Porsche Shows Off Unseen Concept Cars, From 919 Street to the Coolest Race Van
Few manufacturers have a visual identity as defined as the one at Porsche. With the iconic 911 acting as the leader, the brand has spent this century diversifying, while maintaining a consistent style. How does chief designer Michael Mauer and the team pull it off? By constantly pushing themselves in new directions with design studies that often never see the light of day. That’s changing this week however, as Porsche has cracked open the vault, sharing a smattering of these secret concepts for the first time.
Mauer, who joined Porsche in 2004, talked to a group of journalists ahead of the unveiling, including AutoGuide. Here he explained the long lead times associated with car design. For his team, by the time a production car debuts, it’s already old news, as they’ve begun putting pen to paper for the next one. The team also regularly takes on more hypothetical design briefs, like what a Porsche van could look like. The design studies shown here aren’t distractions: on the contrary, they can and do inform the designers’ work on eventual production models.
SEE ALSO: Why the Taycan is the Best Porsche to Drive From Toronto to Ottawa and Back“We have in the design department a very, let’s say, intensive discussion,” explains Mauer, “and I strongly believe this keeps our design language extremely fresh, and come always up with new elements.”
You can check out our favorites of the bunch below, some of which even made it to full drivable prototype form. All of the concepts are also available in the mega gallery up top.
Porsche Vision Turismo
Porsche Vision Renndienst
Porsche Boxster Bergspyder
We already love the current 718 Spyder, but something this dramatic would be even tastier. So long as it doesn’t rain.
Porsche Vision Spyder
Porsche 911 Vision Safari
Porsche 919 Street
Porsche 904 Living Legend
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Kyle began his automotive obsession before he even started school, courtesy of a remote control Porsche and various LEGO sets. He later studied advertising and graphic design at Humber College, which led him to writing about cars (both real and digital). He is now a proud member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), where he was the Journalist of the Year runner-up for 2021.
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