Tag Archives: Porsche

News

The Return of the Carrera Spirit: Timo Bernhard and Porsche Reignite Mexico’s Legendary Road Race

There are road races, and then there’s La Carrera Panamericana — Mexico’s ribbon of madness that once devoured engines, broke egos, and crowned legends. The kind of race where cars flew over crests, drivers lit cigarettes mid-stage, and the tarmac itself seemed to hum with danger. And this year, 75 years after it first carved its name into motorsport folklore, Porsche sent one of its modern icons back to the scene of the crime.

His name? Timo Bernhard — endurance champion, Le Mans winner, Nürburgring tamer, and all-round Porsche deity. The man’s racing CV reads like an anthology of motorsport’s greatest hits. But in 2025, Bernhard wasn’t hunting lap records or podiums. He was chasing ghosts.

The Race That Made Porsche a Legend

Back in the early ’50s, La Carrera Panamericana wasn’t just a race. It was a 3,000-kilometre, seven-day torture test that sliced from the Guatemalan border to the Texas line. It was dusty, dangerous, and spectacularly stupid — exactly the sort of thing Porsche loved.

It was here that a young Hans Herrmann hurled a lightweight 550 Spyder across Mexico’s wilderness and etched Porsche’s name into the global racing psyche. Mechanics like Herbert Linge became folk heroes, keeping fragile engines alive with nothing but spanners, sweat and optimism. And somewhere between the chaos, Porsche became Porsche — the small, clever German outfit that could outsmart and outlast the big guns.

So when Bernhard rolled into Mexico this year, it wasn’t just another event. It was a pilgrimage.

Bernhard and the 911 GT3: Old Soul, New Machine

For this modern revival — part rally, part rolling museum — Bernhard climbed behind the wheel of a 911 GT3, joined by Mexican co-driver Patrice Spitalier. The car was unmistakably modern, but its spirit? Pure 1954.

“I know from Porsche’s history that La Carrera was a major race with exceptional drivers — heroes like Hans Herrmann and Herbert Linge,” Bernhard told us. “This time, I wasn’t chasing results. It was about celebrating Porsche’s legacy and sharing that passion with the fans.”

And what fans they are. Along the winding Mexican roads, people lined the route waving flags, cheering, and — because this is Mexico — throwing one hell of a fiesta. For Porsche, this was more than a drive. It was a love letter to its own DNA, a nod to the origins of names we still whisper reverently today: Carrera, Panamera.

From the Nürburgring to the Sierra Madre

Timo Bernhard isn’t just another ex-racer trotted out for photo ops. The man’s résumé borders on mythical:

  • Two FIA World Endurance Championships (2015 & 2017).
  • Victory at Le Mans in 2017 with the 919 Hybrid.
  • Five wins at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
  • And triumphs at Daytona, Sebring, and across the American Le Mans Series.

That’s the triple crown of endurance racing — the stuff of motorsport legend.

Porsche and Bernhard have been intertwined since 1999, when an 18-year-old kid joined the brand’s Junior Programme. Twenty-six years later, he’s not just part of the furniture; he is the furniture — polished mahogany, carved with history and fuelled by caffeine and tire smoke.

🇲🇽 Mexico: 100% Win Rate, Infinite Memories

Bernhard’s connection with Mexico didn’t start with La Carrera. In 2016 and 2017, he conquered the 6 Hours of Mexico City in the WEC, piloting the fearsome 919 Hybrid to back-to-back victories at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

“I’ve got great memories of Mexico,” he grins. “I raced twice there — and I’ve got a 100 per cent win rate! The passion from the fans is unreal. After the race, they threw a party for us right there at the track. It was magical.”

Fast forward to 2025, and the magic’s still alive. Bernhard’s return to Mexico, behind the wheel of a GT3 and surrounded by cheering fans, feels like the closing of a circle — a bridge between the fearless pioneers of the past and the precision-built racers of today.

The Spirit Lives On

La Pana, as the locals lovingly call it, may no longer claim lives or shatter records, but its soul burns brighter than ever. What began as a wild idea in the 1950s has evolved into a celebration of everything that makes motorsport glorious — speed, courage, craftsmanship, and stories worth telling.

And Porsche? It’s been there from the start, its badge a constant through decades of dust, glory, and gasoline.

Timo Bernhard’s return wasn’t just a cameo. It was a reminder that Porsche’s story is still being written — one roaring, red-line moment at a time.

In Mexico, they say La Carrera never really ends. It just waits for the right driver to come along and wake it up again.

Source: Porsche

News

The Return of the Button: Why Porsche (and BMW) Are Putting Knobs Back Where They Belong

Remember when the future of car interiors was supposed to be all swipe this, tap that, and pray your fingerprint works while doing 130 km/h on the Autobahn? Yeah, that didn’t age well. Somewhere along the way, carmakers got drunk on minimalism and decided that the best way to control climate, radio, and seat heating was through menus buried inside menus, buried inside a 15-inch touchscreen. Because, apparently, nobody actually drives anymore.

But—hallelujah—sanity is making a comeback. And it’s Porsche leading the charge.

When the electric Taycan debuted, Stuttgart’s finest decided to go full Silicon Valley, stripping away the physical world in favor of glossy digital surfaces. The cabin looked spectacular, yes—but adjusting the fan speed required the kind of concentration usually reserved for neurosurgery. Now, however, Porsche seems to have remembered that its drivers actually move. Fast.

Speaking to The Drive, Cayenne electronics manager Dirk Assfalg admitted that people—shock horror—still like buttons. The upcoming Cayenne EV, despite its tech-forward cockpit and massive 14.3-inch OLED display, will proudly feature physical controls for key functions like temperature and fan speed. “We know from our customers… that there’s always a strong wish of having these buttons still in the car,” says Assfalg. Translation: our customers are tired of jabbing at touchscreens like they’re trying to order takeaway.

