• 000 began as a quarterly journal but has quickly evolved into a more immersive perspective on Porsche and the cultural impact of its creations.
• Turbo 50 celebrated the impressive legacy of the 911 Turbo, an aspirational flagship among motoring enthusiasts and a mainstay of the current Porsche lineup.
• Rare, historic, and noteworthy examples from North America, Austria, and Germany were displayed for 350 fortunate guests to admire and study.
• Summit Skywalker Ranch, a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired backdrop set into the hillside of Marin, was a fitting venue to host the momentous occasion.

Someday, you’re going to have to learn to separate what seems to be important from what really is important. I remember reading this quote many years ago. Cultivating that divide—the separation between perceived reality and ultimate reality—was life-changing. It helped reframe how I looked at a lot of things as a green behind-the-ears 20-something: the relationships and friendships I’d continue to foster, the skills I’d choose to accrue, the things I would assign value toward, and the time that I’d spend seeking joy. Eventually, that brought me to Turn 14 Distribution, to help create Grid Icons: Porsche, and here—to Turbo 50—a 000 experience shared with 350 guests, more than 60 noteworthy display vehicles, and one very exclusive venue: Summit Skywalker Ranch. Lots of numbers, I know.

The pastoral home to celebrated sound design, mixing, and audio post-production facility played host to “Turbo 50” to help 000 celebrate the impressive legacy of the 911 Turbo. Over its lifespan, the 911 Turbo has evolved into an aspirational flagship among motoring enthusiasts and a mainstay of the current Porsche lineup. It also represented a canvas for 000 to create its latest commission with Porsche Sonderwunsch (Special Wishes). More on this later.

BUILDING A MYSTERY

Aside from knowing what “Turbo 50” was going to focus on and where it’d be, there was a rather thick veil placed over the details. Knowing 000, this was intentional, and the anticipation for what we’d see, taste, and discover would be part of the overall experience. Pulling up to Summit Skywalker Ranch wasn’t unlike visiting that one wealthy friend’s house that you’d met in college. There was a big swinging gate that opened to a long and winding road. We drove in and soon found security, who confirmed one important thing: this was the place we were looking for. The officer delivered navigational instructions to us, and soon, we found ourselves driving into an underground garage where several guests—and their Porsches—had already arrived.

A rather unassuming silver 911 Turbo was the first car in 000’s vast display, and walking around the car told me why: it was a concept car from the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1973. Technically, this exact chassis was three prototypes in one, helping develop the G-Series and RS/RSR 3.0 bodywork before eventually taking on the Turbo concept guise you see today. Seeing this set the stage for the rest of the curated display, an amassment of rare, historic, and noteworthy Porsches that helped supplant it as the premier German auto manufacturer.

NEVER MORE THAN TWELVE

Patrons fortunate enough to see a 911 Turbo in their garage every morning were invited to park alongside the main Summit Skywalker Ranch building. There was a refreshing lack of rhyme or reason to this arrangement; G body whale tails shared the same air as more modern 991.2 examples, verts with coupes, and a rarified Guards Red 993 slant nose smack dab in the middle of it all.

MASTER AND APPRENTICE

While this spread flanked the outer bank of the main building, the cul-du-sac featured the event’s principal attraction—911 Turbo examples from every generation—neatly positioned in chronological order. To process these machines in excruciating detail, even considering the well-composed placards, would take days. Fortunately, we had Pete Stout and Alex Palevsky, the two founders of 000, to boil it down to the important bits. Nearly all 350 guests flocked to the seminar, intent on growing an already lofty appreciation for the model and, in some cases arming themselves with evidence for why they needed to add another Porsche to their stable. Ahem. Thank you for that, guys!

Appropriately enough, the study ended with 000’s own creation—the 000 Turbo S Commission. There isn’t a“000” box to tick on the Turbo S configurator; no, this is something far more exclusive from the Porsche Sonderwunsch (Special Wishes) program. Like the 000 Spyder that came before it, the 000 Turbo S sits amongst rather unshared company, a truly “if you know, you know” example of Porsche enthusiasm that likely rivals the fanfare around the Star Wars fantastical tales.

