In 1960, the Porsche marketing department staged a stunt with a skier who jumped above a model 356 parked between building-sized snow walls, and now the carmaker has done it again.
There is a word saying that a good story sells and a picture is worth a thousand words. So Porsche tried to find a shortcut and staged a daring image in 1960 to promote its model 356. The carmaker hired down skier Egon Zimmerman for a stunt photo. After an avalanche in the Flexen Pass, near the Austrian ski resort, the road was cleared and the slim tarmac winded between building-sized snow walls. Back then, the skier was not an Olympic medalist yet, but he was courageous enough to do the stunt. It was a daring mission with a one-shot opportunity since it was challenging to turn back and do the jump again. The photographer was Hans Truöl, who was an expert in taking winter sports pictures.
The result was a black and white photo with the heading “On taking a shortcut,” meaning that a skier could reach the resort by jumping over roads or taking a sports car. But, of course, there were not many skiers daring enough to do the jump.
In 2021, Aksel Lund Svindal, the Olympic medalist, answered the Porsche call and did the same stunt as Zimmerman. However, it wasn’t about a two-door coupe but above the four-door electric sports car Porsche Taycan. Also, to emphasize the car’s electric drive, the carmaker placed a blue vehicle instead of the Ruby Red 356 from the ‘60s. Sure, it was an easier job for the photographer, and they could even do a re-match since nowadays it is more affordable to hire a helicopter to give the ski-jumper a lift back for a second run. But still, the performance remains.
The Porsche Taycan is 195.4 inches (4.96 m) long vs. the 152.4 (3.87m) 356 model. Still, the problem was not the car’s length but the opening between the snow walls, which is safe to say that it measured more than 20 ft (6.1 m) wide. A standard, two-lane European road is 7 m (23 ft) wide.
“The image of the jump is also a metaphor for the risks you have to take in order to survive as a business. The Porsche Jump is a powerful symbol of the determination with which we at Porsche pursue our dreams,” stated Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and Member of the Executive Board for Finance and IT at Porsche AG.
Tudor started his automotive career in 1996, writing for a magazine while working on his journalism degree. From Pikes Peaks to the Moroccan desert to the Laguna Seca, he's seen and done it all. Full profile
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