13 minute read
One of the First
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Thomas KÖNIG
engine have even survived. “Our doubts were definitively put to rest,” says Oliver Schmidt, “but we could still barely believe our luck.”
Salvaging the car proved to be the trickiest part of this journey back in time. The original approach road to the site was blocked by various buildings which had been put up over the years. There was no other means of approach – just a deep ditch right alongside the site. Using a historic mobile crane, the Prototyp team succeeded in airlifting the fragile body, which they had reinforced with a substructure.
The rebirth of the 5006 proves to be extremely complex. The aim is to preserve as much of the original materials as possible. The entire body is therefore carefully reconditioned. Where rust has been particularly merciless, the metal sheets have to be reproduced by hand – true to the original design of the historic model. “With these very early models in particular,” explains Thomas König, “virtually all of the sheet metal parts were shaped by hand.”
The oldest Porsche from Stuttgart that we know of now has a permanent place in the Hamburg museum. “For us, the 5006 is the high point of our work to date,” says König. The car also represents an important milestone in early sports car production under the Porsche name. A story fit for the big screen, with a happy end. ●
2008
Thomas König (left) and Oliver Schmidt opened the Automuseum Prototyp – a major attraction in Hamburg’s HafenCity district. In a historic factory building, the founders wish to share their fascination with the aesthetics, form, and stories of historic automobiles. The exhibited vehicles, almost all relevant to Porsche, are unique in their own way; some are even genuine prototypes. For more information: prototyp-hamburg.de/en/
FLEXIBLE GOLD
A technical miracle.
The new Wellendorff bracelet made of fl exible gold hugs and embraces you. With every touch and every movement, it reminds you of your happiness, your gratitude and your love.
FILM
Elisa Sednaoui
Photo by Papo WAISMAN
Born: 1987 Residence: Los Angeles Profession: Social entrepreneur, model, and actor Porsche: 911 Carrera 2 (964), built in 1993 Born in Italy with Egyptian and French roots, Elisa Sednaoui poses for the camera for the first time at just 14 years of age, promptly making a name for herself in the world of fashion. She models for brands such as Armani, Chanel, and Roberto Cavalli and graces the covers of popular magazines such as Vogue. She is also an actor and director. These days, the 33-year-old is a social entrepreneur, dedicated to Funtasia Enterprise – a charity undertaking, which she founded to support creative learning programs for children and teens. She lives with her husband and two sons in Los Angeles.
What is love?
How are you?
The Porsche 911 in three words?
Which simple things can make you happy?
What would you never do in a 911?
What’s your favorite road?
What can distract you?
Three things you would take to a desert island?
Is there a historical figure you admire?
What on a 911 could you do without?
And what couldn’t you?
What music did you wake up to this morning?
Your favorite film?
Your favorite book?
Where do you long to be?
Your most treasured possession?
Your secret?
The 911 moment of your life?
Your best advice?
An unexplainable connection and the only thing in life that makes sense.
Doing good; adapting to a new season and trying to make my daily routine as healthy as possible.
Elegance. Power. Lightness.
The sun in a clear blue sky when I start my day, the sound of sea waves, my children laughing.
Drink coffee.
The Litoranea Road between Santa Maria di Leuca and Otranto in Puglia, Italy.
Thought patterns that don’t serve me.
A device that allows me to access every book in the world and a notepad feature to write things down. Indestructible speakers for music. Survival equipment.
Everyone – especially women – who gave their lives for the freedom I enjoy today.
The only thing that comes to mind is the price.
The shape and comfort of the seats.
Forest Nativity by Francis Bebey.
Natural Born Killers by Oliver Stone.
The Chosen by Chaim Potok changed me forever.
Present, right here and now.
The meaningful presents I’ve received from those I love.
“Secret” is my private sacred time and space.
When my husband drove us off in it for the first time.
Only you can make the improvements needed in your life happen. Try to look at things from a different perspective. Life happens for you, not to you.
That I’m more introverted than extroverted.
Erosion as Inspiration
A natural wonder: Over a period of millions of years, water, wind, and sun created sandstone formations in the US state of Utah that now serve as inspiration for extraordinary sculptures.
