Description
“I believe that legacy is best understood through objects, through tools and textures, scars, and surfaces. That is why this book is important. It shows Porsche not as a monument but as a workshop in perpetual motion.” – Ferdi Porsche
In association with Porsche Motorsport, Type 7 presents Artifacts: Porsche Motorsport, a comprehensive book which provides for the first time an unparalleled artistic view into the items, stories, and individuals that have powered Porsche through decades of historic victories and competition until today. Curated, researched, and photographed within the secretive sites of Porsche,at facilities in Flacht – the birthplace of Porsche’s Motorsport program – Weissach, and in restricted storage facilities, the collection of items provide an eclectic and wide-ranging view of the iconic marque’s activities in top-flight racing as well as elements of racing by private customers.
The project was spearheaded and produced by ERG Media, the team behind the daily digital magazine Type 7, powered by Porsche, with research in collaboration with the Porsche Corporate Archive that offers deep storytelling behind each item captured. Alongside the rich information included in the Index sections, which chart the story of each component, are a series of interviews from numerous figures. Roger Penske, the legendary team operator, provides an insight into the history of Penske Motorsport’s collaboration with Porsche from the early days of its success in Can-Am to its modern partnership campaigning the Porsche 963 LMdH in global endurance racing, while Porsche factory drivers Richard Lietz and Formula E’s Pascal Wehrlein explore their history, drive for performance, and the talent required to deliver success for a historic automotive company. Setting the scene, Ferdinand Porsche, the grandson of company founder Ferdinand “Ferry” Porsche, provides a personal foreword sharing his fascination with the company’s racing cars from an early age.
Presented from an artistic perspective with dramatic lighting and high-resolution photography, each item in Artifacts: Porsche Motorsport is explored by photographer and lead creative Thomas Walk to show the human touch of racing components that are often presented as sterile, focusing on the Raceborn textures, patina, and innovative thinking behind in each and every item.
Spanning across 550 pages and over 250 items, the large-format coffee table book accompanies its photography with an unrivalled packaging experience,expanding the evocative style of Artifacts, which provided a reader experience that evoked the feeling of entering a vault and exploring the physical history of the Porsche Corporate Archive. Within Artifacts: Porsche Motorsport, technical elements from motorsport collide with a striking design created in collaboration with Andy Cruz of House Industries to create a tactile experience, with custom fonts referencing vintage Porsche design elements and matrix-dot printing techniques used on 1980s telemetry machines.
Holding the book within a patterned slipcase featuring the red, white, and black tones of Porsche Motorsport, a race-inspired belt and buckle clip feature laser-etched branding and a yellow embroidered badge displaying the Artifacts: Porsche Motorsport logotype. Careful and reverent design continues to a deep red, embossed, leather-effect cover, referencing the archival folders used to catalogue parts for Porsche racing cars in the 1960s. Viewed together, each element thoughtfully combines and references numerous significant elements and eras from Porsche’s racing history.
An unparalleled artistic view into the items, stories, and individuals that have powered Porsche through decades of competition and success until today. Curated, researched, and photographed within the secretive sites of Porsche, in Flacht, Weissach, and in restricted storage facilities, Artifacts: Porsche Motorsport presents a thrilling insight into the iconic marque’s long history at the peak of motorsport.
Presented artistically with dramatic lighting and high-resolution photography, each item in Artifacts: Porsche Motorsport is explored by photographer and lead creative Thomas Walk to reveal the human touch behind racing components that are often considered sterile, focusing on the Raceborn textures, patina, and innovative thinking shaping each and every item.
Spanning 550 pages and over 250 individual items, Artifacts: Porsche Motorsport traces the story of racing from the first days to the modern era, and is housed in a 7.7kg package designed in collaboration with Andy Cruz of House Industries – who developed two brand new typefaces for the project inspired by items contained within. The embossed red vinyl cover references the archival ledgers used to catalogue parts for Porsche racing cars in the 1960s. Unclasp the motorsport-inspired belt buckle, and start your journey into Porsche’s motorsport history.
