April - June

Porsche Soapboard premiere in GermanyParticipation in the international soap box race “Prix de Tacot 2004” in Leipzig

Stuttgart/Leipzig. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is celebrating a very special premiere at this year’s international soapbox race “13. Prix de Tacot” at the Fockeberg in Leipzig: the Porsche Soapboard – a soap box developed by the Porsche Engineering Group (PEG) and by Porsche-Designers – will start in Germany for the very first time on 16 May 2004, in the context of this traditional race. The board will be piloted by the Porsche driving instructor Arnd Stollmann, who is part of the team of the racing car manufacturer, together with four apprentices and trainees of the Leipzig Porsche factory.

The unusual Porsche racer is an innovative three-wheeled construction, which has only little in common with traditional soapboxes, visually and conceptually. The soapboard – a word that combines ‘soapbox’ with ‘surfboard’ – consists of the finest high-tech materials that have been carefully tuned to and combined with each other. Thus, a monocoque made of carbon fibre acts as chassis, for example. A windscreen made of vacuum pressed acryl ensures optimum aerodynamics by cleverly conducting the airflow around the prostrate pilot.

The Porsche soapbox start at the Fockeberg will not be as part of the official competition. Siegfried Bülow, Managing Director of Porsche Leipzig GmbH, explains this decision: “We are not in it to win, but because we want to have fun. And we want to share this fun with as many people in Leipzig as possible.”

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Note: Accredited journalists can download a digital image from the Porsche Press database on the Internet at the address http://presse.porsche.de .

13.05.2004