July 30, 2013
German automaker Porsche is continuing its celebration of the 911 vehicle's 50th anniversary with a world tour that focuses on the vehicle's influential transformations throughout the years.
The 1967 model will span five continents and attend key automotive events to give fans all over the world a chance to be involved. Automotive tours that last for many months can imbue a vehicle's journey with emotional momentum as it travels from place to place.
"The real benefits are not the world tour, but the 50th anniversary of the 911, one of the most famous automobiles in the world," said Al Ries, founder and chairman of Ries & Ries, a Roswell, GA-based marketing strategy consultancy.
"Media tends to give anniversaries a lot of publicity and that's the key benefit of the entire program," he said.
"One drawback to the Porsche world tour is the 1967 model. If Porsche is going to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 911, it should be sending a 1963 model on a world tour."
Mr. Ries is not affiliated with Porsche, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Porsche did not respond by press deadline.
Bay to bay
The 911 vehicle, which now includes seven generations, is regarded by Porsche as its central model. Many of the vehicle's characteristics were conceived on the race track, making the idea of a far-reaching tour particularly apt.
The tour stops at international fairs, historical rallies and motor sport events and will be chronicled on Porsche's social media pages. North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia are the five continents the vehicle will visit.
Fans are encouraged to check out highlights of the car's trip in places such as Shanghai and Paris.
1967 911 model in Paris
Prominent tour stops include the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, CA, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, England and the Techno Classica, Essen, Germany.
A microsite expounds upon the various events held to honor the 50th anniversary.
911 models
During the "911 hours with 911" tour, participants will drive 911 hours across Russia.
From March 7-10 the Porsche Museum began the anniversary year with four special exhibits that revered early 911 models such as the Turbo Coupe, a 1981 Cabrioley study, a 1997 street version of the 911 GT1 and the pre-series Type 754 T7.
The Porsche Museum is celebrating “50 years of the Porsche 911” from June 4 - Sept. 29, 2013, with a special exhibition featuring the history and development of the 911.
The production run of the special 50th anniversary model will be limited to 1963 seventh-generation vehicles.
911 50th anniversary edition
So much to say
Porsche has bolstered interest for much of the 911 celebrations through social media.
For example, the automaker honored its 5 million Facebook fans by letting them collaborate to design a 911 Carrera 4S vehicle.
Porsche announced that it hit the 5 million fan milestone Jan. 31 by updating its cover image to say “Thank you for 5 million likes.” To celebrate, the automaker launched an interactive campaign on a Facebook application where fans can vote on the characteristics of a 911 Carrera 4S which it seems that Porsche will produce (see story).
World tours may have more of an impact for anniversaries than when brands roll out a new model because the former is more rare.
"A world tour introducing a new model won't generate nearly as much publicity," Mr. Ries said.
"After all, most automobile brands introduce new models every year," he said. "So there is nothing very exciting about a new model."
Final Take
Joe McCarthy, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
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