7 minute read
The Sound of the Future
Role model with Porsche Macan: Walter Röhrl won the European Rally Championship in 1974 and the World Rally Championship in 1980 and 1982. His expertise can be found in all of the Porsche models that come from Leipzig.
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By Heike HIENTZSCH Photos by Tim ADLER
Because he’s turned off by all of the attention, he once even avoided the third World Rally Championship. Nonetheless, we’d like to take this opportunity to wish him happy birthday – he turns 75 on March 7. In Leipzig, a city that’s special to him.
Mr. Röhrl, do you like birthdays?
A look back: what has been more and less important over the past 75 years?
Do you remember how you earned money the first time and what you spent it on?
How did your first professional collaboration with Porsche come about?
Not in the least. I’ve never really liked recognition of any kind. I felt uncomfortable accepting every trophy, and I haven’t done a thing to earn my birthday.
The most important step was probably when I left my career as an administrative employee to pursue motorsport. I wanted to find out if it was merely a dream. Earning money that way was less important to me and has never interested me throughout my career.
I do. I earned 365 deutsche mark a month during my training and saved 360 of that for my first car. I didn’t really need the five marks for spending money because I never went to restaurants or anything like that. My life was work and, in my free time, sports. I saved up until I was able to buy a used Porsche 356. I was 21 years old. It had to be a Porsche because, as my brother taught me, they never broke down. I wouldn’t have been able to afford the repairs.
It was 1981 and Mercedes had just cancelled a planned program for the World Rally Championship at the last minute. But I was still paid. The Porsche Chief Development Officer at that time, Helmuth Bott, called me and said, “Mr. Röhrl, we can afford you under these circumstances.” I accepted and hoped that Porsche would compete in the World Championship. I then drove a 924 Carrera GTS in the German Championship and ultimately competed in a single World Championship race, Rallye Sanremo. Who knows? If I’d won in the 911 SC, it might have led to the World Championship. But the driveshaft broke, and we lost. I had to find a different team for 1982. Ten years later, I did race for Porsche and became a test driver.
Unity: Röhrl shaped the Porsche Carrera GT from the start of development in the late 1990s to the launch of production in Leipzig in 2003. The recent excursion on the on-road circuit there brings back memories.
Jumping from 1981 to 2000, what does the Carrera GT mean to you?
What’s your connection to Leipzig, where the Carrera GT was built between 2003 and 2006?
If you could snap your fingers and change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Is there anything that people say about you that isn’t true?
Who or what inspires you?
What was the biggest moment in your career?
What do you wish for for the future?
Working on this super sports car was one of the best jobs in my life. I was fortunate enough to be able to observe the entire development process from the very first moment. We had to overcome a lot of challenges at the beginning.
I was there when the plant opened its doors and was fascinated by the fact that visionary people like former President and CEO Wendelin Wiedeking had the courage to build a new plant there in a green space. For true Porsche enthusiasts like me, the Cayenne was something foreign at first. I was involved in development in a supervisory capacity. Even the Panamera and Macan models had to accompany me on the Nordschleife. I was impressed by how Porsche managed to apply the sports car genes to the two SUVs and the large sedan. All three of them are benchmarks in their segment.
I would wish to be more patient because it would make every aspect of my life easier. When I’m driving and see a truck in the distance, I get annoyed because I know it’ll slow me down.
Anyone who watches the rally videos from the 1980s, with us racing by at 95 mph in close proximity to spectators, will probably think I’m cold and unfeeling. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m extremely sensitive. Just about anything can keep me up at night, which is hard to imagine for many. Even I find the old videos shocking today. But that’s how rallies were back then. Fortunately, I never injured anyone.
Anyone who’s especially talented. Whenever I see an amazing skier or another great athlete, I immediately think to myself: I need to get out there and train and get in better shape.
When we drove the six miles from the last service point in La Turbie to Monaco at 8 o’clock in the morning in 1980. The sun was reflecting off the sea, and I had achieved my goal in life, which was to win Rallye Monte-Carlo. I’d never dreamed about the European or World Championship titles.
Health and peace, which for me go hand in hand. The pandemic has also shown me how important it is to be healthy. And I’ve had the fortune to live 75 years without war in my environment, which is a huge privilege. ● FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS OF STEEL.
ONE THOUSAND DEGREES OF INTENSE HEAT.
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LUISE AND FRED GO ON A SAFARI IN PORSCHE’S NATURAL GREEN SPACE IN LEIPZIG. DRAWN BY TOBIAS PAHLKE. WOW, THAT TOWER LOOKS LIKE A DIAMOND ...
HOW DOES A PORSCHE SAFARI SOUND TO YOU?
