" Item No. 20023823 One
of the most eagerly awaited new releases of 2016 for collectors
The blue Porsche with white stripes is a visual treat. With this design, it has become a classic in the CARRERA lineup; the car was already available in white with red stripes for the older Universal 132 and the 124 models, and this year it has been released in 1:132 scale in white with blue stripes.
The car was driven by the Porsche-Audi team, as indicated by the lettering on the side of the car. The question keeps coming up as to why there is a Porsche-Audi team, since Audi was not active in motorsports at that time—strictly speaking, the Audi brand had only reemerged in 1965. During those years, Audi had absolutely nothing race-oriented in its lineup; the cars were about as sporty as a 3-meter stretch of dirt road (with the exception of the legendary Audi 100 Coupé, which was, however, a regular sports car and was not used in races).
The name of the PORSCHE AUDI theme has historical roots:
In the fall of 1950, the first three Porsches were exported to the U.S. The importer was the legendary Max Hoffmann, an Austrian who had emigrated to the U.S. Hoffmann was also the importer for Mercedes and u.a. was responsible for the production of the Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing. By the mid-1950s, America was already Porsche’s most important export market. In 1955, an independent sales network was established—the Porsche of America Corporation (POAC)—which was dissolved in 1969. Its responsibilities were taken over by the Porsche-Audi Division of Volkswagen of America Inc. One of the division's goals was to establish a new and exclusive sales network for the Porsche and Audi brands. PA-Vertriebsgesellschaft was owned 50% by Porsche and 50% by VW; the dealers had no stake in this company but were “merely” customers. This joint venture between Porsche and VW was not dissolved until 1984.
The 917s that started in Sebring were therefore registered by the American general importer (but managed and maintained by the Porsche factory team from Zuffenhausen). And that is why “AUDI” is also on the Porsche 917.
Best
regards,
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