Autoworld’s brilliant exhibition closed today, so we took stock of our favourites from the show. From milestones through unique concepts to legendary race cars, we tried to bring you a balanced selection. At this occasion, we also updated our galleries for the intro article.
Autoworld rolled in 60 Porsche specimens to celebrate the brand’s 75th anniversary
1972 Porsche Outlaw
This is a custom design by Magnus Walker, a well-known Porsche tuner. We are no fans of tuning, but we have to bow for the elegant styling of the car that evokes the stylish seventies better than the original cars of the era.
1989 Porsche 928 S4 Cabriolet Study
Porsche commissioned a study for a 928 cabriolet to the US-based American Sunroof Company. The concept was based on a series production model from 1987, but the project never reached series production. Originally. The Cabriolet was built with two different rear wing designs. These rear-end differences were later ironed out, resulting in a uniform end for the road-going concept car.
1981 Porsche 924 DP Cargo shooting brake
In the late ’80s and early ’90s, DP Motorsport built about 10 of these Porsche 924 and 944-based DP Cargo conversions. With their two-door-layout, they are classic shooting brake versions of the 924/944 series production models.
2003 Porsche Cayenne Cabriolet Concept
The Cayenne was actually the model that saved Porsche, securing a viable future. On the technical platform of the Cayenne, Porsche was considering further versions, including a partial cabriolet with a high C-pillar. The developers created a package function model (PFM) on a 1:1 scale. The model was intended to provide a way of evaluating the car’s overall appearance along with its proportions, the impression of openness, the design of the rear passenger compartment and the shape of the luggage compartment. The project was eventually abandoned. However, the two-piece roof concept was adopted for the 991 generation of the 911 Targa.
Porsche 984 Prototype – precursor to the Boxter
Porsche developed a roadster based on the 914 as a compact, lightweight and aerodynamic model. Various body variants and roof concepts were tested, and finally, a folding roof was favoured. The prototype was powered by a modified VW boxer engine and could expand the model range and sales. Nevertheless, with the drop of the US dollar In 1987 and the subsequent falling sales, Porsche stopped the 984 project. Nonetheless, we actually recognised some genes that were distilled to the Boxter a few decades later.
2018 Porsche 911 RSR with the Pink pig livery
This car is a nod to the iconic Pink Pig 956, a car so ugly that it was deprived of the Martini livery but became a motorsport icon.
For the 2017 season, Porsche resurrected the livery for its upcoming endurance season. The engineers also relocated the RSR engine ahead of the rear axle, improving weight distribution and giving it more flexibility for aerodynamics. In 2018, Porsche fielded two special RSRs at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on the occasion of its anniversary year dedicated to the 70 Years Porsche Sports Cars. The pink 911 won the GTE-Pro class, followed by its sister car bearing the Rothmans livery. We also loved the little gag in German about the atmospheric engine…
1983 Porsche 959 Paris Dakar
To put the technology demonstrator 959 (you will meet that soon…) to the test, the car was tailored for and entered the world’s toughest rally.
The Paris-Dakar crosses Africa’s deserts and savannahs for 13,800 kilometres. The venture ended with a one-two victory for René Metge/Dominique Lemoyne and Jacky Ickx/Claude Brasseur. In fact, a third 959, only really intended as a support vehicle, finished the race in sixth place.
2021 Vision GT Art Car by Vexx
For quite some time, Playstation’s flagship simulator, Gran Turismo, offered manufacturers and racecar designers the chance to develop their signature race car for the game. Some of these cars became cultural icons, and a few of them even manifested physically, albeit in maquettes. In 2021, Porsche developed a vehicle for Gran Turismo that was intended purely for the virtual world.
The Gran Turismo game series has featured Porsche sports cars since 2017, but this was the first car dedicated exclusively for the game. Similarly to other GT Vision cars, there are physical manifestations in the form of maquettes. In his signature style, Belgian artist Vexx hand-painted one of these Porsche Vision GTs live at the Gamescom gaming convention. Since then, this art car livery has been digitally available to race in Gran Turismo 7.
2016 Porsche 919 Hybrid – an endurance champion unchained
The Porsche 919 Hybrid is a Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) hybrid racing car entered by the Porsche factory team between 2014 and 2017 and took both constructor and driver championship titles in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Retiring usually brings a period of calm reflection, but after retiring from WEC, Porsche developed an insane evolution of the 919 Hybrid. The car was not intended for competition and thus was not limited by rules and reliability for endurance racing. Fuel flow restrictions were removed from the engine, allowing it to produce 720 PS (530 kW; 710 hp), and every component that did not serve the need for speed, like headlights, was removed.
The result was an unhinged beast that broke several track records, trolling Toyota for a long time, while the Japanese have been racing alone as factory entrants since 2018.
1970 Porsche 917-020
Many collectors still consider the Porsche 917 one of the most desirable race cars ever, and successful auctions confirm that with sales prices north of 14 million euros. In 1970 and 1971, these cars won 15 of the 24 races for the World Championship, including the Le Mans 24 hours, the Daytona 24 hours, 1000 kilometres of Monza, Spa-Francorchamps and the NĂĽrburgring. This factory team car won at the 12 hours of Sebring in 1971 with Larousse/Elford.
And let’s not forget this car has the coolest livery. Martini stripes look great on any vehicle, but in this case, the pairing is perfect.
1983 Porsche Studie Gruppe B
At the 1983 Frankfurt IAA, Porsche presented a high-performance concept car, demonstrating the brand’s commitment to enter the infamous Group B rally category.
The concept was designed as a homologation model for the racing regulations with feasible technical solutions for production.
The chassis achieved a low drag coefficient of just 0.32, and Porsche announced the car as a racing and rally version, as well as a corresponding homologation version. In the end, the series-production model was introduced as the Porsche 959 in 1985 (showcased opposite the concept).
1990 Porsche 962 CK 6/1 Kremer
The success of the 962 is probably unrivalled in the history of postwar sports car racing. Between 1982 and 1987, the 956 won Le Mans six times, finishing 1 -2-3 every year except 1987, when they finished 1-2. In North America, the 962 won 48 of 68 IMSA GTP races between 1984 and 1987, including 1-2-3 finishes at Daytona and Sebring for three consecutive years.
In total, Porsche produced 91 962s between 1984 and 1991, of which 75 were sold to customers. This car is one of the 11 chassis by Kremer with a carbon fibre tub instead of the original aluminium sheet tub.
