Can you date this picture at Porsche werks?

[Eric Gratz]

Here is another view from same time as the original posted photo.

[haul]

perfect pic…as I see it now I have the impression I have seen it before…
where is it from?
Is it from an enginer from the factory?
…
found it..have seen it in a folder (map) of an enginer from the factory, which was on sale at the Retro Classic in Stuttgart 2018.
The subtitle to this pic had been:
„VFF3 In der Fahrzeugmontage werden die Versuchsfahrzeuge für ihre Aufgaben vorbereitet“
translated
„ VFF3 the test vehicles are prepared for their tasks in vehicle assembly“

[davep]

Correction, 918 number

918 1968–1969 Study of 3.2-liter (85.0 x 70.4 mm) eight-cylinder engine for Type 918

[HughH]

Here is another view from same time as the original posted photo.

and here are some photos of the car in the top LH corner of Eric's photo (S-N 2492) on the "Panzer" track testing durability. So I would expect that most or many of the cars in the photos were "versuch" cars used for testing and R&D which ties in with what Haul says the caption should be „ VFF3 the test vehicles are prepared for their tasks in vehicle assembly“

[haul]

I did dig deeper…

I found in a master thesis work
„Der Konzern Aggregate-Produkt-Entstehungs-Prozess Implementierung und Realisierung im Aggregate Werk“

- The Group Aggregate-Product-Development-Process Implementation and realization in the aggregate plant -


following passages:

„ Serienvorbereitungsphase
Der Vorserie 2 Monate vorgeschaltet werden die Vorserien-Freigabe- Fahrzeuge (VFF) in den Werks-Pilothallen mit serienwerkzeugfallenden, Unbemusterten Teilen gebaut. Mittels der VFF sollen Fertigungsanlagen und - prozesse optimiert sowie Passung und Maßhaltigkeit der Zusammenbauten mit vorliegender Teilequalität geprüft werden. Die Produktionsversuchsserie (PVS, 6 Monate vor SOP) und NullSerie (0S, 3 Monate vor SOP) werden mit den verfügbaren Serienbetriebsmitteln unter Fertigungs- bzw. Serienbedingungen aufgebaut. „

„Series preparation phase:
Two months in advance of the pre-series, the pre-series release vehicles (VFF) are built in the factory pilot halls with non-sample parts that come from series production tools. The VFF is intended to optimize production systems and processes and to check the fit and dimensional accuracy of the assemblies with the existing part quality. The production trial series (PVS, 6 months before SOP) and pilot series (0S, 3 months before SOP) are set up with the available series resources under production or series conditions.“

[davep]

Haul, this is a great addition to our knowledge. Is the SOP explained somewhere?

[haul]

SOP stands for
„Start of Production“ - „Serienanlauf“

These and above terms are generally used in the
„PEP - Produktentstehungsprozess“
translated
„product creation process“.

[Eric Gratz]

Here’s a summary of the Porsche product development process as described in the Porsche Engineering magazine from 2014. This can be found at the website porscheengineering.com. It includes a reference to the VFF phase as pre-series release vehicles.

[Biancaneve]

I did dig deeper…

I found in a master thesis work
„Der Konzern Aggregate-Produkt-Entstehungs-Prozess Implementierung und Realisierung im Aggregate Werk“

- The Group Aggregate-Product-Development-Process Implementation and realization in the aggregate plant -


following passages:

„ Serienvorbereitungsphase
Der Vorserie 2 Monate vorgeschaltet werden die Vorserien-Freigabe- Fahrzeuge (VFF) in den Werks-Pilothallen mit serienwerkzeugfallenden, Unbemusterten Teilen gebaut. Mittels der VFF sollen Fertigungsanlagen und - prozesse optimiert sowie Passung und Maßhaltigkeit der Zusammenbauten mit vorliegender Teilequalität geprüft werden. Die Produktionsversuchsserie (PVS, 6 Monate vor SOP) und NullSerie (0S, 3 Monate vor SOP) werden mit den verfügbaren Serienbetriebsmitteln unter Fertigungs- bzw. Serienbedingungen aufgebaut. „

„Series preparation phase:
Two months in advance of the pre-series, the pre-series release vehicles (VFF) are built in the factory pilot halls with non-sample parts that come from series production tools. The VFF is intended to optimize production systems and processes and to check the fit and dimensional accuracy of the assemblies with the existing part quality. The production trial series (PVS, 6 months before SOP) and pilot series (0S, 3 months before SOP) are set up with the available series resources under production or series conditions.“

Thanks Haul ... therefore, we are really talking about pre-series cars, almost completed ... therefore, to my understanding, SOP = Sept. 1968 minus 6 months = March 1968, thus corroborating the date found in the verso of my picture. Did I get it right?

[ejboyd5]

Your time dating seems to be correct. All appear to be LWB with the exception of the red car furthest away from the camera. An interesting anomaly is the side reflector on the yellow car, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it.