Porsche – 901 Prototyp “Quickblau” (1963)

The Porsche 911 ranks as one of the few automobile characters to have remained true to its intrinsic ideals over decades, while still undergoing impressive development. The career of the sports car hailing from Zuffenhausen was launched some 60 years ago in Frankfurt. The Porsche 901 was unveiled at the International Motor Show on 12th September 1963 as the long-awaited and yearned-for successor to the exceptionally successful Porsche 356. Since the type desig- nation of Peugeot was protected under trademark law, the model had to be renamed 911 in late autumn 1964 after fewer than 100 cars had been delivered. When the 356 was a little older, the powers that be at Porsche already began to test the successor in 1962. Some of the test cars totalling thirteen in all were given exotic names like Sturmvogel (storm bird), Blaumeise (blue tit), Fledermaus (bat), Zitronenfalter (lemon butterfly), Barbarossa (red beard) and Quick Blau or Quick Blue. This Porsche “Quick Blau” anticipated the subsequent production version boasting an advanced dashboard with five dials for the first time. Back then, Ferdinand Piëch was head of engine development and he carried out extensive tests on the new series with this very car. Later on, the car was driven by Hans Mezger and Walter Vetter before entering into the custodianship of Alois Ruf in 1968, who has remained the owner up to the present day. In the wake of a serious accident in 1971, the car was rescued by a comprehensive reconstruction. This oldest prototype still in existence underwent a frame-up restoration from 2020 to 2022.