Retro Classics in Stuttgart is not just a trade fair – it is a meeting place for classic car fans and sports car enthusiasts from all over the world. From Thursday, 27 February to Sunday, 2 March 2025, Porsche will be represented at the Stuttgart exhibition centre with a special selection of exhibits. The exhibition creates a tension between the past of the brand and its innovative present. “Our work in the Porsche Heritage and Museum department is aimed at making the past ready for the future, today. The iconic models at the centre of the Porsche trade fair stand impressively demonstrate how closely the history of the brand is linked to its future,” says Achim Stejskal, Head of Porsche Heritage and Museum. “We also invite visitors to get to know our Porsche Heritage and Museum team better.”
Light weight and with a naturally aspirated V10 engine
On Sunday, 2 March 2025, the Porsche Museum invites you to a panel discussion with prominent guests at 11:00 a.m.. Le Mans winner and brand ambassador Timo Bernhard and former racing engineer Norbert Singer talk to Armin Burger, Coordinator of Historic Motorsport, about the long-distance racing successes of the Porsche brand and a special project that was brought back to life a few weeks ago: the Porsche Le Mans Prototype 2000, LMP 2000 for short. Originally designed to win at Le Mans, the ambitious project was discontinued 26 years ago during the development phase for cost reasons. After 78 test kilometres, a tarpaulin was thrown over the car in 1999 and it went into storage for more than two decades. That was until the Porsche Heritage and Museum team got the LMP 2000 ready to drive again a quarter of a century after the first rollout. The facts about the LMP 2000, which was once developed for the Le Mans prototype class LMP900: 452 kW (615 PS), 5.5 litre displacement, V10-cylinder naturally aspirated engine. The presentation at the trade fair stand is its first official appearance after the car was presented last year.
The Porsche Carrera GT, which is celebrating its 25th birthday this year, is no less impressive. The study of the mid-engine sports car was presented in Paris in September 2000. The Carrera GT shares not only the V10-cylinder naturally aspirated engine, which can also be seen on the Porsche stand, with the LMP 2000, but also the idea of an innovative lightweight construction. The body and monocoque chassis of the Carrera GT are made of carbon fibre and carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic. With its design and performance, the Carrera GT embodies Porsche DNA: a combination of racing technology and driving experience. Together with the LMP 2000, it shows how closely innovation and tradition are linked at Porsche.
The Porsche 959 celebrates its 40th birthday
With the Porsche 959, the company not only set another technical milestone, but also pushed the limits of what is technically feasible in automotive construction. Between 1986 and 1988, only 292 models of the super sports car, with its groundbreaking aerodynamic properties, were produced. Its 2.8-litre biturbo six-cylinder engine delivered 331 kW (450 PS) and was capable of a top speed of 315 km/h. This makes the 959 one of the fastest series production cars of its time. With its blend of ground-breaking technology and luxurious equipment, the 959 is not only a super sports car, but also a technology champion that embodies the manufacturer’s engineering skills. The 959 has long been a legend that laid the foundation for modern super sports cars in the 1980s.
Sixty years of the Targa success story
Another attraction at Retro Classics is the Targa Duo, which Porsche is using to celebrate the 60-year success story of this iconic body variant. At its trade fair stand, the sports car manufacturer will present a Porsche 911 2.0 Targa “soft window” from 1967 and the current 911 Targa 4S Heritage Design Edition of the 992 generation. Both demonstrate how Porsche combines tradition and modernity. In 1965, Porsche exhibited the second body variant of the 911, which was still young at the time, at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt. To this day, the idea of the Targa continues to weave its way through all generations of the 911. With the models of the Heritage Design Edition, it is important to preserve the tradition of the brand and to reinterpret it for the future. Each edition dips into the history of Porsche with design features – and interprets them in a contemporary way.
Porsche provides insight into historical work
Over the four days of the trade fair, Porsche will not only present special exhibits, but also explain what the motto “Mission Future Heritage” means. The Porsche Heritage and Museum team will present all aspects of their area. In conjunction with this, a very special talk will be held on Saturday, 1 March 2025, at 14:00. With Timo Bernhard as presenter; Alexander Klein, Head of Heritage Operations and Communications; Frank Jung, Head of Corporate Archives and Collections; and Denis Behn, team coordinator visitor services, will give insights into their work. This way, guests can find out firsthand what is happening behind the scenes.
In addition, Porsche invites visitors to experience history and innovation first-hand and interactively. A screen allows interested fans to “get into” cars or stroll through the museum shop. In addition to this 360-degree tour, Porsche will also present the company archive at the stand. The Porsche Heritage and Museum team will be showing selected archive exhibits to match the cars on display. Visitors can look forward to design models of the Porsche 911 Targa and Porsche 959, as well as posters, drawings and the helmets and racing suits of motorsport stars such as Stéphane Ortelli and Allan McNish. Based on the motto “Heritage Worldwide”, the museum uses a large world map to show where the cars from the collection are currently located: at driving events, rallies and as part of the Heritage Experience event programme. To complement the map, the Porsche Museum shows pictures and films of the missions. The museum shop incorporated into the exhibition stand offers visitors selected products from the brand – a souvenir of a special day at Retro Classics.
At this year’s Retro Classics event in Hall 3, Porsche is presenting selected 911 models. The new platform RARE.SPHERE creates space for real encounters and is intended to represent the “zeitgeist” / spirit of the age of the younger generations. Here, the sports car manufacturer will exhibit the 911 Turbo RSR 2.1. The exhibited 911, from 1974, was the first of its kind with a turbocharger and the first Porsche racing car with a turbo engine at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
On 27 February, Porsche will be represented at the trade fair from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.. From 28 February to 2 March, guests will be welcome from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m..
