CATEC Auto Tech Students Partner with Porsche Charlottesville to Provide Tangible Experience
CATEC Live Feed

April 18, 2024

Charlottesville-Albemarle Technical Education Center (CATEC) Auto Service Technology is partnering with Porsche Charlottesville to give students tangible exposure to the restoration of a classic Porsche.

In its fourth year, Porsche Cars North America invites authorized Porsche dealerships across the nation to compete in one of three categories within the Porsche Classic Restoration Challenge - Preservation, Restoration, or Individualization. Porsche Charlottesville has elected to compete in the Individualization category, based on the Porsche Sonderwunsch [special request] program. CATEC Auto Service Technology students were invited to shadow their Porsche Certified Technicians as they customize a privately owned 1996 Porsche 911 Carerra 4, giving the students an opportunity to learn first-hand from Porsche experts. As part of the collaboration, CATEC students will be interviewed and filmed throughout the spring and summer for the Porsche Charlottesville submission video.

Auto Service Technology student Samuel Shipley-Johnson says this opportunity with Porsche Charlottesville will “elevate my experience working on high-end cars.” He says his time in the CATEC shop has prepared him to learn from this project. The opportunity for Shipley-Johnson to work on a Porsche is important to him. His family owns Porsches and his post-graduate hope is to attend James Madison University to study in the Madison Automotive Apprenticeship Program (MAAP). Participating in the Porsche Charlottesville restoration project will bolster his experience when applying to the MAAP program, which was founded by a champion Porsche team owner. The program educates the students by creating and sharing the love of automobile restoration and preservation.

Porsche Charlottesville is located at 1300 Richmond Road in Charlottesville, VA. Their state-of-the-art facility represents the latest dealership concept from Porsche, with a keen eye on the future of automotive retail. Their dedicated team is committed to providing the highest level of customer service and automotive expertise to Charlottesville and the surrounding area. For more information, visit their website at https://www.porschecharlottesville.com/.