Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Porsche 993 could have just had one wiper


From December 2010 issue of Automobile magazine:

Other design challenges came down to cultural sensibilities and Langmesser's role as an American in a German company.  The 993's windshield wipers, for instance.  "The 993 windshield was so symmetrical that a single wiper could've cleared it with the exact pattern they required.  That's what I wanted to do.  But the Porsche bosses viewed the single wiper as a Mercedes-Benz thing.  They said something like, 'People pay good money for a Porsche-- this is not a Mercedes.'  So I gave it two wipers, but they're mounted about two inches apart."  Thus was Porsche's honor preserved.

1 comment:

Edvin said...

Thanks, interesting stuff. I stare at pictures like that (the lower one ofc) every day for a living, just Vw/Audi instead of Porsche.