Porsche Expo to come to Australia

The first showing will be at the annual historic race meeting at Phillip Island from March 18-20.  Cars will also be displayed at the Targa Tasmania, Longford Revival other motorsport events and possibly the Australian GP.

Dealerships will also show some of the cars on a timetable yet to be announced.  The free displays are being brought out to celebrate 60 years of Porsche in Australia.

A highlight is the 935 Moby Dick with its long aerodynamic rear and 621kW turbocharged six-cylinder boxer engine.  The svelte coupe reached speeds up to 366km/h at Le Mans in 1978.

One of the famous 956/962 race cars which won the Le Mans 24 Hour seven times between 1982 and 1994 is also part of the collection. The display car is the Rothmans 962 raced to victory in 1987 by Derek Bell, Hans Stuck and Al Holbert.

The display will also include two open-top Porsches that dominated Sicily's Targo Florio road race. They are the 718 RS 60 Spyder which won in 1960 (and 36 years later won Targa Tasmania on handicap honours with Jochen Mass at the wheel) and the 908/02 Spyder which filled the first four places in 1969's Targo Florio.

The 911 SC raced by Walter Rohrl in the gruelling 1980 San Remo rally completes the motorsport line-up, with the acclaimed Carrera GT road car from 2003 providing a modern touch to Porsche's past.

Porsche Cars Australia managing director Michael Winkler says each car in the display is in working order.  Australia became the first right-hand-drive export market for Porsche and one of the first export markets following a chance meeting between Porsche 356 designer Ferry Porsche and entrepreneurial Australian Norman Hamilton in Gmund, Austria, in early 1951.

A maroon 356 Coupe and silver 356 Cabriolet became the first Porsche exported to Australia in October that year.  Since then more than 22,100 Porsches have been sold here.  Porsche Museum ambassador Klaus Bischof will accompany the cars at some of the events.