Behind the Scenes of Porsche’s ‘The Heist’ Super Bowl Ad
Filmmakers used ten iconic Porsches, five shooting locations, four cameras, and one drifting world champion to create The Heist.
A team of 150 people collaborated on the dramatic new ad, The Heist, with shooting taking place in and around Porsche’s home in Zuffenhausen, Germany, at the end of November 2019. It is the second time in the company’s history that it has produced a commercial for the Super Bowl and now the sportscar manufacturer is offering an insight into the extraordinary project.
Taking center stage is the all-new fully electric Porsche Taycan, as it features in a fast-paced chase with nine of its most legendary siblings. Many of the cars shown are part of the Porsche Museum collection, which meant their preparation and handling during filming was a key part of the project.
“We have a lot of experience preparing historic vehicles for all kinds of operations but driving a 917 through the center of Stuttgart, at night, was a first even for us,” explains Alexander Klein, Head of Vehicle Management and Heritage Experience at the Porsche Museum. “When we traveled to the location in the Black Forest, the roads were covered in snow and stayed that way until the evening before the shoot. Fortunately, we were prepared and had different tire profiles and compounds with us, especially for the racing cars. We did not make any technical changes to the museum vehicles though.”
After the opening scenes inside the Porsche Museum, viewers see a team of precision drivers steer the cars safely around the famous Porsche roundabout in Zuffenhausen and along the inner-city streets of Stuttgart, Heidelberg, Heppenheim, and over the Schwarzenbachtalsperre dam in the northern Black Forest. One of them, Harald Müller, held the World Record for drifting, while Porsche factory driver Lars Kern was behind the wheel of the iconic 917 K.
The director was Wayne McClammy, who is internationally renowned for his commercials. At points during the shoot, McClammy and his team used four cameras at the same time, and a Cayenne was fitted with a Russian Arm: a roof-mounted camera crane. Two drones – including one with a top speed of 99 mph per hour – picked up the aerial shots.
The Heist is part of Porsche’s global marketing campaign for the Taycan and it will play at cinemas across the US and beyond, following its official debut at the Super Bowl.
Photos & Screengrabs: Porsche