At this Porsche summit meeting of a very special kind, the best of the best from the sports car dynasty came together on the route of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road as Ferdi Porsche himself, together with the watches from Porsche Design, invited everyone to a pit stop to mark the opening of his new F.A.T. Mankei mountain hut.
The Porsche meet-up on the Grossglockner
While many other Swiss watch manufacturers have to do much more than simply add a new strap to attract fans from across the world, this is all Porsche Design’s Swiss watches need. The new textile leather ‘Mankei strap’ was developed exclusively for the limited Chronograph 1 – GP 2023 Edition. It not only secures the famous successor to the world’s first black wrist chronograph on the wrist of its 50 chosen wearers, but also simultaneously celebrates a very special new location.
Credit © Malte Dressel
Porsche Design Chronograph 1 GP ICE Race Limited Edition with the new Mankei strap
The Grossglockner High Alpine Road does much more than open up a view of Austria’s highest mountain: it is the inner link between the past and the future of the sports car manufacturer Porsche and its family. The automotive company’s founder, Ferdinand Porsche, already carried out test drives here on the mountain with the original version of the VW Beetle, as did the father of today’s majority shareholder of Porsche Holding and Porsche AG, Dr Wolfgang Porsche.
Credit © Stephan Bauer / Porsche AG
Meanwhile, designer Ferry Porsche tested the Porsche 356 in the same location and later, of course, also the iconic 911 sports car. On one of these occasions, he discovered the Schüttgut, an alpine farm in Zell am See some 35 kilometres away, which has become a symbol of the family’s deep connection with the region south of Salzburg for many decades, serving as Ferdi’s father Wolfgang’s residence. As horology fans and Swisswatches’ readers will know, Ferdi’s uncle Ferdinand Alexander Porsche set up the Porsche Design Studio in Zell, after having made watch history in 1972 with the world’s first black wristwatch chronograph, the Chronograph 1.
Dr. Wolfgang Porsche (left) und Ferdinand Porsche (right) at the GP Ice Race
Credit © Stephan Bauer / Porsche AG
It is precisely on this street, which enjoys an automotive history like no other, that the great-grandson of Porsche’s founder, Ferdi Porsche, architect, event entrepreneur and, more recently, head of a fashion brand for fans, has created an automotive cult site of the next generation. Welcome to the highest pit stop in Europe: F.A.T. Mankei.
The ‘Fetzenflieger’, GP Ice Race, Zell am See, Austria, 2019
Credit © Porsche AG
‘In this context, the Grossglockner is the red line that connects the two places,’ says Ferdinand Porsche, whom everyone here simply calls Ferdi – he also prefers this nickname. Zell am See is also the venue of the ‘GP Ice Race’ event, which is already known worldwide in the car community. This has brought a long-standing tradition to life: since 2019, Ferdi has been organising the new edition of the spectacular ice race in Zell am See together with Vinzenz Greger. The tradition is thus continued, and the enthusiasm of the mostly young spectators who flock to the GP Ice Race is a sign for Ferdi that ‘the enthusiasm for cars lives on in my generation as well.’
911 Carrera 3.2 4×4 Paris-Dakar (953), Cold Start by GP, Zell am See, Austria, 2021, Porsche AG
Credit © Stefan Bogner
The GP Ice Race doesn’t only mark a spectacular event picking up speed once more, but also a cooperation that combines sports cars and time in an innovative way. The GP ICE Race marks three exciting days of motorsport under extreme conditions, within an extraordinary atmosphere. The race almost fell into oblivion, but thanks to Ferdi Porsche, the tradition has come back to life after a break of almost half a century. What began as the idea of two friends is now a spectacular winter event for motorsport fans, where Porsche Design is the exclusive timekeeper with its watches.
However, the event only takes place in winter and the conditions for a race on snow are not necessarily getting any better in Austria. Ferdi Porsche therefore thought bigger from the start: ‘We wanted to do something like this more often than just once a year,’ he explains.
Austria’s most famous road runs on one lane through rugged mountain scenery. The 47.8-kilometre toll road is packed with German sports cars, and at least as many camouflaged test vehicles from all over the world. With its 36 hairpin turns, the Alpine High Road remains the ultimate brake test to this day. It doesn’t get any more tempting than this for petrolheads – with Ferdi Porsche counting amongst them. Around a million fans come every year to race their sports cars up at this location every year, where Porsche itself has been putting its cars through their paces for many decades. Piff Alm, Hochmais, and Hexenküche are the names of the hairpin bends where boxer engines roar in competition with their drivers as they downshift.
Credit © Malte Dressel
However, summers are short up here, meaning visitors only have a few months a year to enjoy the experience. The winter closure runs from about late October to early May, depending on weather conditions. The snow depth record up there stands at 21 metres. In addition, the road closes at night. The toll booths are vigilantly manned between 5:00 and 21:30 in the high season.
Credit @ Porsche AG
Up there, at 2,200 metres above sea level – which is a lot for Europe – is F.A.T. Mankei: a guesthouse and restaurant intended for a special kind of car and, as of recently, watch aficionado. But more on that later. Incidentally, the place owes its name to the lovable marmot animals, which the Austrians here call ‘Mankei’, and have adapted very well to the rough environment and fast sports cars.
