The dirty secret of most car design studios is that 90 per cent of what is created is rarely shown to the public. The well-established route of using concept cars to showcase ideas and new directions that eventual surface in production models conceals the huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes. From sketch models to rough clays, to design competitions, variations, study models, and any number of iterations in between, a typical studio is working flat out to explore every twist, turn and angle in their aesthetic arsenal.
Although digital modelling cuts down on the inevitable design dead ends, there are still many ideas that make it to a final 1:1 model (albeit usually constructed of modelling clay and foil, rather than a complete, working machine). And there they linger, their fate denied by a dip in the market, a change of management or a competitor’s stumble, or even the simple lack of resources required to turn this dream into reality. Nothing is wasted, however, for every design study has some kind of impact, perhaps many years down the line.
Porsche has laid bare its creative process in a new book, Porsche Unseen. Featuring cars created between 2005 and 2019, it covers a fertile period of Porsche design after Michael Mauer joined as head designer in 2004. Mauer arrived when the company’s fortunes were being revived by the Cayenne and new ventures into hypercars – such as the 2013 Porsche 918 Spyder – and electrification were raising its technological profile. There are plenty of what-ifs within its pages – we’ve picked seven of our favourites.
1. Porsche 917 Living Legend (2013)
This clay model, rendered in 70s-era racing colours is a direct homage to the company’s first Le Mans winner, the Porsche 917 KH in 1970.
2. Porsche 906 Living Legend (2015)
Another homage in 1:1 model form, the 906 Living Legend dipped into the company’s illustrious past, this time the 1966 Porsche 906, a road-legal racing car with a futuristic streamlined body. The 2015 concept mimics the original’s high wheelarches and low central cabin.
3. Porsche 919 Street (2017)
The hybrid Porsche 919 was hugely successful endurance racing car that competed from 2014 to 2017. The company toyed with creating a street legal version, and this 1:1 clay model showed how the racer could transformed into a contemporary hypercar.
4. Porsche Vision Renndienst (2018)
This dramatic MPV concept is perhaps the most unexpected offering, also pictured top alongside an original VW Transporter from Porsche’s collection. An electric six-seater, it was suggested as a trend-bucking alternative to the dominance of SUVs, but was presumably considered a step too far for the brand.
5. Porsche Vision Spyder (2019)
A stripped back driver’s car, the Spyder is an obvious nod to the earliest racing Porsches of the 50s. The ‘Little Rebel’ number plate is an unsubtle callback to James Dean’s fatal attraction to his 550 Spyder, a car he called the ‘Little Bastard’. The concept is spartan and simple.
6. Porsche Vision 918 RS (2019)
An even more hardcore version of the 918 Spyder production car, the Vision 918 RS was developed to explore the language of future Porsche hypercars.
7. Porsche Vision 920 (2019)
Designed for extreme performance, the Vision 920 synthesized the language of road cars and track machines, a vision of a hypercar for an era than may never arrive.
INFORMATION
Porsche Unseen, Jan Karl Baedeker, photographs by Stefan Bogner, published by Delius Klasing Verlag, €68.
-
Aesop’s Salone del Mobile 2024 installations in Milan are multisensory experiencesAesop has partnered with Salone del Mobile to launch a series of installations across Milan, tapping into sight, touch, taste, and scent
-
Dial into the Boring Phone and more smartphone alternativesFrom the deliberately dull new Boring Phone to Honor’s latest hook-up with Porsche, a host of new devices that do the phone thing slightly differently
-
Berlinde De Bruyckere’s angels without faces touch down in Venice churchBelgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere’s recent archangel sculptures occupy the 16th-century white marble Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore for the Venice Biennale 2024
-
Spectacular stations: a new book puts railway architecture back on the agenda‘Station’ takes us through the very best railway architecture of the past 120 years, a sound case for putting more effort into this most civilised forms of transport
-
Porsche transforms the Macan into its newest all-electric modelThe new Porsche Macan 4 and Macan Turbo are compact electric SUVs that mark a major step in the company’s transformation into a luxury EV maker
-
24 transportation design innovations for 2024From electric cars to new airports and sports boats, here’s a non-exhaustive list of 24 of the most interesting transportation design innovations to expect in the coming year
-
80 years of BMW design in a monumental new book‘BMW: Behind the Scenes’ is billed as the ultimate book on the Bavarian carmaker’s aesthetic history
-
Zoute Grand Prix is a car fest like no other at a pristine Belgian beachside townAmy Serafin takes to the well-heeled streets of Knokke-Heist to experience the Zoute Grand Prix, its annual cavalcade of classic car-related events, from a rally to an auction
-
Porsche and Frauscher take to the waves with all-electric 850 Fantom Air boatAn electric sports day cruiser, the Frauscher x Porsche 850 Fantom Air is a swift and luxurious floating showcase for the sport car maker’s advanced electric drive systems
-
New book ‘Artifacts’ charts the history of Porsche through its archivesUnwrap this beautifully designed book and dive into Porsche’s extensive historic archives, courtesy of Type 7 and ERG Media
-
Singer Vehicle Design unveils newly reimagined Porsche 911, the DLS TurboInspired by the full-blooded endurance racers of the 1970s, this bold Dynamics & Lightweighting Study is the ultimate in bespoke, retromodded supercars
