Watch Porsche techs assemble 911s and 928s by hand.
Porsche is one of the few German car companies that still offers European deliveries. BMW and Mercedes have canceled their Euro-delivery programs but Porsche‘s still remains and it’s something that the brand has offered for decades. To get an idea of what that experience was like in the 1980s, when auto manufacturing was far less automated, this video shows the factory tour from May 1986, when one owner took delivery of their car.
YouTuber Tasturbo86 posted this video of their 1986 Porsche 911 Turbo European delivery and the factory tour that came along with it. According to them, they were “too cheap” to buy insurance to drive the car in Germany but they did record most of the factory tour they were given.
I guess Porsche’s Euro delivery didn’t come with insurance or registration in 1986 but it does now. Currently, Porsche’s European delivery consists of ordering the car in your own country of origin, at your local dealer. Then, you plan your trip, fly to Germany when the car is ready, and the car is handed over to you at the factory. Once the keys are in your hand, you’re free to drive it throughout Europe and drop it off at one of 18 different locations when you’re done. From there, it will be shipped back home to your dealer of choice.
Since this video was taken in 1986, the factory tour consists of watching Porsche mechanics turn wrenches and tap hammers by hand. Very little was done by machines back then and it’s really cool to watch the Porsche techs at work. It’s also cool to see some Porsches that aren’t made anymore on the assembly line, such as the 928.
I’m sure I’m not alone in fantasizing about this sort of experience. Taking European delivery of a new Porsche is a dream of mine and watching this video not only lets me live vicariously through someone else but also do it in one of the coolest eras in Porsche history.
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