Saratoga Auto Museum

The Saratoga Automobile Museum is unveiling an exhibit celebrating 60 years of Porsche in North America on October 1, 2011. The exhibit showcases sixteen significant Porsche sports and racing cars and honors Joe Buzzetta, successful New York Porsche racer and automobile retailer. Now a successful New York State businessman with six auto dealerships on Long Island, Buzzetta was a factory Porsche driver in the 1960s and 1970s. Co-driving with Udo Schultz, Buzzetta won the 1967 Nurburgring 1000 KM race in a Porsche 910, perhaps Porsche’s most sentimental victory – it’s first overall win in Germany’s most prestigious sports car race – as the home team won before the home crowd after a decade of trying. His personal collection includes a Porsche 904, 906, 907, 908 and a 910, all restored.



Marque founder Dr. Ing. Ferdinand Porsche’s son, Ferry, understood that racing was the crucible in which to prove Porsche’s superiority and capture world attention. Imported into America by Max Hoffman, an Austrian expatriate friend of the Porsche family, the low, streamlined little cars attracted great interest. Six decades of popularity in America have established Porsche on the top tier of performance automakers. Accordingly, The Saratoga Automobile Museum is pleased to present “Porsche: 60 Years of Speed and Style in North America,” sponsored by Porsche Cars North America and New Country Porsche of Clifton Park, NY, and Greenwich, CT.

Automotive journalist and Museum consultant, Ken Gross, will be the exhibit Curator. Joe Buzzetta’s Porsche 904 and 906, as well as a 908 engine, will be on display in Saratoga. The Collier Museum in Naples, FL, is loaning Buzzetta’s Nurburgring-winning 910 for the exhibit. Former Porsche/SCCA/ IMSA competitor, Bob Bailey, a Saratoga Automobile Museum trustee, is loaning cars for the exhibit, as is Paul Plugfelder, whose Porsche 959, 914-6GT and 911 RS will be on display. Porsche Cars North America will be bringing the exciting new Porsche 918RSR Race Car for the opening of the exhibit, as well as several cars from the Porsche Museum after Rennsport, a 961 and the LeMans winning GT1.

Joe Buzzetta will be honored at the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s Annual “Drive For Excellence” Gala on October 1, 2011. Among the noted drivers expected to attend will be endurance racing champion, Vic Elford, a winner at Le Mans, the Targa Florio, the Daytona 24 Hours and the Nurburgring andScooter Patrick who co-drove with Joe at LeMans.Invitations have also been extended to several of Joe’s other old Porsche Factory teammates, including Brian Redman, Derek Bell and Hans Herrmann. Positive confirmation has been received from two so far. It will make for a very memorable evening with Joe and his Porsche teammates speaking at the dinner of their memories of the Golden age of motor racing with the Porsche Racing Team.

Also planned on October 1st is an Adirondack Porsche Tour (about an hour & a half), leaving the Saratoga Auto Museum at 10:00 AM, over some spectacular mountain roads, ending at the Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing on Lake George for lunch on the lake. On Sunday October 2nd the Saratoga Auto Museum’s “Octoberfest German Car Lawn Show,” featuring Porsche, will take place on museum grounds starting at 10:00 AM. The show is open to all German cars. Porsche owners and enthusiasts are invited. Details will be available soon on the museum’s website or by calling the museum.

The Porsche exhibit will open to the public on Oct 1, 2011 at 10:00 AM, and will be occupying the downstairs galleries until January 31, 2012. Members of Porsche clubs are welcome for the run of this exhibit and will be offered a generous Museum discounted admission. Call for details and group rates. Along with the feature exhibition the Museum has on display, “East of Detroit, Cars Made in NY”, and several significant cars that raced in NY. The Saratoga Automobile Museum is located at 110 Avenue of the Pines, Saratoga Springs, NY. Hours of operation during the fall and winter months are Tuesday – Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm.

For more information, call Peter Perry at 518-587-1935 ext. 17 or visit the Saratoga Automobile Museum on the web at www.saratogaautomuseum.org.

Photo: An early electric Porche Courtesy Auto History Online.