Salt Lake City Airport: Made from 500 panels, the installation entitled The Canyon provides visitors with a foretaste of Utah’s national parks.
Excursion at Zion National Park:
Californian artist Gordon Huether loves landscapes and appreciates the aesthetics of the Porsche Macan GTS.
An art project incorporates the Wild West: enormous sculptures have touched down at Salt Lake City Airport, paying homage to the beauty of Utah’s national parks.
By Basem WASEF Photos by Michael Alan ROSS, Francesco
Riccardo IACOMINO (Getty Images), SLC International Airport
Gordon Huether focuses his gaze to the east, the first rays of the sun illuminating his face and revealing his euphoria: “When I see nature’s power and majesty,” the artist says of the epic sunrise, “it makes me want to just throw all my pencils away. It’s so beyond, it’s surreal.”
The sandstone mountains of Zion National Park in the United States are resplendent with shades of pink and salmon. Carved out by forces of nature over a period of 150 million years, the formations serve as the 62-year-old’s key source of inspiration. But he’s not the only one who’s fascinated by the landscape. The rush of visitors to the park is at an alltime high, with real-world experiences becoming more and more important in the digital age. And people are rediscovering the joy of travel, revealing that transportation is what truly brings the world together. Transportation is an enduring theme in Huether’s opulent artworks, sculptures, and installations. His most recent large-scale project brings the grandeur of the great outdoors to Salt Lake City International Airport and forms the gateway to Utah’s so-called Mighty 5 national parks: Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion. The number of travelers who passed through the airport increased from just over nine million in 2002, the year of the Winter Olympics, to 26 million in 2019. Another increase is expected once intercontinental travel is no longer restricted. Just as interest in the national parks is growing, Salt Lake City Airport is getting an update, with 4.5 billion US dollars invested in the new comprehensive design. Large-scale art produced by Gordon Huether is a key component of the project.
With his ambitious works of art in the public sphere, Huether seeks to bridge the gap between man and nature, whether in city squares, at libraries, clinics, or community centers. His aim is to elevate Salt Lake City International Airport, which he refers to as a “Cathedral of Transportation,” with his organic elements, creating a direct link to the national parks, where most of the travelers are headed.
“Traveling is stressful, even for the most seasoned traveler,” says Huether. “So what if I could take the temperature down for you a little bit?” His art therapy begins in the main terminal with The Falls, a 65-foot cascade of dichroic glass that hints at the rainbow diffraction patterns of a waterfall in sunlight. Weighing in at 5,000 pounds, the sculpture incorporates 300 glass panels and 220 glass rods, visible as travelers glide by on the escalator.
The Canyon counters with a monochromatic interpretation of smooth and undulating canyon walls, expressed in 500 individual tensile fins that lend the 362-foot-long structure a topographical feel. The striations echo Utah’s rock formations, formed by water and wind erosion, while a computer-controlled LED program recreates spring, summer, and winter on the face of the synthetic rock formation. River Tunnel is an ongoing project featuring a thousandfoot-long underground pedestrian tunnel between the main terminal and the north concourse. Illuminated in blue light, the undulating waves transform the space into a waterway. Another major installation in design development is the first thing visitors see when they arrive, and the last thing they see in their rearview mirror as they leave the airport: the Mighty 5, a hulking 75-ton sculpture consisting of five pyramidal structures made of durable COR-TEN steel, which provides the desired weathered steel look. The imposing structures tower as high as 90 feet and are as tall as a nine-story building. Huether’s inspiration for this sculpture was the expansive Wasatch and Oquirrh mountains that frame the eastern and western edges of Utah’s enormous valley. It’s also Huether’s technical skills and his architectural experience that allow
“The majestic beauty is so beyond, it’s surreal.”
Gordon HUETHER
Viewpoint: Huether wants to bring people together through his art. And open their eyes to beauty and meaning.
Water and light: Drops shimmering in spectral colors inspired Huether to create The Falls. Measuring 65 feet in height, his transparent sculpture consists of 300 glass panels and 220 rods.
