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During the exhibition 'Porsche - Driven By Dreams'you will also meet a number of 'dreamers' who have helped turn the Porsche dream into reality or are chasing the dream.
Vexx - Street Artist
“I always dreamed of being the greatest artist of my generation.”
To get into the perfect rhythm, Vexx wears headphones. He listens to music as he paints the body of the Porsche Vision Gran Turismo. The artist in his mid-twenties is followed by close to three million people on YouTube. “The first time I worked with Porsche, it was like taking a step in the direction of my dream. I’m proud to have been able to work alongside a creative icon like Daniel Arsham and this proves to me what I have achieved so far. It also motivates and inspires me to continue to pursue precisely this path in the future too,” says the Belgian, talking about his work on a real model of the Vision GT at the gamescom trade show in Cologne. His style is caricatural and unmistakable. The virtual version of the vehicle features in the game Gran Turismo 7. “With digital design, you can optimise everything. Painting an actual car by hand is very difficult as you only get one chance at it,” summarises Vexx. He wants to focus on his career as an artist in the future and move more into the world of NFTs. Vexx has already helped create non-fungible tokens (NFT) for the Porsche brand experience in the digital world.
Jacky Ickx – Car racer
Not one to give up on a dream
The Belgian racked up four Le Mans wins and two World Endurance Championship titles with Porsche. Ickx is considered eloquent. But one term that’s not in his vocabulary is “giving up”.Jacky Ickx was already a two-time Formula 1 championship runner-up when he joined Porsche, where he stunned even experienced racers with his incredible speed and endurance. The Belgian won two World Endurance Championships and Le Mans four times with Porsche. His comebacks from out of nowhere that put him in the lead are high points in the history of the 24-hour race. As was his sixth place in the 1984 Paris–Dakar Rally in a 911, which saw him move up from 139th place after a cable fire. Ickx never gave up on his dream of making it to the finishing line.
Laurens Vanthoor – Car racer
Dreams grow with success
Already at the age of 19, Laurens Vanthoor was demonstrating his motorsport talent and determination. The young man from Hasselt won the hard-fought German Formula 3 Championship in 2009. This was followed by two years in international Formula 3, after which Laurens came to a realisation: “My dream was to race cars for the rest of my life.” Between 2013 and 2016, he scored successes in GT cars with Audi: “We eventually won almost every race and championship we attended together.” So Vanthoor set himself a new goal: racing prototypes. And when Audi discontinued its prototype programme, a new opportunity presented itself: “A dream came true when I signed my contract with Porsche Motorsport.” Vanthoor competed internationally with the Porsche GT team. He won the GT class in Le Mans in 2018 and secured various GT titles in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship in the USA between 2019 and 2021, driving a Porsche 911. As his success grew, so too did his ambition. And in 2022, the time had come: “It was an absolute dream come true when Porsche Penske Motorsport signed me up as the driver of a Porsche 963 hypercar.” In 2023, he scored two podium finishes in the top class of the World Endurance Championship (WEC). And Laurens dreamed a new dream: “My ultimate career goal is to win the four big 24-hour races in the world.” He already has Spa and the Nürburgring under his belt. So next up are the leviathans Daytona and Le Mans.
Thierry Boutsen – Car racer
Demonstrating talent, maintaining confidence
“Porsche was hugely significant to my career, to me fulfilling my dream of top motorsport,” reminisces Thierry Boutsen. Born in Brussels in 1957, Boutsen joined Formula 1 in 1983 and began endurance racing with Porsche at around the same time. “With its 956 and 962C prototypes, Porsche made it possible for private teams to compete for world championship wins. My successes in these racing cars helped me demonstrate my talent and maintain my confidence whenever things weren’t going so well in Formula 1. In 1985, I won the 24 Hours of Daytona in a Porsche 962 together with Bob Wollek, A.J. Foyt and Al Unser Sr.” And that’s not all: “In 1986, Frank Jelinski and I won the 1000 Kilometres of Spa-Francorchamps in a Porsche. This was my best race and I dedicated it to my friend Stefan Bellof, who was killed in an accident in Spa in 1985.” In 1986, Boutsen won the Teams Championship in the World Sports-Prototype Championship season with Brun Motorsport. And his most successful time in Formula 1 began at this time too. Thierry Boutsen secured 15 podium finishes up to 1993, including three victories. And then: “... it was clear that I would return to endurance racing with Porsche. Third place in Le Mans in 1994 and our class victory when the 911 GT1 premiered in Le Mans in 1996 are now wonderful memories.” Thierry Boutsen hung up his helmet in 1999.
Bart Kuykens - Photographer
“... touch our souls.”
Actors, musicians, directors, artists, talk-show hosts, celebrities – Bart Kuykens has photographed them all. In black and white, on film, analogue. Kuykens says: “There is something genuinely magical about shooting on film, especially when capturing the essence and souls of the people I photograph.” Kuykens gets to the essence of the Porsche 911 in his book A Flat 6 Love Affair. Seven volumes of unique photography, each volume 336 pages. The Belgian born in 1975 explains: “My passion for photography has become a part of my soul. Just as a photographer carefully composes every shot, the Porsche 911 is a masterpiece of design, carefully and perfectly put together. It is as if its lines and timeless elegance reflected the essence of artistic photography. Every curve, every detail tells a story, just like the captivating shots I endeavour to take. My heart skips a beat when I see a classic Porsche. The 911 stirs emotions, whisks you away to another time, another place. Artistic photography and the 911 have a special place in my heart. They embody the power of art to overcome time and touch our souls.”
