Porsche 2006 Annual Report Download - page 57

each of which builds on the last, mean that the
Porsche Sport Driving School is able to offer cus-
tomers everything they need for safe and efficient
driving in Porsche vehicles or for more competitive
driving on the race track.
In the ‘on-road training’ sessions, customers expe-
rience thrilling moments on famous race tracks and
in selected driving safety centers as well as on the
entry and test tracks at the Leipzig plant. In addition,
participants can train away from the asphalt track
at ‘off-road events’ in Leipzig, held on a site covering
over 100 hectares. Customers seeking even more
adventure can book a desert tour in Dubai to discover
what it is like to drive on sand dunes. These trips are
graded according to various levels of difficulty.
The ‘Porsche Sport Driving School’ now also offers a
‘Women Only’ training option and for the first time a
‘Track Day’, purely for driving on the race track. The
‘End of Season’ event offers customers and friends
of Porsche the opportunity to mingle with like-minded
people chatting about the season which has just drawn
to a close and dreaming of what will come in the next.
Special winter programs held in Finland, Austria,
Italy and Colorado in the USA provide ‘Sport Driving
School’ participants with the opportunity to learn
how to drive safely in cold weather conditions,
perfectly rounding off the range of training options.
Accompanied by professional Porsche instructors,
participants learn to control and improve their own
reactions in critical driving situations.
Porsche Clubs Enter New Markets
The growth in the number of Porsche Clubs across
the world continues unabated – during the review
year, new clubs were established in the Cayman
Islands, Iceland and Andorra, to mention only a few.
Clubs are also being set up in new markets such as
China and Russia. The central club coordination unit
now oversees 570 clubs with more than 120,000
members in over 60 countries.
In France and Italy, countries with a long Porsche
tradition, the structure of the Clubs was optimized
by the establishment of umbrella organizations.
This allows better coordination of the numerous
activities. In addition, market allocation was put in
place in the central club coordination unit so that
all countries now enjoy more intensive and indivi-
dually-tailored support. The USA Parade in San
Diego, California, welcomed around 2,200 parti-
cipants, more than ever before. This is impressive
proof of the rich heritage, continuous growth and
unceasing popularity of Porsche clubs.
Club sport was once again a focus of the 2006/07
fiscal year Porsche Club activities. The annual
‘Porsche Club Days’ at the Belgian Spa-Francor-
champs circuit welcomed more than 600 vehicles,
which all took part in a parade around this famous
race track to bring the event to a close. After the
successful introduction of the ‘Porsche Sports Cup’
in Germany and Sweden, this year Switzerland was
added as another important market. The ongoing
internationalization of this semi-professional series
will continue to play an important role over the
coming fiscal year.
This review year – much to the joy of all classic
car fans – the Porsche Classic Club scene proved
particularly active. The Porsche 356 Club España
organized the 32nd international Porsche 356
Meeting in the Spanish city of Sitges, where just
under 450 classic car enthusiasts from eleven dif-
ferent countries gathered. During the four-day event,
participants experienced a unique combination of
tourist trips, outings on the race track and cultural
highlights. At the very popular ‘356 East Coast
Holiday’ in Michigan, USA, 220 vehicles participated
in the Concours d’Elégance and were judged by an
expert panel.
There was no shortage of major events once the
last fiscal year had come to a close, either: in
August 2007 the Porsche Club Deutschland cele-
brated its 25th anniversary in Stuttgart. Meanwhile,
the IAA Club evening in Frankfurt once again played
host to 350 Porsche Club members from all corners
of the world.
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