Visitors to the Porsche Museum have always been able to immerse themselves in the world of Porsche – and now there’s a futuristic new interpretation right from the start. The highly technically complex Future Heritage Portal puts the spotlight on the Egger-Lohner C.2 Phaeton – the oldest surviving design on which Ferdinand Porsche worked. It now captures the attention of everyone who sees it, inviting them on a journey through space and time. The installation, located right by the top of the long escalator leading to the upper floors of Porsche World is the captivating new start to the Prologue, which is the introductory part of the permanent exhibition.

After more than a year of research, planning and execution, the 1898 Egger-Lohner C.2 Phaeton, one of the most important vehicles in the company’s collection, has been given its proper accolade as the opening exhibit. The electric car was powered by the ‘Octagon’, an electric motor developed by Porsche that was mounted in front of the rear axle. With front-axle steering, it drove through the streets of Vienna 123 years ago. Today, it stands on a pedestal approximately five metres in diameter, at the front of which is a technically.

It is a strongly held belief in the Porsche Heritage and Museum department, that no two visits to the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen should be the same. This means that the exhibition is continually being updated and made more interactive. In recent months, the team has been working hard on the prologue, which provides an introduction to the exhibition. The moment visitors reach the top of the famous long escalator, with its special view into the company’s archive library, they embark upon a thrilling journey through time. “After more than a year of research, planning and implementation we’re delighted to be able to present our new, overhauled prologue. We have installed many new interactive touch points, and more than 20 stations, three functional models and numerous never-before-seen exhibits now await our visitors,” says Achim Stejskal, Head of Porsche Heritage and Museum. “Our new prologue features more of the faces behind our history than ever before, making it much more human. We don’t just see Ferdinand and Ferry Porsche, but also their team,” reveals Stejskal.

The first part of the exhibition gives an overview of the stations that follow. Thanks to the newly designed prologue, the visitor experience is more varied, right from the outset. Digital and analogue displays combine with education, entertainment and greater interactivity: from Ferdinand to Ferry Porsche – from 1875 to 1949. On one side of the new prologue, visitors can see an area dedicated to the company’s founder, Ferdinand Porsche, with exhibits such as the Lohner-Porsche Semper Vivus and the Austro-Daimler Motorspritze fire engine. On the other side, the prologue is dedicated to Ferry Porsche and Gmünd in Carinthia, Austria. Visitors of all ages can marvel at ex-hibits such as the Type 360 Cisitalia and the 356 ‘No. 1’ Roadster – the first sports car to bear the Porsche name, and which dates back to 1948 – as well as a 356/2 Gmünd Coupé.

Visitors enter our exhibition via a fascinating escalator ride with a view of the Porscheplatz. At the top, a big surprise awaits, because our history starts with electric power. The first car designed by Ferdinand Porsche was an electric car. Alongside the first functional wheel hub motor, he then designed the world’s first hybrid car.

The journey through time continues in chronological order and, when it is not out on the road, takes you past the Porsche 356 “No. 1” Roadster. This is followed by the first victorious racing cars of the 1950s, the beginning of the Porsche 911 era in the 1960s, the 917 racing cars of the 1970s and a variety of automotive icons from the following decades including the Porsche Carrera GT, Porsche 918 Spyder and Porsche 919 Hybrid.