SeaQ Panorama Date Dive into the Original
Important fixtures: At his studio in Napa, the artist always keeps his sources of inspiration in sight. The VW Beetle radiates air-cooled childhood memories.
him to fulfill his creative dreams. And that’s what makes him the perfect man for the airport project in Salt Lake City, for this homage to one of North America’s most breathtaking landscapes.
Back in the wilds of Zion National Park, the sun is now high above the horizon. An extraordinary green – python green, to be specific – in the stony landscape has captivated Huether, who’s wearing his signature backwards hat. It’s the same eye-catching color of the Porsche Macan GTS that Huether is driving today. The GTS is the perfect companion for the artist on this excursion. His own Macan S in Volcano Grey Metallic is parked in front of his studio in Napa Valley, California. It’s around 620 miles as the crow flies from the massive beauties in Utah to Huether’s home, where he lives with his wife, Darcy.
A passion for German vehicles and culture is in Huether’s blood. Both of his parents moved to the US as German immigrants, living first in Rochester, New York, and then moving on to California. Gordon Huether tells us that his grandfather had to walk to work for five years before he could afford to buy his brand-new, blue 1962 VW Beetle. Huether recalls going to German movies and driving from Napa to San Francisco in the family’s beloved Beetle. When he turned 16, he was given the car as a birthday present. However, the fun only lasted a few months, as the wild teenager ended up rolling the car. His grandfather bought him another 1962 Beetle. And years later, Huether rekindled his air-cooled memories himself by purchasing another Beetle that had been built in 1959, the year of his birth. He restored the car and couldn’t resist lowering it, but at least he avoided doing stunts.
“My Macan is essentially a generational descendant of the Beetle,” says Huether, delighted. He views the Porsche as a reward, something he wasn’t able to afford until later in his career as an artist. “I love the way it sounds. I love the way it feels. It just permeates quality,” he says. “Being an artist, I’m obviously visually sensitive. But the Macan is also practical. With the back seat down, even my larger scale models fit inside.” The vehicle embodies Gordon Huether’s professional priorities, creating what is, for him, the ideal combination of fine aesthetics and function.
His personalized license plate reads “LICHT” (German for “light”), an element that plays prominently into his life’s work in more than just artistic illuminations. “Also in a spiritual sense,” he emphasizes. “With every turn of my head, I discover beauty!”
He appears to be deep in thought, standing in a fissure that’s just several yards wide, but endlessly deep. Not much light, but plenty of shade. Here, in this so-called slot canyon, he becomes philosophical: “My mission for almost 40 years has been to inspire the spirit of humanity by bringing beauty and meaning into this world through art. If there was ever a time that art could unite us in inspiration, it is now. Never before has art served a better and higher purpose.” ●
Christophorus
1952 2022
Hot tire: The first issue of Christophorus in 1952 documents a temperature measurement under a masterful backlight.
A Little Jab
The tires are the only connection between the surface of the road and the vehicle, whether series model or race car. Their grip properties play a key role in roadholding in everyday use and consistently fast laps on the racecourse. The Porsche racing engineers take this to heart in the early 1950s. Even back then, the key parameters for exploiting the full potential of the tires are air pressure and, more importantly, the temperature of the road surface – a topic also reported on in the first issue of Christophorus 70 years ago.
To this day, racing tires still receive a small jab whenever the driver makes a pit stop. The tire experts insert a fine needle probe just a few millimeters deep into the rubber. While this approach has changed very little over the decades, the method has been enhanced: once the key area of focus, the temperature at the center of the tread is now accompanied by that of the inside and outside.
The measurement results at these three points provide important insight: Is tire capacity being used efficiently? Are the tires overtaxed or could they withstand even more? Ideally, tire potential is used evenly across the full width of the contact surface.
Slick tires like it hot, with a temperature range of 195 to 230 degrees Fahrenheit offering the best grip. In professional racing, the tires are preheated to around 175 degrees using electric blankets or heat chambers, which allows them to reach their optimal temperature range on the course faster.
While the measuring instruments were little more than antiquated fever thermometers in the 1950s, modern digital devices are now faster and more precise. What hasn’t changed is the analogue way in which the measurement values are recorded: they’re written down by hand on sheets of paper and passed on to the racing engineers. ●
