Porsche purchases Andial performance brand

Porsche announced on Thursday that it has purchased the legendary Andial name that has become a staple in the realm of Porsche racing and performance tuning.

In 1975, the late Arnold Wagner (AN), Dieter Inzenhofer (DI), and former Porsche Motorsport North America president and current consultant Alwin Springer (AL) came together to build Andial (an anagram of the principals names), a successful and respected independent authority on Porsche-performance tuning.

Since the last active owner, Inzenhofer, is retiring later this month, timing was ripe for Porsche to jump in and offer to carry the Andial torch.

“We have always considered Andial a member of the Porsche family, and now we are pleased to have the name become an official part of Porsche Motorsport. Arnold, Dieter and Alwin played a key role in growing the prominence of Porsche racing in North America, and their reputation was well-known among both racers and Porsche street car owners well beyond North America,” said Jens Walther, president of Porsche Motorsports North America, Inc.

Some of Andial's major Porsche sports-car-racing accomplishments included:

-- The 24 Hours of Daytona saw Andial-prepared Porsches in the winner's circle from 1983-1987 and again in 1989. In the 1987 race, the first-through fifth-place finishers were in Andial-powered cars.

-- Winning the IMSA Supercar Series championship in 1992.

-- IMSA-GT Championships in 1983, 1985, 1986 and 1987; North American GT-1 Endurance Cup Championship in 1994 and GTS-2 in 1996.

Inzenhofer appears to be pleased with the deal and delivered the following statement Thursday, “My whole career and professional reputation has been built on Andial's success with Porsche performance and tuning, and I couldn't ask for a better outcome of my decision to retire than have Porsche Motorsport buy our name.”

The name will now belong to Porsche Motorsports North America although exact details for its use have yet to be released.

By Sherrice Gilsbach