Le Mans, the 24-hour race that demands everything a driver and a car have to offer.
"It's 24 hours," curator Pandora Paul emphasized. "You have to drive it for that long and you have to survive and you have to win for 24 hours straight and it's just incredibly grueling of an experience."
The cars are powerful and even the best drivers haven't always been able to keep them under control. James Dean famously died in a head-on collision while driving a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder. The actor Paul Walker died in a 2013 crash involving a Porsche Carrera GT in which he was a passenger.
Visiting the "Porsche at 75" exhibit is just one way to celebrate the legacy of Porsche. Another comes this summer at the movie theater when a Porsche 911 Carrera makes its debut in "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts."
Porsche will also debut the Vision 357, an homage to the 356, the first sports car built by the Porsche brand and Petersen Automotive Museum will host a "75 Years of Porsche Sports Cars" celebration with an exhibit.
At 75, Porsche may be the age of a grandparent but it still brings out the youthful side of its drivers. This year there are so many ways to celebrate a sports car that promises to always make your heart run faster.
The "Porsche at 75" exhibit runs the entire year at LeMay-America's Car Museum.
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