Prior to the development of the company’s first dedicated - TopicsExpress

Prior to the development of the company’s first dedicated facility in Weissach, this is how Porsche crash tested their road and race cars. This photo (circa 1966) of a 904 hanging precariously from a crane, is the unbelievable setup for what would serve as a measurement of the car’s front, rear and roof structures under the stress of impact. While prehistoric by today’s standards, these tests were actually well thought out. Case in point is the test you see here. Porsche engineers calculated that the 530 kg empty weight of the 904′s glass-fibre-reinforced plastic body dropped from a height of 10 meters would simulate a 50 km/h front impact. According to Porsche, a total of 72 crash tests (of various models) with impact speeds of up to 80 km/h were carried out in this manner.