YOU DON?T need to know the difference between ?abs? and ?ABS? to be in awe of the sight of the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen in southern Germany. Certainly, it?s enough to shake you off your jet lag even on a lazy, rainy day, and to fumble for that darn digicam.

If only your hands had the speed and horsepower of that 356 Boxster!

Designed by the Viennese architects Delugan Meissl, the gleaming glass-and-steel structure seems to have descended from outer space, as if still suspended midair, and onto the heart of Porscheplatz, where the sports carmaker moved its offices in 1938. All Porsche cars since 1950 bearing its now famous logo were built in this town.

The museum is said to have been built in answer to the equally futuristic-looking Mercedes-Benz Museum, also found in Stuttgart.

Opened to the public only last January, the Porsche Museum houses 80 of the carmaker?s iconic automobiles and 200 other small exhibitions, including trophies Porsche had won in races, replacing a much smaller museum that it closed last year.

The venue for Nokia?s Calling All Innovators Awards ceremony on September 2, journalists from the world over were allowed a quick tour of its impressive interiors, the 5,600-square-meter multilevel gallery of speed machines you imagine autophiles would kill to be in the midst of.

Built at 100 million euros, its display archive includes the legendary wheel hub motor of Lohner-Porsche, the first hybrid car built in 1900, and the new generation of Porsche 911s. The exhibit is divided into two periods, before and after 1948, detailing the brand?s history.

The famous VW Beetle also has a special place in the museum. As car-lovers probably know, the Volkswagen (?people?s car?) was first developed under Ferdinand Porsche, the Porsche patriarch and founder, in 1931, the first prototype of which was called the Porsche Type 12. The predecessors of the Beetle were all built in Porscheplatz, putting it in a significant place in German automaking history.

Expected to receive 200,000 visitors each year, entrance fee for adults is 8 euros and 4 euros for children (for info, e-mail info.museum@porsche.de). A plus post-visit are the two huge Porsche display rooms of late models right across the museum.