Credit @ Stefan Bogner
The F.A.T. Mankei location was initially a converted, catered mountain hut with a few guest rooms. It burned down in the 1980s, eventually giving Ferdi the unique opportunity to buy it from the previous owner. ‘Rebuilding it was a great opportunity to bring together my passion for cars and architecture,’ he remarks. Inside the old hut, funky tiles and tongue-in-cheek French fabric play with the expectations of its testosterone-charged visitors.
When its design took place, Porsche’s great-grandson had just graduated from a degree in architecture. The buildings, from a traditional-looking restaurant to the hypermodern pavilion next to it, where a constantly changing exhibition vehicle will be on display, blend harmoniously into the surroundings in the middle of the natural park. Designed by Ferdi Porsche and his colleagues at Steiner Architecture, the pavilion is made of cleverly layered natural wood with a lattice of glazing bars above the pavilion’s glass façade, reminiscent of traditional farmhouses. This was designed primarily to prevent birds from flying in.
Credit © Malte Dressel
At the first big event, the ‘Mankei Opening’, fans – with Swisswatches amongst them – could admire Porsche’s unique automotive culture while meeting with legends of motorsport over Rösti, coffee and cake. In addition to numerous 911 special models, historic racing cars and novelties, which were only too happy to be driven high above the snow line by their owners, one vehicle in particular attracted special attention in the exhibition pavilion: the 962 Group C Le Mans winning car from 1994. Ferdi informs us that this is one of his favourite cars.
As if he didn’t have enough on his plate with his architectural work, Ferdi has also decided to become an event and fashion entrepreneur. He’s named the new company F.A.T., after the now defunct logistics company that used to sponsor racing cars. He is convinced, as he articulates to us, that, ‘At F.A.T. International, we believe that cars are more than just a means of transport – they have the power to bring people together and start conversations. Whether it’s innovation, design or a shared passion, our team is committed to creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere for more than just car enthusiasts.’ He sees F.A.T. as a platform for automotive culture. For him, all of this now comes together under one roof: the GP ICE RACE winter festival in Zell together with F.A.T.’s first location with the F.A.T. Mankei hut on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road.
Credit © Malte Dressel
But the 962 is not the only highlight to be seen at the launch event. Just around the corner in front of the entrance is a bizarre object: a Porsche 919 Hybrid on four large snow tracks. ‘The pass is closed half the year because of snowfall, and Christina, the restaurant manager, wanted to have something to drive up and check on things,’ Ferdi jokes about the show car, which he had personally built. The 919, he enthuses, is his ‘spirit animal’, born from a crazy idea together with designer Jeffrey Docherty and converted by Uedelhoven Studios in Bavaria. The 919 will tour several destinations with F.A.T. and will be seen at a major international festival very soon.
The first Porsche 919 Hybrid with snow tracks
Credit © Malte Dressel
For its watch fans, Porsche Design had prepared another highlight for the occasion: 50 pieces of the Chronograph 1 – GP 2023 Edition, limited to 250 and almost sold out, had been held back especially for this occasion. At the Mankei opening, there was therefore the opportunity to purchase one of the last examples of the coveted timepiece, equipped with a ‘Mankei strap’, of course. Not to worry: all those who already own the chronograph can also add the ‘Mankei strap’ to their watch – but only on site – free of charge.
Discover the best opportunities to drive the 36 hairpin bends yourself in your own sports car by taking a look at the various events planned.
As with the chronograph itself, Ferdi Porsche was closely involved in the design process, together with the engineers of the Porsche watch manufacture in Solothurn, Switzerland. As a result, the ‘Mankei strap’ – like the chronograph – features a number of tweaks: the khaki-green colour scheme is based on the tin-roof facade of the Mankei, while the exact location is revealed by the embossed coordinates on the inside of the strap. Next to it are icons from the dashboards of current Porsche models: a mountain with a road as a reference to the popular high alpine road, as well as a coffee cup that evokes enjoying a coffee break up at the hut.
The ‘Mankei strap’ is a soft strap with a textile-leather design: the underside of the strap is made of the same calfskin that is used in the sports car interiors of the Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer. The ‘PD’ lettering in historical script graphics links the strap and Chrono 1 together, while the upper side of the strap is made of hard-wearing polyester with a textile structure. Specially developed metal end pieces with an integrated quick-release system allow the strap to be changed quickly and securely. The black coated pin buckle featuring the historic Porsche Design icon allows the strap length to be conveniently adjusted.
It is these details that clearly distinguish the Porsche Design ‘Mankei strap’ from a standard NATO strap. The strap is reserved exclusively for the owners of the Chronograph 1 – GP 2023 Edition, delivered in a specially designed metal box.
For Ferdi Porsche, the cooperation with Porsche Design is a matter of the heart, because it was his uncle who revolutionised the watch world in 1972 with the Chronograph I, the first all-black wristwatch, and laid the foundation for the Porsche Design brand. Ferdi Porsche explains: ‘When I was 16, my dad gave me my first Chrono One, designed by my uncle with the family name on it.’ You can now experience the spirit of this family on your own wrist, or at the coffee break pitstop on the Grossglockner. Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.
OPENING HOURS F.A.T. Mankei
Monday to Sunday from 08:00-18:00
Tel: +43 664 3955363
PLANNED EVENTS 2023:
Mankei Breakfast: 17.06.2023 & 18.06.2023; 22.07.2023 & 23.07.2023; 30.07.2023
Giro di Mankei: 02.09.2023
Mankei Cars & Coffee: 17.09.2023
