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Hello and welcome to The World's Fastest Car Show on
eBay Motors.
A great show for you this week.
First of all we go to the Porsche reunion called
Rennsport, and then I take you around my favorite car-lover's
place in LA.
I think you'll enjoy it.
I'm here at Porsche Rennsport Reunion IV, the greatest
gathering of famous Porsche cars and the legendary drivers
that drove them to victory over the last 50 years or so.
Now, there are so many incredible cars that being
asked to choose my favorite, well, that's like being asked
to choose my favorite child, almost impossible.
So what I thought I'd do is I'm going to choose a standout
from each decade and show you them.
As you walk around the paddock, it's evident that
Porsche's commitment to motor sports was there right from
the beginning.
And this is a great example of that--
a 1959 Porsche RSK 718.
Its racing pedigree is undeniable.
It was the only car ever to compete in Formula 2 and
sports car racing, and finished a remarkable seventh
at the 1959 US Grand Prix in Sebring, Florida.
Since 1964, there is one model for Porsche that has defined
the brand, and that is the iconic 911.
And every 911 has a very special story.
Take this car behind me.
It was bought through Bob Holbert, father of the
legendary late race car driver Al Holbert.
And to prove how deep the passion for Porsche runs, over
50 years later, it was bought back by its original owner.
Right from the beginning, Porsche have always risen to
the challenge, whether it was from the opposition, the
regulations, or technology itself.
And by the end of the '60s, the 917 had obviously been the
dominant sports car.
But coming into the '70s, even that wasn't quite enough.
So behind me, you see the 1971 Porsche 917 16-cylinder.
It is a great example of how Porsche rise to the technology
challenge every time it's put to the test.
Now, this one was easy.
The 956, the most successful prototype sports car in the
history of sports car racing.
When you look at it, in the 956 and the 962 that Porsche
had developed, it was a new mid-engine package that
dominated both sprint and endurance sports car racing
for nearly a decade.
Now here's one that's a bit closer to my heart.
This is the 1991 Porsche 962C that my dad, Tiff Needell, and
I raced at the 1992 Le Mans 24-hour race.
We finished 12 overall.
I remember doing 226 miles an hour is this down the Mulsanne
straight in the pouring rain.
The mid-2000s signaled a return to prototype racing for
the Porsche factory with the RS Spyder.
As you can see behind me, it was run by Penske, and it was
also driven in 2008 by a great friend of The World's Fastest
Car Show, Helio Castroneves.
Remember him?
Dances well, and also a pretty good Indy 500 champion.
This was a spectacular return to open-top racing which has a
strong DNA in the Porsche prototype scene.
For me, one of the big bonuses of living in Los Angeles is
being able to visit the Petersen Automotive Museum.
It was the vision and brainchild of the publishing
magnate, Robert E. Petersen, and back in 1994, he was one
of the founding benefactors of the Automotive Museum, which
we're standing in today.
Now it's far more than just a car museum, as you can see
behind me with this fabulous vintage Steve
McQueen-owned motorbike.
It really is the place to come and see about style, about
design, and about the history and legacy of the car culture
here in California.
Check it out.
What the Petersens very cleverly do is create these
unique environments.
This is Streetscape which is a walkthrough diorama.
And they start literally at the beginning.
This was built in 1901.
It's a Breer, built by Carl Breer right here in Los
Angeles, using many of the tools and a
workshop just like this.
So as you walk through Streetscape, it's as much a
history lesson about the times and the era as it
is about the cars.
And in a very unique way, Streetscape takes you from the
pioneering days of car design, literally a few short steps
over to the modern day, where designers with all the tools
and technology they have to hand are designing the cars
that you and I will get to drive someday in the future.
One of the most popular galleries at the Petersen is
this, the Hollywood Star Cars.
For example, this is the Beetle driven in Herbie: Fully
Loaded by Lindsay Lohan.
Also it's not just cars that were stars.
It's cars that were owned by stars.
Very famous people, beautiful cars, and they cycle them
through the whole time, so every time you come, you might
get to see something different.
But in the end, what boy hasn't always
wanted to own a Batmobile?
Can I borrow the keys to your car?
Such a ***.
So we've had history, design, entertainment.
And now we have education.
In line with the Holy Grail for alternative fuels,
Petersen has this fantastic exhibition of old and new when
it comes to alternative fuels.
It's a showcase to the ongoing exploration
for alternative power.
It's not just about the history of the automobile.
It's also the history of motorbikes, and in this
gallery, they start with a 1914 Harley Davidson, all the
way up to a 1941 Indian Dispatch-Tow, a very clever
motorcycle well ahead of its time.
When the local dealer dropped off your new car, you would
have this attached to the back.
Unhook it, ride back to the dealership.
Very clever idea.
You have cafe racers through to vintage motorbikes and then
to concepts like this one built by Dan Gurney, an
All-American racer who has technology advancements on
four wheels as well as two.
If you want the history of the motorcycle, it's right
here in this room.
Now, this definitely is my son's favorite gallery here at
the Petersen Automotive Museum.
It is the Hot Wheels exhibit.
And you could consider Hot Wheels to be the local
California car company, as they're based just down the
road in El Segundo.
And it's a truly magnificent display.
It makes you understand the depth of engineering and
passion behind something comes across that small.
This display shows every basic car casting created since Hot
Wheels was founded in 1968.
Most of these come in lots of different colors and graphics,
but every model is represented here.
These die-casts, on the open market,
would be worth a fortune.
And as if all this wasn't enough, like any good car
company, they even come up with crazy concept cars.
In the early '90s, when Mr. Petersen had this vision, a
dream to create a car museum right here in the city that
celebrates all things to do with the California car
culture, I doubt he could have imagined he would have created
one of the world's foremost car museums. And if you ever
get the chance to visit, it truly is a one of a kind
experience.
The only problem is that people always say, what's your
favorite car?
I haven't got time for that.
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