As luck would have it, you can win your very own 000 Turbo S Commission. Between now and March 31, 2025, 000 will donate 5% of all proceeds generated through 000magazine.com during the sweepstakes period to 43 Institute, the non-profit founded by the family of late motorsports icon and Pikes Peak competitor Ken Block. These funds create pathways for underserved, highly driven “motivated misfits” with aspirations in action sports, motorsports, and the creative arts. Turbo 50 held a specific raffle at the event to double up on its efforts to support the non-profit with a trio of rather tantalizing takeaways.

POINT OF VIEW

Inevitably, on a Monday, someone will ask you what you did over the weekend. Among our “tribe,” it’s easier to delve into the details of a cars and coffee, track day, or drive. But outside of that small bubble, our weekend activities often boil down to a car “thing.” I say all this because there was no way to dilute Turbo 50 into a “thing” or any alternative that Google’s thesaurus could suggest. Universally speaking, this event was a ripple in our lives, a gathering that recalibrated the rhetoric around Porsche and 000 as a brand. If it wasn’t clear that 000 was more than a magazine in 2024, Turbo 50 was an emphatic statement to change the way we look at it now.

NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS

000’s evolution was further reinforced by exploring the rest of the grounds. Aside from a quadrennial pilgrimage to Rennsport Reunion, there’d seldom be a single venue where you’d be treated to this visual onslaught of Porsche royalty; 000’s creations rubbed elbows with machinery from Singer, Keen, RUF, and other pieces of the marque’s motorsport legacy.

Being able to compare and contrast each of these indisputably special machines to another was something we’d all cherish throughout our lifetime—or at least until we have an opportunity to experience a sequel to this all over again. Still, 50 years only happens once.

THAT’S NO MOON

As the sun began to set, we thought it best to do one more lap to see how the footprint would evolve. Our curiosity was rewarded. The stillness of the vacant outdoor space made the cars take on a completely different vibe, their shapes seemingly hunkering into fixtures on the Summit Skywalker Ranch grounds. As temporary as Turbo 50 was destined to be, there was a sense of permanence at that moment. That even if the stores of petrol were to run out the next morning, these machines would appear just as exciting as if they were blasting off into the distance at wide open throttle.

NO SUCH THING AS LUCK

I really ought to wrap this story up soon; otherwise, I’m going to run out of nuanced Star Wars subtitle material. Anyway, as the sun finally set completely, Turbo 50 transitioned inside the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired buildings. Had we realized there would be so much architectural beauty to admire, we likely would’ve walked a few laps during the day. Still, the “bridge” to the other sites built plenty of anticipation for what lay ahead.

Eventually, we reached the speakeasy where, we were told, had cheeseburgers. We ran into a slew of others who’d heard similar lore—including Larry Chen—who was queuing near the kitchen door. We’d come to find that this strategy was the only way you’d get one of those coveted Wagyu burgers, and it was well worth the wait. After putting down a couple of drinks and four or five helpings of fries, we were off to the next space.

There, we saw the Club Wheelhouse 911 and the only person who’d bring a BMW to a Porsche event: our good friend Drew Leslie from Enthusiast Auto Group (EAG)—the defining badge of honor for Bavarian purists. To his credit, it was a 2002 Turbo, which BMW built to compete with Porsche’s snail-driven 911. Its appearance here was a testament to everything that EAG could find, restore, and improve upon for the most hardcore BMW person in your life. I imagine that’d be most of us at the event still, or at least before we discovered Porsche.

PASS ON WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED

Admittedly, I’m a rather frugal eater throughout the week—my formulaic survivalist pattern of putting down diagonally diced cold-cut sandwiches and a glass of decadent ice water is well documented—so when we had the opportunity to eat to our heart’s content, we took advantage. We coursed a few rounds of tenderloin, shrimp ceviche, and a handful of sweets while Stout, Palevsky, Chen, and a representative from Michelin sat us down for a fireside chat about David Donner’s 000 Pikes Peak triumphs and challenges—including what it was like to have the mountain to themselves during COVID.

THIS IS THE WAY

Much like the 260-page quarterly magazine, Turbo 50 offered an unprecedented perspective—intellectually stimulating narratives about the intersection between man and machine—and the “previously undiscovered archival gems” that birthed the design and engineering treasures we know and love today. Indeed, by every perceivable measure, Turbo 50 was a success. In the ongoing Porsche story, Turbo 50 was a small but significant blip—the fold-out poster that you’d hang on your bedroom wall to ceremonially mark the occasion when everything changed.

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