The look and feel of iconic eras: Porsche will be offering customers a chance to buy new cars designed to recall long-ago models, with recaptured details in fabrics, old insignia and cockpit stylings once relegated to the collector market.
WEISSACH, Germany — After 70 years as a manufacturer of exclusive sports cars such as the famed 911 Carrera RS 2.7, Porsche now wants to be loved for more than just lap times.
Not satisfied with competing for records on the Nürburgring Nordschleife or holding the most overall victories at Le Mans, CEO Oliver Blume wants to expand the brand's appeal beyond the racetrack.
To complement his line of GT and Cup cars such as the new 718 Spyder, the Porsche boss gave his designers carte blanche to create a range of heritage design models starting with a quartet aimed specifically at rare-car enthusiasts.
"Many of our customers are collectors and connoisseurs that go to the absolute extremes to customize even the tiniest details of their Porsche," said Boris Apenbrink, director of special vehicles, during a rare briefing at the carmaker's heavily restricted Weissach development center.
"This is the first time that we want to build out our limited series as a collection, where if we do our job right, a customer will ideally want to have all four in their garage, one next to the other."
Instead of impressing with lateral acceleration rates, the new models aim to re-create the feeling of driving a Porsche 911 in decades past by playing with exclusive color schemes, patterns, materials and sundry other subtle detail work an owner may not discover until months later. Even the logos will be historically accurate.
It sounds straightforward, but Apenbrink says each new material or paint has to undergo a rigorous development period for durability.
"All new materials have to be tested for flammability, for example. Colors are exposed to specific light conditions to see how long they retain their luster, and there is safety-relevant aspects," he said. "A body can slide under the safety belt in the event of a crash, a term known as submarining, and that movement can be different depending on whether there is fabric or leather on the seat."
The idea is a culmination of 10 years of work, gradually introducing limited-series cars built by Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, Apenbrink's in-house cottage shop for car customization.
With chief interior designer Ivo van Hulten, Apenbrink revealed plans for a line of four 911s, each espousing a flair for a certain decade all the way up to the 1980s and limited to roughly 1,000 units.
The first, a car representing the 1950s, with an exclusive Cherry Metallic color and beige interior, is due sometime next year.
"We asked ourselves which generations had common memories like watching the moon landing. What kind of music did they listen to in the car the first time they got their driver's license?" said van Hulten.
The heritage 911s would be series production vehicles finished by hand at Apenbrink's Rösslebau workshop. About 40 percent of all 911s end up here at the home of Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur at some point for decals, racing stripes or other craftsmanship jobs. But instead of the average two hours for a standard customization job, the quartet of new models could involve four or five times as much work, applying finishing touches and other unique detailing work.
To further heighten the appeal for collectors, Apenbrink plans to offer a matching numbered timepiece from the company's Porsche Design studio, a fully owned subsidiary since last year.
"Wristwatches are one of the most emotional things a man wears the entire day since we don't really own jewelry," he said. "And when you have one that perfectly matches the design elements of the car, you create a special connection to it."
Porsche expects a large number of the vehicles to go to U.S. enthusiasts. Porsche executives say American drivers in particular have a "love affair" with the 911. Every third model built in Stuttgart is destined for the United States, making it the single largest market for the luxury coupe.
But the company also could boost sales of the 911 in China, where the car has struggled heavily. That potential growth market, characterized as it is by traffic congestion, tends to value design, refined materials and interior craftsmanship over torque and horsepower.
Ultimately, the new models will give birth to a wider Heritage Design Package trim line that will be rolled out to the series production models with the aim of enriching the brand beyond performance benchmarks.
"A customer can choose GTS in the configurator when they want high performance," van Hulten said. "But when it comes to lifestyle, we don't really have a permanent product offering."
As the carmaker shifts increasingly to electric drivetrains over the coming decade, executives recognize the need to broaden the appeal of Porsche. That's because the longer-term future of the 911 is in doubt, with Blume saying only that Porsche will continue to build its big-revving sports car as long as it is allowed.
Simply replacing the powertrain with an electric battery to meet market emission requirements isn't really a credible option. Since its creation, the 911 was built around its rear-mounted, six-cylinder boxer engine, which enthusiasts say gives it a unique and unmistakable feeling on the road.
Emphasizing its historic roots gives Porsche a unique edge over newcomers such as Tesla in the U.S. or Nio in China.
Thanks to a thriving fan community, the company believes that re-creating elements of its storied past can be successful. As an example, Apenbrink points to paint color.
He said that customer demand for green hues had gone out of style until his team at Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur built the 1 millionth 911 in the original Irish green of the first one ever made.
Events such as Rare Shades in the U.S., where Porsche fans meet to show off shrill paint jobs, prove designers can experiment freely. Van Hulten is promising extreme colors for the 1970s heritage model that will completely polarize opinions.
"It's better for us when someone stops in front of the car, because they either don't like it or they can't understand it the first time around," Apenbrink explained. "They remember it better that way; maybe they come to appreciate it later. And if not, they always have the option for another color."
In creating the 997 Sport Classic, which is not sold in the U.S., Porsche harked back to one of the most sought brand classics around, the 911 Carrera RS 2.7. That classic offering, with design trim of decades past, quickly sold out.
"No one has spoken of Fuchs wheels and ducktail spoilers for ages, but everyone still had it in the back of their minds," Apenbrink said. "As soon as it was offered, everyone told us they had been waiting for such a car for years, asking us where it had been all this time."
But Apenbrink has one small request when it comes to the new heritage models, given the attention to detail and effort his team is making to ensure elements are as historically accurate as possible: "Just don't call them retro," he said.
