Porsche and Petersen team up for a diamond anniversary celebration

If you are in Los Angeles this Summer, or even into the fall (for the LA Auto Show), be sure and reserve an afternoon for a tour of the Petersen Automotive Museum. The museum is collaborating with Porsche Cars of North America to celebrate Porsche’s 75^th anniversary in an exhibit called “We are Porsche”.

The exhibition, which occupies two floors of the museum, brings together heritage racing cars, classic Porsches and models cherished by celebrities in the Southern California area.

Among the many cars in the exhibit are:

• Porsche’s first and only Formula 1 racer, Dan Gurney’s 1962 Porsche 804, which claimed Porsche’s only two Formula 1 victories.
• Dean Jeffries’ custom 356 Carrera, the original ‘outlaw’ Porsche
• Troutman and Barnes’ 1967 911 S Custom Four Door (another Outlaw)
• The Brinkerhoff 356 rally car, modified for driving in Antarctica with tracks and skis
• Steve McQueen’s 1976 911 Turbo
• Porsches showcased in movies, like “Top Gun: Maverick”, “Glass Onion, A Knives Out Mystery”, and later in the year, “Cars”
• Mark Donohue’s 1973 917/930 Can-Am Spyder

But it is not just the cars that are celebrated here. The whole history of the Porsche community, especially on the West Coast, is told here with multiple and often interconnected storylines and with rare photos of races and classic cars (many of which are contributed by Porsche Archives) and their owners.

Max Hoffman and John von Neumann, German expats who fled the Nazis, figure prominently in the story. Both men who represented Porsche in the 1950s and played a critical role in the story. Both established early dealerships, Hoffman in New York City, and von Neuman in Los Angeles, after he bought his first Porsche from Hoffman in New York and drove it across country.

Von Neuman was a racer, and sold quite a few Porsches after early victories on Southern California racetracks. His exploits also introduced the marque to the young generation of Hollywood stars, among them James Dean and Steve McQueen. Von Neumann quickly learned the power of celebrity in marketing a car, and Porsche’s popularity really took off as he marketed the cars to the Hollywood set: actors, directors and executives.

But it was Max Hoffman to which every American Porsche enthusiast owes a debt of gratitude. He opened a fancy showroom on Park Avenue in New York (designed, as was his house, by Frank Lloyd Wright, himself a customer). Hoffman had started out selling Jaguars but quickly moved into Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and later BMW. He was the first American sales outlet and distributor for all of these marques.

Hoffman not only sold the cars, he also suggested design modifications to adapt the cars to the American market. For Mercedes, it was the classic 300SL gullwing, created for the American enthusiast. For BMW, it was the legendary 507, designed by Albrecht von Goertz under Hoffman’s supervision, and then given to BMW, which produced the car to enlarge its footprint in the American market. And for Porsche it was the 356 Speedster, a stripped-down and more affordable version of the 356.

It was a white 356 Speedster that caught the eye of a young Ruth Levy who was on a trip to New York with her family. Levy would later say she was captivated by the car “spinning around on a carousel in Max Hoffman’s showroom, like it owned the place.” Levy would buy the car, driving it home alone directly from Hoffman’s showroom to Minnesota, where she would spend two winters racing the Speedster with great success on the frozen lakes, winning both women’s and men’s races.

When the second Spring arrived, Levy departed for Southern California to join the racing scene. There she became known as one of the ‘Spyder Women’, all of whom raced 356 Speedsters with great success, dominating women’s racing and, when allowed in a men’s event, beating men too.

Stories like these, which are only a small sampling, further animate what is already an excellent show. Come for the cars, stay for the stories.

“We are Porsche” will be at the Petersen until April 2024. The Tesla exhibit, on the ground floor, is also ongoing, making for an excellent compare/contrast experience. And if all the exhibits get a bit overwhelming, take a break at the Meyers Manx restaurant, where a meal or libation should refill the tank.

A handsome catalogue accompanies the show; it’s worth a place in your library.