One of nation’s best Porsche sports car collections was at site of Durham explosion
APRIL 10, 2019 02:34 PM

Fatal Gas Explosion Near North Carolina Porsche Collection (Updating)

Jason Torchinsky
Today 12:55pm

A massive gas explosion in Durham, N.C. tragically killed one and sent over a dozen others to the hospital this morning. For hardcore Porsche-fetishists, the Ingram Collection next door is widely regarded as one of the best stockpiles of old Porsches, and looks like some historic cars have been severely damaged.

We reached out to Phil Whitehead, the General Manager of Road Scholars, who helps manage and maintain the Ingram collection. Phil told me that, thankfully, no one was at the facility at the time of the explosion, and so far they haven’t been permitted to go to the site to assess the damage. He expects to be able to evaluate things later in the afternoon, so we’ll update with any new information.

Based on pictures from the scene, it does appear that the Ingram building sustained some damage. Here’s a picture of the building from Google Maps:

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Photo from a bystander taken directly after the explosion

Link to tweet

One of nation’s best Porsche sports car collections was at site of Durham explosion
BY MARK PRICE
APRIL 10, 2019 02:34 PM, UPDATED 5 MINUTES AGO

A vast Porsche sports car collection described as “one of the best in the country” was located at the Durham site that exploded Wednesday, killing one person and injuring 17 others.

It was not yet clear Wednesday afternoon how many of collector Bob Ingram’s sports cars were in the building on N. Duke Street at the time. ... The explosion just after 10 a.m. was blamed on a gas leak, according to The News & Observer.

Ingram, a retired pharmaceuticals executive, was visiting the site midday Wednesday to inspect the extent of the damage, his assistant Karen Pottebaum told the News & Observer. ... Ingram was credited with having “a trove” of Porsches “well hidden in the Durham ... city centre” in a 2015 story on Porsche.com.

“There are 80 vehicles in this star parade, lined up in a custom show space whose red brick facade gives no indication of the prizes inside,” said the article. ... “It is a breathtaking review of automotive design history, reaching from the 918 Spyder back to the third oldest 356 model still in existence, built in Gmünd in Austria’s Kärnten region,” the article from Porsche.com continued.
....

Durham explosion shakes ‘can opener bridge’ camera

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