Disney's cute Porsche - Sally Carrera

“With Jay’s urging, the animators and the model builders of the film characters decided to meet with Eddie. A more exacting or demanding group of people did not exist because Pixar embraces the same philosophy when it comes to their film characters as Porsche does with their cars – never accept less than perfection. We all knew that Eddie could build the cars but could he possibly convince this group of that fact?

“Like the rest of us, after a few minutes with Eddie and a quick tour of his shop, they too were confident of Eddie’s skills and abilities to perfectly recreate their characters as full-scale operational motor vehicles.

“The first picture Eddie sent me was of our beautiful 911 Porsche Coupe cut in half literally down the middle! It was at that time that I turned to prayer. That was the only car we had for this project. How was Eddie going to cut seven and one half inches out of the center of the car, and still ensure that it was a fully functioning vehicle?

“Eddie did what many (including myself) thought was impossible. He built exact full-scale duplicates of “Sally Carrera”, “Lightning McQueen” and ”Mater”, the stars of the Disney/Pixar film CARS, which will be seen in special promotional events throughout the release period of the film and DVD. And he built them to the exacting requirements of Pixar, not only satisfying them with the finished product, but also satisfying the people of Porsche, who are every bit as tough.

“The cars will eventually be retired to the lobby of the Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville California, and will remain there as a testament to Eddie Paul’s ability to build the impossible.”

Porsche delivered the 1999 Porsche 911 to Paul’s EP Industries facility in El Segundo, Calif. “The car was in perfect condition,” Paul said. “It had only 20,000 miles on it and not a scratch or a dent.”

That was before he and his crew went to work. “We cut the car in half,” he said of splitting the car across the crown of its roof just behind the front seats. “We zigzagged down to the floor, taking the path of least destruction.”

To maintain the proportions of the virtual Sally Carrera created by Pixar Animation Studios, Paul and his crew had to shorten the 911’s wheelbase by seven inches, raise its roof by 3 inches and give it a more upright windshield, and a windshield with eyes at that.

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