The 41st International Motor Show in Frankfurt opened its doors on 12 September 1963. One of the main halls directly behind the entrance was the festival hall. This hall is still used today for concerts and events. The name “Festhalle” was fitting for the event, as the German automotive industry at least had plenty of reasons to celebrate itself and its successes.

The trade fair certainly had a few special features to offer: Mercedes-Benz presented the 600 model series, the first luxury saloon of the post-war era.

Due to the hype surrounding the 600, another new model, which later became a legend, was almost forgotten: The Mercedes 230 SL, popularly known as the “Pagoda” because of its hardtop, was also presented at the 1963 IAA.

For sports car fans, however, the big star of the event was of course to be seen at the Porsche stand. In the spring of 1963, Porsche was already working flat out towards the International Motor Show in Frankfurt in the autumn, as this was the largest and most important European motor show. There was no better opportunity to present the new Porsche to the public. The 901 with the new six-cylinder engine was the future of the company. In the early 1960s, the Zuffenhausen-based manufacturer’s core business was the production of sports cars. The Porsche 356 was built and constantly improved for over ten years – an unusually long time by the standards of the time. The new Porsche should therefore be presented as early as possible to arouse customers’ curiosity.

Many insiders at the trade fair knew that the 901 on display at the IAA was still a prototype. However, the installed engine did not correspond to the 901 series unit with dry sump lubrication. The interior of the exhibition vehicle also differed significantly from the series from October 1964. Overall, however, it was a good decision to present the 901 as early as autumn 1963, because the exterior appearance was largely finished and largely corresponded to the first vehicles in series production.

Of course, in 1963, it was not yet foreseeable that the Porsche 911 would become a design of the century in automotive design and the masterpiece of F. A. Porsche. But even before the 901 was presented, Ferry Porsche was very satisfied with his son’s design and convinced of the success of the new Porsche.

The Frankfurt Motor Show closed its doors on 22 September 1963. The show had been a great success for Porsche, as there had been consistently positive comments and also the first orders for the new Porsche 901. With this positive response, the development team was highly motivated to tackle the last twelve months until the start of series production.