The Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen is allowing its most prominent exhibit to be put on display in another country for the first time. The aluminium body of the legendary Type 64 Berlin-Rome car – the ‘ancestor’ of modern Porsches – will be presented from 21 March to 20 June at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Exhibiting Type 64 in the USA in 2010 is especially appropriate, as this year marks the 60th anniversary of Porsche in America. Type 64 was built in 1938/39, under the guidance of Ferdinand Porsche, for the Berlin-Rome long-distance race. Due to the War, however, Type 64 never entered this or any other race – although in 1939 it was found to be able to reach an average speed on the public roads of more than 80mph. (No surprise, then, that Ferdinand Porsche used Type 64 for long journeys.)

The car’s lightweight aluminium construction, streamlined aerodynamics, exceptional performance and unusual design mark it out as a milestone in the development of the first Porsche, Type 356 of 1948. The aluminium body of Type 64 was re-built by experts over a period of years, alongside the new construction of the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.

While Type 64 is being presented to the public in Atlanta, the Porsche Museum will be displaying the skeleton structure of the Type 64 body until the end of June – a skeleton made of wood, over which the 1.2mm aluminium panels were hammered into shape.

The Porsche Museum is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:00 to 18:00. See www.porsche.com/museum.

Text: Charis Whitcombe
Photos: Porsche