23 June 2023

Where Ferry Porsche tested once his cars and Ferdi Porsche runs the new 'Mankei' hut: An exhibition of Austrian design history and visions for the future at the Grossglockner High Alpine Road

Insights into the opening of the special exhibition 'Driven By Dreams - 75 Years of Porsche Sports Cars' on Austria's highest mountain and longest high alpine road, the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, were published yesterday on grossglockner.at. The exhibition is located at the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe at an altitude of 2,369 m above sea level and will run until October 2023. The exhibition presents Porsche's success story and future ambitions, highlighting the close connection between the brand, the Porsche family and the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. The road has been a source of inspiration for Porsche designers and engineers, and has also served as a test track for Porsche vehicles.

Ferdinand 'Ferry' Porsche (1909 - 1998) used the high alpine route as a test track for his automobiles, including the Porsche 356 No. 1 Roadster - the first vehicle with the name 'Porsche'. The roadster was built in 1948 at the Porsche factory in Gmünd in Carinthia. On 8 June 1948, the car received an individual permit from the office of the Carinthian state government, and on 15 June 1948 the 356 was approved for road traffic. 75 years ago, Ferry Porsche realized his dream of a modern sports car with this prototype. The successor of the 356 was the 911. The title of the exhibition honors this design history, much of which took place in Austria. The exhibition features three main themes: heritage, environmental protection and sustainability, and innovation and technology. It showcases legendary Porsche vehicles and explores the brand's history and vision.

The guests celebrated the opening of the exhibition in the new 'F.A.T. - Mankei' hut, a hotel and cafe-restaurant at the completely renovated old 'Mankei' inn on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road at the mountain lake Fuscher Lacke. 'Mankei' is a dialect word for the Grossglockner typical 'marmot'. The owner of the Mankei is the grandson of Ferry Porsche with the same name Ferdinand, abbreviated to 'Ferdi' Porsche; an architect and the organizer of the GP Ice Race in Zell am See. The hotel and cafe-restaurant with an e-charging station opened last month in May. Insights into the building are published on the website of the team of architects steiner-architecture.com. On occasion of the opening of the Mankei, Porsche Design created the 'Mankei strap' for the Chronograph 1 – GP 2023 Edition. The strap is inspired by the architecture of the hut.

Image: The picture shows the 'Porsche Heights' event at the newly opened 'F.A.T. Mankei' hotel and cafe-restaurant on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road in Salzburg, Austria at the end of May 2023. The cars parked in front of the hut and visible in the photo are Porsche 918 Spyder, Porsche 901, Porsche 935, Porsche 911 Turbo S (993), Porsche 911, RUF CTR Anniversary, Porsche 911 GT2 RS (991.2). Photo: © Porsche AG.