Porsche’s not alone in this rebellion. BMW—never one to miss a chance to say “we told you so”—has done its homework. The new iX3 comes with a gigantic 17.9-inch iDrive display, but there, nestled beneath it like a badge of honor, sits a real, tactile volume knob. Why? Because after analyzing data from ten million drivers, BMW discovered that people love twisting things. The humble volume control remains one of the most-used features across the entire fleet.

And honestly, who can blame them? There’s something beautifully human about the click of a well-machined button, or the snick of a metal rotary dial. Touchscreens may look futuristic, but they can’t replace that feeling of precision—of mechanical certainty—that defines a great driving experience.

So yes, Porsche’s rediscovered the magic of the button. BMW’s keeping the faith. And hopefully, this marks the beginning of the end for the Great Touchscreen Overload.

Because sometimes, progress isn’t about reinventing the wheel—it’s about putting the knob back on it.

Source: The Drive

News

Porsche Heaven: The Architect Who Built a House for His Cars

When your Porsche collection outgrows your home, what do you do? If you’re renowned architect Steven Harris, you don’t move the cars — you build them their own house.

In the sun-drenched calm of Rancho Mirage, California, Harris’s latest architectural masterpiece stands as a sleek, low-slung vision of modernist perfection. Its flat roofs and vast glass walls blur the line between indoors and out, while the hazy San Jacinto Mountains rise in the distance like a watercolor backdrop. But beneath that minimalist dream lies something truly extraordinary — an underground garage that would make any car enthusiast weak at the knees.

Down there, under the manicured lawns and desert silence, sits a collection of around 20 Porsches, perfectly aligned like museum pieces — except they’re not museum pieces. They’re living, breathing machines, driven regularly and lovingly by the man who designed their home.

A Lifelong Obsession

Harris’s Porsche passion runs deep. “I still remember how it smelled, what it sounded like, and everything about it,” he says of the first 356 his uncle bought when he was just eight. That moment — the sound, the scent, the shape — etched itself into his memory.

Later, his father’s 1967 911 S became the teenage Harris’s initiation into Porsche driving, even serving as the car he used for his driving test. “When I went to university, I somehow convinced him he should let me take it,” he laughs. “That’s where the obsession started.”

Fast-forward through decades of architectural acclaim — and a teaching career that’s spanned nearly half a century at Yale University — and Harris has built not just homes for clients, but for himself… and his cars.

Designing the Ultimate Garage

The architect’s new Rancho Mirage home began, quite literally, from the ground down. “I started with the garage,” Harris explains. “The columns, the structure — all based on fitting two cars between each.”

The result is an underground automotive cathedral, immaculately organized so every car can be accessed without moving another. “It’s a garage, not a museum,” Harris insists. Though with its polished concrete floors, soft lighting, and clean geometry, you could easily mistake it for one.

Because of local building restrictions, Harris was limited to three surface-level bays — so he built an elevator to lower cars into the subterranean collection. The result? Every Porsche is just a button-press away from daylight and a quick blast up the twisting Route 74 that climbs from Palm Desert to Idyllwild.

“I go driving almost every morning before sunrise,” he says. “My GT2 RS is too fast for the road, and the 1957 356 A Carrera GT Speedster not fast enough — so it’s all about balance and mood.”

The Collection: Light, Pure, Uncompromising

Harris’s garage isn’t about quantity — though it’s home to over 50 Porsches — but about purity of purpose. Nearly every car is a lightweight, competition-bred variant: stripped, focused, and engineered for one thing only — driving pleasure.

The line-up reads like Porsche’s greatest hits: a 1973 911 Carrera RS 2.7, the ultimate evolution of the original 911; a 911 Carrera RS (964) — “what God meant when he said analog,” Harris quips — plus rarities like a Light Green 911 Carrera RS 3.0, one of just 52 ever made to homologate the RSR racer.

Then there’s a Paint to Sample Chartreuse 911 GT3 RS 4.0 (997), a 911 GT2 (993), and two generations of the GT2 RS — both 997 and 991. All built with the same principle Harris applies to his architecture: function first, form through purpose.

“I’m suspicious of architectural fashion,” he says. “Porsche evolves slowly and precisely. No unnecessary details. No excess. My architecture is the same — every part serves a purpose.”

Driven, Not Displayed

For Harris, collecting isn’t about ownership — it’s about stewardship. “I see myself more as a caretaker,” he says. “I’ll look after them for someone else one day.”

He doesn’t let them gather dust, either. Harris has taken his 356 on rallies across South America and even the grueling Peking to Paris endurance event. He uses his modern 911s to drive to project sites across California, even when it’s “the least efficient way” to get there.

Because for Harris, efficiency isn’t the point — experience is. “I don’t want to die with a bunch of cars that have 27 miles on them,” he says.

The House That Passion Built

Perhaps the most poetic thing about Harris’s creation is how it flips the traditional order of design. “It’s not a house with a basement,” he says with a grin. “It’s the other way around. The garage came first.”

It’s a line that perfectly sums up his life’s work: thoughtful design driven by emotion and precision. The cars and the architecture are inseparable — each a reflection of the other.

In the end, Harris hasn’t just built a house for his Porsches. He’s built a home about them — a sanctuary where passion, design, and engineering coexist in perfect symmetry.

In a world where luxury often means excess, Steven Harris proves that true sophistication lies in focus. A man, his cars, and a house designed not to impress, but to express. Porsche would be proud.

Source: Porsche