Subterranean Supercar Garage Staffed by Robots Promises to Keep Clients’ Cars ‘New’ Forever
This week in r/Cars, someone is asking if it’s possible to create a room that keeps cars new forever. The answer is complex, but perhaps the best response is, “We’re sure trying!” We’ve already covered how Mercedes once encased a vintage G Wagon in resin to completely preserve it. In my opinion, this was a waste of money and resources, not to mention the sealed demise of a pristine Gelandewagen. Today, let’s look down a path that’s keeping cars like new – and driveable.
A subterranean garage in Munich is three stories deep and keeps up to 142 cars in pristine shape
SSR Performance operates out of a fairly modest-looking building in central Munich. Geared toward sports car owners, the company protects client vehicles from age, theft, and fire. How? One word: Nitrogen.
Inside the underground storage zones, oxygen is replaced with nitrogen. This eliminates the risk of fire, which needs oxygen to ignite and feed it. What’s more, the lack of oxygen prevents dry rot and other oxidation-induced wear and tear on vehicle components. This way, belts, hoses, plastics, seals, seams, and tires stay in tip-top shape.
Within the nitrogen-filled zones, conditions are so harsh for humans that the actual work of installing, moving, and removing cars from the underground lair is done by robots. In fact, SSR Performance has some cars in storage that have never been exposed to daylight.
Timo Vogt, the head of engineering at SSR Performance, gave YouTuber James Walker a rare tour of the building. He explains that one client owns an Aston Martin brought straight from the factory to nitrogen storage. The car arrived in an enclosed container. When the car needs an oil change, the client has the Aston Martin team go to SSR. The robots remove the car from its parking spot and bring it to the service bay. There, the Aston Martin team completes the job. Then, robots return the car to its slot further underground.
The full tour is embedded below and is totally worth a watch.
SSR Performance does much more than store classic cars
The incredible facility also serves SSR Performance’s main gig, which is building and developing custom cars. The floor plan contains a workshop with 13 high-tech lifts in front of fully equipped work zones and a dedicated dyno room.
During the tour, James spots several Porsches, two 911 GTs, plus two additional CSs and a GT3. Vogt mentions an Audi R8 turbo upgrade in the works as well, which it will also offer to the Lamborghini Huracán.
Impressively, the building also includes a custom air chamber. This is a spotlessly empty room with vented walls. The room serves as an intake, bringing in large quantities of outside air. The setup includes two turbines that operate much like an airplane turbine to create perfect dyno test conditions.
Overall, SSR Performance offers bespoke custom upgrades and repairs plus storage.
So, is it possible to create a room that keeps cars new forever? SSR Performance is well on the way to doing just that – for exclusive clients paying up, no less.
