It’s a striking, if slightly odd way to celebrate 75 years since the 356 Roadster debuted as the first Porsche.
(Bloomberg) — Porsche has released a concept car to celebrate 75 years since the name Porsche first appeared on a vehicle. Ferry Porsche, son of the company’s founder, affixed the surname to a tiny, hand-built aluminum prototype called the 356 Roadster on June 8, 1948.
The Porsche Vision 357 takes its name as a successor to those 356 models that won Porsche notoriety. But it’s neither based on that open-top roadster nor, as you might otherwise expect, on the quintessential Porsche 911. Instead, it comes with a coupe body that looks part Panamera, part Nissan 350Z, and is built on a 718 Cayman GT4 RS platform.
Its designers seem unbothered by the gap between inspiration and end result. Porsche’s design department has been perceived as “just repeating itself with the 911,” Michael Mauer, the chief designer at Porsche, told reporters via a video call on Jan. 16. Mauer didn’t want to do that. “It was not really a long, philosophical, strategic discussion. The 356 was the starting point for the sports car brand of Porsche. We wanted something connected to the future.”
The debut follows another year of record-breaking results at the Stuttgart, Germany-based company. In the first three quarters of 2022, Porsche reported a 40.6% leap in operating profit, to more than €5 billion ($5.5 billion). The company predicted a strong 2023, final results for which are forthcoming. It delivered 70,065 vehicles in North America in 2022, its best year ever.
Design exercises such as the Vision 357 make great marketing tools to help bolster that momentum, though it will never see production. (A failed NFT launch served as an example of how not to bolster support. On Jan. 24, Porsche abruptly announced it would halt the mint of its first non-fungible token collection after the effort drew much derision online.) It was unclear whether the vehicle shown will drive under its own power; most concepts do not. A spokesperson declined to comment on how much money the Vision 357 cost to develop.
The Vision 357 does contain a few details that could be construed as coming from the 356: round headlights and a rear that includes a third brake light. Like its ancestor, whose builders had to employ great craft to bend the metal for the roofline, the 357 has a low, extremely curved back.
Racing fans will note that it comes in a gray, two-tone paint style with the number “75” painted in red across the side in a look that evokes Porsche track history. They may also appreciate that the natural fiber-reinforced plastic along the side sills of the door is the same as that used in the 2021 Porsche Mission R, a concept study for an all-electric race car. That’s an elite level of obscure trivia that Porsche knows die-hard fans will adoringly reference.
Its windshield wraps around the front pillars, and door openers are concealed beneath side windows. Instead of traditional exterior mirrors, it has cameras on the edge of the roof. The tailpipe trim in the rear is made of titanium and ceramic. An “eFuel” logo on the tank cap on the right wing suggests it would run on the synthetic fuels Porsche has developed as an alternative to electric technology.
In a rare concession from the famously exacting brand, Mauer described the car’s 20-inch magnesium wheels as “a compromise” between the most energy-efficient design, which is a full disc, and the exposed type of wheel that looks immeasurably better.
“To cover it completely, for us, is a challenge because we would like to see the structure of the wheel,” he said. “We believe that is more sporty.”
The Vision 357 will highlight the 75 years of Porsche “Driven by Dreams” exhibit opening on Jan. 27 at the Volkswagen Group Forum in Berlin. After spending a few weeks there, it will tour global car events, including SXSW in March in Austin.
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