Scenes From a Minnesota Porsche Party

Porsche Minneapolis celebrated the opening of their new facility in grand style today with a fantastic drive among several of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes that was intended to be led by Magnus Walker. After a rocky start to the day, the spirits and weather both turned for the warmer just in time for a wonderful blue-sky drive through the parks, farmland, and countryside of central Minnesota.

Although the dealership’s focus is obviously on the current generation of Porsches, there was a large contingent of classic and specialty examples of the marque including a couple of dozen examples of air-cooled 911s of all vintages, the Singer Minnesota car, and some contemporary rarities including a (stunning) 918 and a pair of current generation, impossible-to-get GT3RSs.
That Singer is truly exceptional. Even the casual Porsche aficionados amongst the hundred or so attendees were entranced by it. There are no shortage of gorgeously lit and professionally shot detail photos of the Singer cars, but standing right in front of it I couldn’t help but crouch down and get close to see the very smallest of little touches that make this very very expensive car start to feel worth the price. Things like the custom boot latches and hinges; the perfectly manicured engine compartment; the subtle steering wheel-mounted bluetooth controls that allow for modern phone integration without a garish contemporary stereo head unit (who designs those atrocities?). It all adds up to a simply arrestingly beautiful car.

While I am sorry that I couldn’t get to see Magnus’ equally beautiful (but on the opposite end of the customization spectrum) 277 car join us on the drive, he’s still confident that the car will be back on the road in time for next month’s Rennsport Reunion. It’s an ambitious goal, but I wouldn’t want to doubt his resolve.
Amongst a sea of exquisite Porsches was one particular car that caught my eye. It’s a fairly nondescript example of an Irish Green 911T—exactly the kind of car you would expect to see any number of littering the parking lot at any Cars and Coffee. It was the receipt in the window, however, that made the car truly special for the event. Not only is this an amazingly preserved car with original paint and windscreen, this car was bought new in 1970 at Carousel Porsche Audi in Excelsior, Minnesota—The very Porsche dealer we were celebrating today. What a precious connection between the past and future of Porsche’s dealership network in the Upper Midwest.


A grand opening party is on the schedule for Tuesday—I’m looking forward to it. More information at Porsche Minneapolis.