At Porsche tuner Techart, “hands on” is not just an empty phrase. Ever since the refiner opened its doors in 1987, sports cars from Zuffenhausen have been tuned near Leonberg in Höfingen, Baden-Württemberg. It all started with the in-house saddlery. A workshop and carbon manufactory have been added to this day. 67 employees sew leather, cast steering wheels, develop performance upgrades and bake carbon. AUTO BILD visited the tuner and looked behind the scenes. If you want to watch the video tour in full length, you can find it on our YouTube channel.
In the showroom is splurged
Workshop for development and service
Cars are modified and serviced in the workshop. On the left side of the picture. Techart GT Street R shortly before delivery.
Even the child seat is covered in leather
View of the saddlery. Patterns for the interiors of various Porsche models hang on the wall.
Steering wheels as a bestseller
Techart provides standard steering wheels with a newly cast rim and then covers them according to customer requirements.
Customers can then choose between various covers, colors, accents, decorative stitching, carbon parts and much more. “You can have every little screw in a different color, the driving mode switch in Alcantara, the width of the center marking is selectable, you can really let off steam there,” explains master upholsterer Marco Reucci.
When it comes to carbon, there are no limits to your wishes
The carbon factory is just a few house numbers away from the headquarters. Above all, decorative parts for the interior and smaller body parts are manufactured here. Larger parts such as hoods or spoilers are produced externally due to the limited furnace size. However, the development process is always the same: design a positive molded part, derive a negative carbon mold from it, which in turn serves as the production basis for the actual carbon end product.
Showpieces of the carbon manufactory. Colors, structures, glazes, everything can be coordinated and adjusted as desired.
“In the design area, we can play as we please. We can glaze the surfaces with colorful clear coat, weave colorful threads, present different finishes or other woven and pressed structures, such as forged carbon,” says team leader Chris Zinth. If possible, everything that customers want is implemented. “I’m currently in the process of trying out something completely new that hasn’t been seen before in the tuning sector,” Chris grins meaningfully. He doesn’t want to reveal what that is just yet.
Two 911s as the crowning glory
After the extensive tour, Kevin takes us back to the showroom. It suddenly appears much emptier than before. You remember GT3 Touring and Turbo S? They just rolled outside and are warming up, ready for us to test. Let’s see if all the in-house developments were worth it! (You will soon find the driving reports here!)
