Raymond Arsenault on Life and Business: 10 Years of Tradition, 40 Years Ago: 1975 Porsche 911 Brochure

Images are from the brochure collection of Mark J. McCourt

Porsche is one of a handful of European automakers –Mercedes-Benz and Volvo being other notables- that has, for decades, offered a European delivery program for American buyers. That special method of taking delivery on a new car is what Porsche highlighted throughout the 1975 911’s deluxe dealer brochure.

I picked up this handsome keepsake, sized roughly 14 x 10-inches, for $4 at an estate sale. I found it interesting to see where the 911 was in its evolution, 10 years into production. It’s funny that, while we rarely see 911s on those ATS “cookie cutter” alloys today, they were all the rage in the mid-1970s, and many examples in the catalog is thus shod- of course, the Carreras wore those iconic forged Fuchs.

The brochure’s concept takes a youthful, successful American couple -let’s call them Mike and Melanie, for fun- over to Stuttgart to pick up their new 911S. They get to wander through the factory and watch the craftsmen build cars on the line, before test driving other colorful examples for fun, and hopping in their own silver couple for a driving adventure through the German countryside.

It’s fun seeing their tourist license plates, as well as the USA sticker on the decklid in the romantic sunset shot. And they even get to take in some racing, where they get up close and personal with the drivers and cars in the pits. I got a chuckle out of the bit of German that slipped in on the racing pages: “Conversely, our GTs und Prototypes are all basically related to our production Porsches, therefore these are the cars we race.”

A 911 Carrera doing 0-60 MPH in 8.4 seconds? That was a long time ago.

Have you ever picked up a Porsche at the factory? Or any other car, for that matter?

Excuse the size limitations of our scanner, and click on the images below to enlarge.