Porsche->ke1 fanatics – yes, we know that they are a lot of you – will be thrilled to know that the car Porsche considers as the “first ancestor of all Porsche sportscars” will be making its maiden voyage to the US where it will be prominently displayed at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia from March 21 to June 20.

The car, of course, is the Porsche Type 64, which if you must know, was developed back in 1938, making it the predecessor of sorts for the fabled Porsche 356->ke666. As a matter of fact, the Type 64 is so important to the history of the brand that just about every Porsche model created thereafter – from the 356 to the newest Porsche 911->ke282 - took its styling cues and construction methods from this very same car.

After being meticulously restored, the Type 64 sat in what Porsche describes as the “first and most prominent exhibit” since the company opened the new Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen last year. The three-month trip to the US marks the first time the car will leave its safe confines to be exhibited at the High Museum of Art’s ‘The Allure of the Automobile’ exhibit.

It’s pretty easy to surmise that the history of Porsche can be traced to this one car, which makes it even more compulsory for all Porsche enthusiasts in the US to make the pilgrimage to Atlanta to see up close and personal the car that has shaped Porsche – literally and figuratively – to become the brand that it is today.

Press Release after the jump

.Porsche Museum supports special exhibition at the High Museum of Art

First Ancestor of All Porsche Sports Cars on Show in America for the First Time

Stuttgart. The Museum run by Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, Germany, is sending its legendary Type 64 Berlin-Rome Car on a long journey. Befitting the 60th anniversary of Porsche in America, the aluminium body of Type 64 will be presented from 21 March to 20 June 2010 at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia (USA), taking the first and most prominent exhibit at the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen to a new location outside of Germany for the first time.

The High Museum of Art is one of the world's leading art museums. In its special exhibition "The Allure of the Automobile", the High Museum of Art is expressing its recognition of outstanding automotive developments in the period 1930 to 1960, focusing on differences in the development of American and European design. Type 64 will be presented next to other icons in the world of the automobile from Bugatti, Duesenberg, Jaguar, Ferrari, Pierce Arrow, Packard, Cadillac and Tucker as a synthesis of innovative construction and design, supreme craftsmanship, and exceptional design.

Type 64 is of very special significance to the history of the Porsche brand: Built in 1938/39 under the guidance of Ferdinand Porsche, this unique car already had all the features that make sports cars from Zuffenhausen so very special the world over to this day: lightweight construction and superior aerodynamics, exceptional performance, reliable technology, and that unique design so characteristic of a Porsche. Originally developed for the Berlin-Rome long-distance race, Type 64, due to the war, never entered a race in its lifetime. But it marks an essential milestone en route to the first Porsche, Type 356 built in 1948.

The car's streamlined aluminium body already showed distinctive indications later to be admired in all of Porsche's sports cars, its DNA living on in the Porsche 356 through the Porsche 911 all the way to the Panamera. The symbiosis of motorsport requirements and the use of production elements made the car a perfect grand tourer able to reach an average speed on public roads back in 1939 of more than 130 km/h or 80 mph. No surprise, therefore, that Ferdinand Porsche himself used Type 64 for long journeys.

Accompanying the new construction of the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, the aluminium body of Type 64 was re-built by experts in years of painstaking craftsmanship. Ever since the Museum was opened in January 2009, Type 64 has marked the beginning of the Museum Tour thrilling visitors from all over the world through its cultural impact and unique flair alone.

While Type 64 is being presented to the public in Atlanta, the Porsche Museum will be displaying the skeleton structure of the Type 64 body until the end of June 2010 – a skeleton made of wood upon which the 1.2-millimetre aluminium panels were hammered into shape.

The Porsche Museum is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:00 to 18:00. Further information is available in the internet at www.porsche.com/museum.Porsche Museum supports special exhibition at the High Museum of Art

First Ancestor of All Porsche Sports Cars on Show in America for the First Time

Stuttgart. The Museum run by Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, Germany, is sending its legendary Type 64 Berlin-Rome Car on a long journey. Befitting the 60th anniversary of Porsche in America, the aluminium body of Type 64 will be presented from 21 March to 20 June 2010 at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia (USA), taking the first and most prominent exhibit at the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen to a new location outside of Germany for the first time.

The High Museum of Art is one of the world's leading art museums. In its special exhibition "The Allure of the Automobile", the High Museum of Art is expressing its recognition of outstanding automotive developments in the period 1930 to 1960, focusing on differences in the development of American and European design. Type 64 will be presented next to other icons in the world of the automobile from Bugatti, Duesenberg, Jaguar, Ferrari, Pierce Arrow, Packard, Cadillac and Tucker as a synthesis of innovative construction and design, supreme craftsmanship, and exceptional design.

Type 64 is of very special significance to the history of the Porsche brand: Built in 1938/39 under the guidance of Ferdinand Porsche, this unique car already had all the features that make sports cars from Zuffenhausen so very special the world over to this day: lightweight construction and superior aerodynamics, exceptional performance, reliable technology, and that unique design so characteristic of a Porsche. Originally developed for the Berlin-Rome long-distance race, Type 64, due to the war, never entered a race in its lifetime. But it marks an essential milestone en route to the first Porsche, Type 356 built in 1948.

The car's streamlined aluminium body already showed distinctive indications later to be admired in all of Porsche's sports cars, its DNA living on in the Porsche 356 through the Porsche 911 all the way to the Panamera. The symbiosis of motorsport requirements and the use of production elements made the car a perfect grand tourer able to reach an average speed on public roads back in 1939 of more than 130 km/h or 80 mph. No surprise, therefore, that Ferdinand Porsche himself used Type 64 for long journeys.

Accompanying the new construction of the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, the aluminium body of Type 64 was re-built by experts in years of painstaking craftsmanship. Ever since the Museum was opened in January 2009, Type 64 has marked the beginning of the Museum Tour thrilling visitors from all over the world through its cultural impact and unique flair alone.

While Type 64 is being presented to the public in Atlanta, the Porsche Museum will be displaying the skeleton structure of the Type 64 body until the end of June 2010 – a skeleton made of wood upon which the 1.2-millimetre aluminium panels were hammered into shape.

The Porsche Museum is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:00 to 18:00. Further information is available in the internet at www.porsche.com/museum.