PETER SCHUTZ
1930- 2017



     



      A longtime friend of the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance and the savior of the legendary Porsche 911 died last week at the age of 87. Peter Schutz's extraordinary life led from Germany to Cuba to America and back to Germany where the American educated engineer became the president of Porsche and a champion for the virtues that made Porsche the company it is today.

     His arrival at Porsche in 1981 coincided with the scheduled termination of the 911. Schutz determined that this was the root of the low morale that affected the Stuttgart firm as profitability dwindled in the early 1980s. Schutz took control at once, extending the life of the fabled 911and returning Porsche to its spiritual roots with overall Le Mans victories for the Porsche 936, the 956 and 962. During his tenure Porsche worldwide sales nearly doubled and Porsche won Le Mans for seven straight years plus the World Endurance Championship every year he was Porsche's president.

    He left Porsche in 1987 returning to America where he became a potent and entertaining motivational speaker with the same sort of ardor that endeared him to 911 loyalists at Porsche in the early 1980s. 

   Peter Schutz was the right man at the right place at right time. It's nearly impossible to imagine Porsche without thinking of Peter's insight, intellectual clarity and courage when he righted the ship and piloted Porsche on its rightful course.
 

About The Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance
  

Now in its third decade, the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance is among the top automotive events in the world. Always held the second full weekend in March, "The Amelia" draws over 250 rare vehicles from collections around the world to The Golf Club of Amelia Island and The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island for a celebration of the automobile like no other. Since 1996, the show's Foundation has donated over $3.0 million to Community Hospice & Palliative Care, Spina Bifida of Jacksonville, The Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, Shop with Cops, and other deserving charities. In 2013 and 2016 the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance won Octane Magazine's EFG International Historic Motoring Event of the Year award.The 23rd annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance is scheduled for March 9-11, 2018. For more information, visit www.ameliaconcours.org.

 

 
    
  
  
Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance
3016 Mercury Road
Jacksonville, Florida 32207
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