Rally Legend Walter Röhrl Marks 25th Anniversary with Porsche

The year 2018 marks rally legend Walter Röhrl's 25th year with Porsche, the German carmaker which he not only is an ambassador for but also as one of the developer of its cars. The association between the German marque and the four-time Monte Carlo Rally winner and two-time World Rally Champion started when Röhrl bought his very first car: a used Porsche 356. In 1977, his personal 911 rally car paved the way for a contract with the Fiat team and by 1981, Röhrl was sitting at the starting line of the German Rally Championship in a Porsche 924. During his time as a rally driver, Röhrl had already been engaged by Porsche to help develop the legendary Porsche 959 and the the all-wheel drive technology for the Porsche 964. In 1993, Röhrl was formally signed by Porsche to be its representative and development driver. Interestingly, there was one condition to Röhrl's signing--he would tell then-Porsche chairman Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking "the unvarnished truth about new developments." Since then, Röhrl has participated in the development of several Porsche models, from the 959 and the Carrera GT to the 918 Hybrid, all 911 and GT versions, and the Porsche Panamera. "At Porsche, we don’t just need to thank Walter Röhrl for his unique 25 years of loyalty as a representative and advisor, but also for his expressions, which have long since become aphorisms," said Porsche AG Board Chairman Oliver Blume. "I like this one: 'a garage without a Porsche 911 is just a dark hole.'"