Riga Motor Museum: Porsches

Since I was about 10-years old, I have been in love with Porsches. I remember finding my older brother’s Car & Driver magazine from 1972 or so, and it featured a Porsche 911. Then my Aunt Ruta gave me a special edition of Road & Track that had the worlds fastest cars. The 959 came out in 1986, and I distinctly remember reading about it over and over in my own subscription to Car & Driver. I even painted a Porsche 959 racing a Ferrari F40 in high school.

The Riga Motor Museum has been on my list of things to do pretty much since I moved here, but I have never quite gotten the gumption to go. It is really out of the way on the other side of the city, and I just haven’t made the time.

Earlier this week, I saw that they were having a special exhibition featuring Anatole Lapine, a native Latvian who was Porsche’s chief designer from 1969 to 1988. He oversaw the development of some of my favorite cars, and he was a guy from Latvia. He left, like my parents, during WWII and relocated to P0land, then Germany, and finally the United States. He actually spent time in Lincoln, Nebraska, likely a member of the very church that my father eventually became the pastor of.

I had no idea of any of this until I saw an advertisement for the exhibition, and then went to see Lapiņš/Lapine’s impressive designs.

Getting to the museum took me awhile using public transportation, and I listened to Marc Maron interviewing Arnold Schwarzenegger, which seemed appropriate.

When I arrived at the museum, I was immediately impressed with the modern design both inside and out. Unlike so many other public spaces in Riga, it felt well-funded and well-kept. I found out later that it was bought out by Audi, which has a headquarters nearby, so that makes more sense. Although there weren’t a lot of Audis in the museum.

The museum cost 10 euros, and is well worth the price of admission.

The Main Floor

The main floor is dedicated to the history of the automobile with a very thorough history of the invention of the horseless carriage and replicas of Daimler’s and Benz’s models. There is a beautiful 1903 , designed and built in Latvia that has won several awards. I just wanted to touch it. And like many of the cars at the museum, this one actually drives and has been driven in motor shows.

Another one of my favorite exhibits is the side by side BMW where the museum shows how the Soviet era led to some serious Frankenstein tactics when trying to keep old cars in operating condition. These two cars are identical models, but please, appreciate the differences.

Upstairs

The second floor of the museum is dedicated mostly to Soviet-era cars called “The Kremlin Collection” with the highlight being the actual Rolls Royce that Brezhnev crashed.

The upper level also features a tribute to the race track located near the museum with some high-speed cars, including an original Silver Arrow. This model was actually headed to the scrap yard when it was saved and meticulously restored over several years to earn a special spot at the heart of the museum. Imagine a 646 horsepower beast racing in 1939? And just look at those lines. I just found this story about the car, and it appears this is an Audi-influenced exhibit.

I still hadn’t found the Porsche display that I came from even though there was a beautiful green 911 on the 2nd floor, so I made my way to the basement, hoping to find what I’d been seeking.

The Basement

The lower floor of the museum is dedicated to industry. It includes farm vehicles, large trucks, emergency vehicles, and a mock restoration garage that even smells like the real thing.

I saw a photo of Lapine, and I knew that I was finally in the right place. As soon as I walked around the corner, my heart felt like it sped up a bit as I saw an array of Porsches in their own miniature Porsche museum right here in Riga.

On display were a silver 356 Porsche, and a blue 928 which Lapine designed, like the one in Risky Business.

The best ones, in my opinion, were the 1973 red 911 Turbo, and the famous “Pink Pig“, a 917 Porsche from Le Mans. It didn’t win or even finish the race in 1971, but it was a crowd favorite. The paint job shows butcher cuts of pork in German.

I always loved looking at my friend Jeff’s Porsche Museum book, and we were always impressed by the beauty of the engines. I took a photo of the Pink Pig’s engine, but is it even real, or is this a replica?

I stood in that room for quite a while, soaking in the beauty of these cars. Then I finished walking through the museum, making my way out just as hundreds of unruly children were about to enter. I considered myself lucky for having a relatively peaceful day at the museum.

It was just incredible to see that a Latvian was behind some of the most iconic designs that I loved from my childhood. I also had a dream once of being an aeronautical engineer and eventually designing Porsches myself. Who knew that a Latvian had already been there and done that!?

Now this was in no way a complete overview of everything the Riga Motor Museum has to offer. I am including a photo gallery with more amazing cars, but to really appreciate it, you should see it for yourself.

Gallery

Side Note

I feel like a bit of a hypocrite because I really don’t like the way cars rule cities in general. I would love to see more and better public transportation and fewer and fewer cars. Yet here I am, almost drooling over these Porsche models. I have always loved cars, especially beautiful, well-engineered cars. It is hard to get over that, even if I think they are generally bad for everyone and everything. I guess I just have to live with this duality.