A Porsche Classics feast (In Bearbeitung)

A Festival for Porsche Classics

Following the first International Porsche Classic Meeting in Luxembourg, the second event of the new Porsche Classic Club meetings will take place in Denmark: the Porsche Classic Meeting 2019.

Anyone who has ever been present at a meeting of the 356 community is familiar with the morning sound and smell of the flat engines as they awaken. Can there be anything better? Yes, of course! – If the sound of the four-cylinder is respectably mixed in with various six-cylinder flat engines of the RS, 964 and 993 Turbo type and combined with the large-volume eight-cylinders from the Zuffenhausen plant or even with a 924 Carrera GT.

In 2017, Marc Olsem and his team from the Porsche Classic Club Luxembourg announced the first International Classic Meeting for all series models. "We just wanted to do something new then. There are the International 356 Meetings – which ultimately gave us the impetus – and numerous international classic events, but thus far, there had not been a cross-model international Club event for Porsche classics," Olsem recalls.

He still enjoys thinking about the meeting in Luxembourg in 2017. "We all received standing ovations at the end. The participants were thrilled. The days had an incredibly good atmosphere. I think everyone was just happy that there was an event in which all vehicles with a Porsche crest on the bonnet could take part. And above all, the participants agreed on one thing: there should definitely be another International Classic Meeting.“

And so did Stephan Griese from the Porsche Community Management. He has already been involved in setting up the first meeting and had supported the Luxembourgers from the Porsche AG side. And they fully support the concept of a cross-model Porsche classic event. "As the coordinator of the Porsche Classic Clubs, I see what classic owners are concerned about: many 356 owners have other Porsche models in their garage as well. At the international level, there are the 356 Meeting, the 914 Meeting and the Transaxle Day – plus all the Porsche Classic Club events at the national level, of course – but a cross-model and international event did not exist. That's why the Classic Meeting is so important to us as Porsche AG and the Clubs. It was good that the Luxembourgers not only took the initiative, but also set up a meeting right from the start that matched the level of the International 356 Meeting.

Following the first meeting, the question was where to go from there. From the outset, it was very important to Porsche Community Management that the International Classic Meeting will be held as a Club initiative and with the support of all other Porsche Classic Clubs. That means with all Classic Club Presidents fully behind the project. At the Classic Round Table 2018, Stephan Griese asked the Presidents if they would be in favour of continuing the series as an official Porsche Club event, with the Clubs taking turns in organizing the meeting. “The feedback was clear. The Presidents voted in an open election and were in favour of continuing the meetings,” Griese recalls. In an internal poll, the Classic Club Presidents then voted for Denmark. The third edition was also decided on straight away: the 2021 Classic Meeting will be held by Porsche Club Finland, which will be celebrating its 40th anniversary that year – and which founded its own Porsche Classic Club in 2018.

Freddie Eriksen, President of the Porsche Classic Club Danmark, attended the first International Classic Meeting in Luxembourg as well. His Club was founded in 1987 as Porsche 356 Club Danmark, and Freddie Eriksen can look back on an extensive history of events. "In 1994, for the first time as Club President I had the task of hosting a International 356 Meeting in Aarhus. Then in Aalborg in 2008, and a third time in 2016 – again in Aarhus. When it became clear at the Classic Round Table 2018 that the International Classic Meeting should continue as an official new series, comparable to the Porsche Parade Europe, the Porsche Days or the International 356 Meeting, we decided to take a chance and get in.”

Of course, everyone is now hoping for a large turnout from all of the international Porsche Classic Clubs. For Marc Olsem, of course, there is no question about attending the International Classic Meeting. “We will arrive with a whole delegation and look forward to Denmark and Freddie Eriksen.” Stephan Griese will definitely represent Porsche Community Management and Porsche AG. And Porsche Club News will of course go to Denmark as well and report on the meeting.

The International Classic Meeting has now received particular encouragement from Frank Baumann, Porsche 356 Club Switzerland, and Markus Rothweiler from the umbrella organization Schweizer Porsche Clubs. Baumann will host this year's International 356 Meeting and Markus Rothweiler will host the Porsche Parade Europe in Switzerland in 2020. Both are fully behind the Porsche Classic Meeting and have therefore forwarded the invitation to all their members. "As Swiss, we love internationality. The 356 Club with the International 356 Meeting, Markus with the umbrella organization for the newer models and the Porsche Parade Europe. When we look at our Mollis Porsche Meeting Switzerland with more than 1,600 Porsche vehicles of all models and years of construction, we know that something must be done internationally. All classic Porsche vehicles, all model series, all years of production, no matter whether the engine is in front or in the rear, flat-4, flat-6, 4-inline and 8-V-engines all together at one meeting."

Meanwhile, Freddie Eriksen is still busy working out the details. On 29th August 2019 he will welcome the guests to Aalborg. He looks forward to the days when he is once more the host. "I can not think of my life without Porsche. I was nine when my dad bought his first Porsche. Since then, Porsche has been with us in the family DNA. I have owned about 50 Porsches over the course of my life; today it is still around a dozen. These include my dad's 356 and my favorite vehicle, a 911 3.0 RSR. I think that will be the one for the meeting."

Participants can look forward to an exciting program, a proven organization and Danish hospitality. “Our goal is to make the days as eventful and enjoyable as possible for everyone. Those who have been with us at the International 356 Meetings can therefore look forward to a fourth time but in a new form, and for all newcomers, Denmark is always worth a Porsche trip.”

Freddie Eriksen throws himself into the race with all his experience: “We use the International Classic Meeting as an opportunity to do something for younger Porsche Classic owners. And at the same time, we want to help establish the new tradition of the International Classic Meeting. International meetings are always about friendship among the Porsche Clubs. We'll just do it from now on for all models and all friends.”

To register, please visit www.pcm2019.com