Johan Dirickx - Collector
A passion for lightweight construction
A passion for lightweight constructionJohan-Frank Dirickx was eight years old when his grandfather asked him: “Which sports car should I buy? A Porsche or a Corvette?” For the young nipper, it had to be a Porsche. And the 911 S Targa was chosen. Dirickx reminisces: “This was back in 1968 and marked the beginning of my dream of owning a Porsche.” Ten years later, his first 911 was parked in his parents’ garden barn, albeit only temporarily. Restoration of the 911 T would have exceeded his non-existent budget. So Dirickx was left with his dream, which he set about realising at the age of 33. A ruby-red 911 RS of the 964 generation found its way to him and reignited his passion for the 911. Another 911 RS followed a few years later. “And that’s how I became a collector,” Johan recalls. “My objective was to own all the air-cooled RS models, including the crown jewel among the lightweight construction 911 models, the 911 R. I eventually found one, as well as all the RS and RSR models – with the exception of an IROC RSR from the USA.” By now, Dirickx’s collection had grown far beyond his original objective. He even acquired the 911 T from back then, 43 years after his first attempt, and drove the car for the first time. “These days, I honestly don’t know how many Porsche models there are in my collection. A collection should be dynamic and should evolve in the direction of more quality, not quantity. This is the spirit in which I pursue my Porsche dream, which began with my grandfather.”
Michaël R. Roskam – Movie Director
Bringing two dream worlds together
Michaël R. Roskam, a director with many national and international awards under his belt, nurtures another passion in addition to his film work: “I inherited my love of cars and motorsport from my father, who would often take me to the racetrack in Zolder. The things I saw, heard and smelled there are among my most precious childhood memories. It’s through motorsport that I became a fan of Porsche. I liked the TAG Turbo made by Porsche with McLaren in Formula 1, for example. But I was especially fascinated by the Group C prototype racing cars 956 and 962. In my opinion, these 1980s kings of endurance racing are the most beautiful racing cars around and the most iconic Porsche models of all time. I’m a huge admirer of Jacky Ickx, who was one of the most successful drivers in these prototypes. The Porsche 911 is to the street what the 962 was to the racetrack: a unique icon. The main character in my thriller Racer and the Jailbird, who I gave the name Bibi Delhany, drives this sports car. It is no coincidence that her name is reminiscent of Michael Delaney, the hero of the epic racing movie Le Mans, played by Steve McQueen. After we had finished filming Racer and the Jailbird, I bought this dark blue 911 built in 1986. It is now parked in my garage, bringing two dream worlds – film and Porsche – together in this one symbolic 911.”
Ferry Porsche
Ferry Porsche and the sports car of his dreams
Some people never give up believing in something. Ferry Porsche was one such person. He was dreaming of modern sports cars while others were only thinking about practical vehicles following the Second World War. As the car of his dreams didn’t yet exist, he developed it together with his team. The 356/1 roadster was granted its general operating permit on 8 June 1948, becoming the first sports car to bear the Porsche brand name. Manual production of the first vehicles began that same year. In developing the 356, Ferry Porsche, son of the company founder Ferdinand Porsche, demonstrated not only that he was an excellent team leader and visionary, but also that he was clinging on to his dream. Constructing a sports car in the late 1940s called for boldness, and Ferry Porsche was able to muster this. He believed in his dream and succeeded in realising it together with his team. Dreamers change the world with their foresight. They are inspirational and are what sets a successful brand apart. With his attitude and his words, Ferry Porsche paved the company’s way into the future: “Those lucky enough to build a business out of a dream owe it to the world to be the caretakers of dreams.”
Ferdinand Alexander Porsche
Daring new things
Optimise function, reduce the form right down to the essentials. Overcome the familiar to continually discover new and better solutions.” Ferdinand Alexander Porsche created unique designs based on these principles. From the late 1950s, F. A. Porsche headed the team that lent the Porsche 911 its timeless shape. Unveiled as the 901 in 1963, it became the iconic Porsche 911 in 1964. In 1972, he founded Porsche Design together with his brother Hans-Peter. Its first creation was the Chronograph 1, an automatic, matt black, analogue chronograph. This was an innovative and bold step in the age of battery and digital euphoria. Back in the 1970s, the futuristic Carrera 5600 ski goggles took people by surprise with their flexible, panoramic visor, while the Porsche Design P‘8478 sunglasses were the first sunglasses with an interchangeable lens mechanism for different light conditions. Porsche Design soon became synonymous with innovative technical solutions, simple shapes and top quality, and broadened its portfolio to feature an array of exclusive lifestyle products. Studio F. A. Porsche in Zell am See, Austria, now additionally creates everything from product and room designs to entire branding strategies.
Dr Wolfgang Porsche
“Assuming responsibility for Porsche as a company and for the Porsche family is what drives me.”
It is with good reason that the company’s employees call themselves the “Porsche family” and identify so strongly with their employer. As a shareholder, Dr Wolfgang Porsche is aware of the particular responsibility he bears for the company: “For me, it’s a question of creating security – in good times and bad. So that Porsche will continue to be Porsche in the future too.” The fourth and youngest son of Ferry Porsche was born in Stuttgart in 1943. He has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Porsche AG since 1981 and Chairman of the Supervisory Board since 2007. Dr Wolfgang Porsche has always been committed to the brand and, not least because of this, he is an important role model for the Group. His main mission is to continue the work of his father Ferry and his grandfather Ferdinand as they would have seen fit and to preserve their work. For him, it is only logical that the brand and its iconic 911 continue to adapt to the ever-changing requirements and conditions. Because dreams can change too, can be innovative, can polarise and call everything into question. All that matters is that the brand’s essence lives on when these dreams are realised. And that what has always set Porsche apart – the company’s identity – remains.
