Secret Porsche design concepts uncovered

Porsche has made the unprecedented move to reveal 15 concept cars that never made it to production, including a 911 Safari rally racer, a born-again Kombi, a three-door Macan and a road-legal version of its Le Mans-winning 919 Hybrid racer.

Presented in a new 328-page book titled ‘Porsche Unseen’, which was also published this week, Porsche says the design studies produced between 2005 and 2019 “have until now been kept under lock and key”.

Some of them will be displayed for the first time at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart from 2021, but for now they’re being presented online and in the book, along with insights into the design process from the first sketch to the production-ready model.

“People all over the world love the timeless and innovative design of our sports cars,” said Porsche chairman Oliver Blume.

“Visionary concept studies are the foundation of this success. They provide the pool of ideas for the Porsche design of tomorrow, and combine our strong tradition with trailblazing future technologies.”

Porsche chief designer Michael Mauer says the design of any vehicle starts with a drawing, from which a 3D model is created. If further development is approved, the next step is a 1:3 scale model, followed by full-size 1:1 models.

“The virtual world is the first step, but you especially have to experience the unusual models in reality in order to understand whether a car has small, large or surprising proportions,” he said.

“Porsche intentionally has just a single design studio – located in the direct proximity of development.

“Weissach is our epicentre. Instead of opening advanced design studios in the distant metropolises of North America and Asia, our designers come from all over the world to Porsche in Weissach in order to create the latest production sports cars and automotive visions at the heart of the brand.

“More than 120 designers, experts for interior, exterior, colours and materials, model builders, modellers and study engineers work in the Porsche Design Studio.

“When it comes to the visions we develop, it is not about bringing every car onto the road. Instead, it is more a question of establishing creative space and a relationship with the future.

“There are two possibilities for continuing to develop as a brand. Either you improve your products from the present, that is to say step-by-step. However, it is difficult to be really innovative in this process.

“Or you give free rein to your creativity. The idea is to let your thoughts jump to the day after tomorrow, and to then move back from there to tomorrow.”

We’ve listed three of the most noteworthy concepts below, but other interesting design studies include two ‘Safari’ cars – a three-door Macan Safari off-roader that we understand was intended to preview a Macan ‘Coupe’, and the 911 Vision Safari (above) that paid tribute to the 1978 911 SC Safari off-road racer in 2012.

Meantime, the rakish Vision Turismo sedan was a clear precursor to the Mission E concept that previewed the Taycan EV, and the 904 Living Legend was a lightweight, mid-engined sports car based around the Volkswagen XL1 platform.

The Porsche 919 Street was effectively a road-going, street-legal version of the Le Mans-winning Porsche 919 Hybrid that promised “to make the exhilarating driving experience of the LMP1 race car available to amateur drivers”.

With an identical wheelbase and the same dimensions as the race car, it would’ve been based around a carbon monocoque and powered by a 670kW hybrid racing drivetrain, but never made it beyond clay stage.

Perhaps a preview of Porsche’s eventual 918 Spyder replacement, last year’s Vision Spyder draws heavily from the 550-1500 RS Spyder from 1954.

The compact mid-engined roadster features a stripped-out interior, but Porsche says it “was intended to further develop the design identity of Porsche and provide a pool of ideas for future details – for example, the ultra-modern roll bar”.

Billed as “the free interpretation of a family-friendly space concept for up to six persons” and a futuristic space shuttle, the 2018 Porsche Vision Renndienst (German for ‘racing service’) was also developed as far as a full-size hard model.

Intended to be powered by a pure-electric drivetrain, it looks like a 22nd century Kombi with a central driving position and seating for six, but actually recalls the red Volkswagen Type 2 van used as a support vehicle for Porsche race teams in the 1960s.