An extraordinary collection: A visit to the “11er Archiv”

How do you become a Porsche collector? That question, among many others, will be answered in our latest interview. The question itself is easy to answer: one car will never be enough, unfortunately. During the life of an enthusiast, you will fall in love again from time to time. That’s inevitable. But getting rid of a Porsche isn’t easy at all. You often have no other choice, given you’ve got the funds and the space, than buying another Porsche. Of course, there are a fair amount of motifs for becoming a collector. For some of them, it just happened by coincidence, whereas others may speculate for rising prices and start collecting Porsches as an investment. Some of them just love a certain model or limited examples. At the end of the day however, they’re all connected by the same love and passion for the Porsche brand.

We’ve had the wonderful opportunity to meet a very sympathetic and enthusiastic collector, called André. He invited the Elferspot Magazine to his “11er Archiv”. We’ve brought this interview and some pictures of his breathtaking collection for you. Enjoy!

Where did your passion for collecting cars come from? Has it been a lifegoal for you, to build a Porsche collection or was there an initial spark? And why Porsche?

The passion for sporty cars was put into my cradle, I think. As a little boy, my grandpa took me for a drive in his sports car from time to time, which I enjoyed a lot. Over the years, I digged deeper and deeper into the Porsche brand. My “maiden voyage” took place in a 993 demonstration vehicle. That drive had a serious effect on me. It was like an instant contagion. My passion was born in that very moment and I’m im love with Porsche since then. The 911 still is the ultimate sports car for me. The shape is iconic and timeless. That’s the reason it barely changed for 55 years now. The brand gets it right again and again to touch a nerve of its customers. Anybody in the Porsche community would agree, that every sports car from Zuffenhausen is a car for every single occasion.

The shape is iconic and timeless. That’s the reason it barely changed for 55 years now. The brand gets it right again and again to touch a nerve of its customers.

After a track day at Porsche’s proving ground in Leipzig, me and my wife explored our passion for motorsport and decided to enter the Porsche Sports Cup with a 996 Cup car. After it turned out, that this hobby was too time intensive, we withdrawed from motorsports. But we never lost the passion for the very sporty and especially the limited Porsche models. Over the last few years, our rising passion for collecting was the result.

What was your first Porsche?

There may have been serious buying interest at the end of the 993 era, but I decided to get myself a pre facelift 996 Carrera 2. This, in that period of time, radically new car in terms of styling was my entry to the Porsche world.

You call this garage “11er Archiv”, where did that come from? 

The name was found pretty quickly. We are Porsche lovers, who not only want to optimize the collection, but want to enjoy driving them to the fullest extent. Considering that, the term “Archiv”, which stands for collecting, preserving and making things usable without any time limitation, fits our collection perfectly.

How much time do you spend for your hobby?

Maintaining and taking care of the cars is pretty time consuming, but me and my wife love to take our time for that as a break from everyday life. When the sun is shining, we enjoy mutual roadtrips and discover many wonderful roads while driving, which you experience very intensely. Furthermore, we met a lot of nice people through our hobby and new friendships arose.

Maintaining and taking care of the cars is pretty time consuming, but me and my wife love to take our time for that as a break from everyday life.

Many enthusiasts didn’t get a chance to get a Porsche 911R, because only 991 were built. Why are you owning even two them? 

I was one of the lucky few that got to purchase a 911R from Porsche themselves. We’ve got this one from the Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur with Rivierablue stripes and some individual accents. The 911R excerted a particular fascination on us, so we decided to buy another example on the used market.

Are there any moments, when your collection feels like a burden for you?

There are two sides to most things and our collection is no exception. We’re living in times, where our jobs are getting more and more demanding, so time is very limited. In hectic times it can be exhausting to take care of the cars. There is always something to do from pending service intervals, to charging the batteries or detailing the cars after use.

If you would have to give away all your 911s except one, which one would stay?

On that one, my wife’s opinion may differ. I, personally, would keep the personalized 911R with the rivierablue stripes. A car, which fascinated me from the very beginning, not just because its history. Pepita-carbon-seats, single mass flywheel, green glowing tachometers, magnesium roof, carbon fibre trunk-lid, plastic windows and that immensely agile handling make the 911R a real pleasure to drive. It’s an indulgent car with the DNA of the GT3 RS. Subtle looks without a wing or any bells or whistles. Just a plain writing labels the puristic 911R.

My wife is fascinated by the 993 models and in particular the 993 S Vesuvio. She even daylies that car from time to time. It is aircooled, due to its more or less conservative looks quite understated, but offers a very sporty drive in a timeless shell, which is suited for daily use as well – simply a Porsche!

If you could choose one of the current Porsches, which would enrich your collection the most?

That’s an easy one: The Porsche 935 Flatnose, which is limited to 77 examples in total. As an exception, no street legal car this time. Instead, I would go for that racing car tribute, referring to “Moby Dick”. It’s just a breathtaking, spectacular car with 700 hp. The shape is inspired by the legendary 935/78. Many exterior details cite the successful cars of the motorsports history. Technology wise, it’s based on the 911 GT2 RS super car, but many panels have been replaced by carbon fibre parts.

What’s your opinion on the recent development in the automotive sector? Key word: electromobility.

Surely, this is an exciting topic, especially the necessary charging infrastructure to ensure flexible mobility. The shift in mobility performs impressively quick. With the 918 Spyder, Porsche showed the world, how hybridization in the super car segment could look like. For me, there is a lot of homework to be done by the manufacturers, which takes a lot more time, than what politicians thought. Energy and charging infrastructure, battery capacity and range of electric cars, to name a few things.

Will the Porsche Taycan become a member of your collection?

The Porsche Taycan could become one of the cult cars of the upcoming year. To remain loyal to the brand Porsche in daily life, it is our goal to purchase that vehicle as well.

Do you think, driving in a car with an internal combustion engine will still be allowed in 15 years time?

Currently, the end of internal combustion engines is a much discussed issue, which I don’t believe in. A lot of studies are out there with even more different results. It always depends on your own faith and on what you want to hold on. If you ask me, I would put my money on the hybrid drive as a concept for mass mobility in the near future, combining the benefits of combustion engines with the torque and low emissions of electric motors. In this country, the combustion engine will therefore play a dominant role for another long time.

Thank you very much for the interesting chat!

Pictures: © Markus Klimesch for Elferspot Media GmbH