Museum’s First Design Exhibition Features More Than Twenty Porsche Cars Dating from the 1930s to Present Day

RALEIGH, N.C.—On October 12, 2013, the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) opens its first-ever design exhibition, bringing together the largest and most diverse group of Porsche automobiles ever on display in a U.S. art museum. Porsche by Design: Seducing Speed features more than 20 automobiles that together trace the evolution of the singular Porsche design aesthetic from its inception in the 1930s through the present day. Porsche by Design is organized by guest curator Ken Gross, a renowned automotive journalist and the former director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The NCMA’s Barbara Wiedemann is managing curator.

Beginning with the crisp minimalism of the 1938 Type 64 Berlin-Rom Racer—the oldest model featured in the exhibition—the cars on display show the evolution of the signature design principles that have long linked Porsche with beauty, artistry, technology, and innovation. Other examples include the aerodynamic design that was the hallmark of the Formula One race cars of the 1960s, and the technical innovation and advancements that were introduced with contemporary models such as the 911 Carrera.

“Porsche by Design brings together one of the most significant collections of Porsche automobiles ever assembled,” said Ken Gross. “More than ‘just a show about cars,’ the exhibition emphasizes the innate beauty of aerodynamic design, inseparably linked with engineering genius. It further illustrates the Porsche family’s ability to stay true, over many decades, to a powerful design history while remaining on the forefront of technological advances, continually driving automobile design forward. These cars are superlative examples of uncompromised, artfully restrained design, lending visual form and grace to the notion of speed.”