WITH LIONS AND ANIMALS LIKE THAT?
WE DON’T HAVE ANY OF THOSE HERE. BUT YOU’LL BE AMAZED BY WHAT YOU SEE! YIPPEE, TODAY WE’RE PICKING UP OUR PANAMERA! AND THE RACECOURSE IS RIGHT BEHIND IT!
WE HAVE ANOTHER SURPRISE FOR YOU ...
THE PORSCHE LEIPZIG SITE IS AS BIG AS 180 SOCCER FIELDS. SOLDIERS USED TO TRAIN HERE FOR EMERGENCIES. BUT NOW IT’S HOME TO WILD ANIMALS AND PLANTS. LUISE AND FRED COVER 2.5 MILES ON A SAFARI WITH AN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR.
IT SURE IS MUDDY HERE!
OUR FROGS AND OTHER AMPHIBIANS LOVE IT THAT WAY. THEY LAY THEIR EGGS IN THE WATER. WHEN THE TADPOLES HATCH, THEY CAN BREATHE UNDERWATER USING GILLS, JUST LIKE FISH. LATER ON, THEY DEVELOP LUNGS LIKE OURS AND CAN LIVE ON LAND. THAT’S BETTER! HERE WE HAVE SOME QUIETER WILD ANIMALS.
I’D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO FLY …
DO YOU SEE THE BUZZARD UP THERE? MANY RARE SPECIES HAVE FOUND A NEW HABITAT HERE.
AND THAT’S WHY THEY CAN CROAK SO LOUD ... CAN WE MOVE ON?
OH, MAN! WHY IS HE RUNNING AWAY AND HOW DID HE EVEN NOTICE ME? WELL, HARES ARE FLIGHT ANIMALS. THEIR EYES ARE ON THE SIDES OF THEIR HEAD, SO THEY CAN ALSO SEE WHAT’S HAPPENING BEHIND THEM.
OUR PORSCHE CAN BE FITTED WITH TECHNOLOGY TO SEE WHAT’S BEHIND IT AND TO THE SIDES AS WELL AS IN FRONT. IF ANYONE GETS TOO CLOSE, IT INFORMS THE DRIVER.
YOU WERE PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION, LUISE. THE PORSCHE’S CAMERAS AND SENSORS CAN HELP INCREASE DRIVER AWARENESS. SOME OF THEM USE RADAR TECHNOLOGY JUST LIKE THE BATS THAT FLY AROUND HERE AT NIGHT.
25 EXMOOR PONIES AND 75 HECK CATTLE HAVE BEEN SETTLED HERE AT THE PORSCHE LOCATION IN LEIPZIG. MANY OTHER MAMMALS HAVE ALSO MADE THIS THEIR HOME. HARES AND WILD RABBITS, DEER, BADGERS, FOXES, RACOONS, FIELD MICE, POLECATS, AND STONE MARTENS.
HELP! LOOK AT ALL THE BEES. THEY WANT TO STING US ... DON’T WORRY! THEY DON’T WANT TO STING US IT WOULD KILL THEM. BUT STILL, WE SHOULD PUT SOME PROTECTIVE CLOTHING ON.
ITS NAME IS TURBIENCHEN - I SAW THAT AT THE SHOP ENTRANCE.
WE’D BETTER STOP THERE. YOUR PARENTS JUST CALLED AND WE HAVE TO GET BACK ... THE THREE MILLION HONEYBEES LIVE IN BEE COLONIES, EACH WITH ITS OWN QUEEN, HUNDREDS OF DRONES, AND AROUND 60,000 WORKER BEES. THEY COLLECT NECTAR, FROM WHICH THEY MAKE HONEY.
THEY WANTED TO COME HERE AND LEARN HOW TO DRIVE EEBRID OR WHATEVER.
EXACTLY. THAT SAVES GAS, WHICH BENEFITS NATURE. FRED, IT’S CALLED E-HYBRID! THE PANAMERA CAN RECOVER ENERGY.
THE PORSCHE SAFARI IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN PORSCHE LEIPZIG AND AUWALDSTATION LEIPZIG, AN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION INSTITUTE. INFO AND APPOINTMENTS: PORSCHE-LEIPZIG.COM/SAFARI
The Yin and Yang of Daniel Wu
In his hometown of San Francisco, the movie star and martial artist talks about his Asian roots and the search for the right balance – both in life and on the racecourse.
By Bastian FUHRMANN Photos by Larry CHEN
Yin: As a schoolboy, Daniel Wu was able to select the color of his father’s Porsche 911 G series – Cassis Red – a choice he’s still proud of to this day.
