The Porsche Vision Turismo — A Super Sports Car With Four Seats
Porsche Unseen at #SXSW, Part II
For the first time, Porsche is taking part at the SXSW in Austin, Texas, which takes place from March 11th to 20th. The centerpiece of the Porsche premiere is an installation in downtown Austin where Porsche opens the secret sketchpad of its design department and shines a light on the “Porsche Unseen” studies.
In part two of our #SXSW-series we tell the story behind the Porsche Vision Turismo.
Not every successful series production model is developed in a linear design process. Sometimes there can be a series of coincidences and unexpected alignments of the stars that lead a designer, via a few detours, to the final destination.
The story of the Porsche Taycan — the brand’s first all-electric production sports car — also started with a misunderstanding. “When walking past, I saw a schematic representation of the Porsche 918 on a designer’s drawing board in our studio. A line had been redrawn with a felt-tip pen to clearly show the falling contour,” remembers Porsche Chief Designer Michael Mauer. “From the corner of my eye it looked like a rear door joint. I was astonished!”
Porsche is showcasing visions at SXSW that go beyond sketches
This year, Porsche is taking part in SXSW in Austin, Texas, for the first time. South by Southwest is best known for its conference and festivals that celebrate the convergence of tech, film, music, education, and culture. The centerpiece of the Porsche premiere is an installation in downtown Austin that provides a glimpse into the design process behind the legendary sports cars. Under the motto “A Creator’s Mind”, Porsche opens the secret sketchpad of its design department and shines a light on the “Porsche Unseen” studies. This curated portfolio includes design sketches and completed studies, and will be presented in a custom-built Porsche space close to the SXSW conference center.
There, you not only see visions on paper, but also as 1:1 hard models. Such as the Porsche Vision Turismo from 2016. It is an idea of a super sports car with four seats that was born in the exact moment Michael Mauers eye caught the redrawn line on the drawing board. The next question was that of the appropriate drive system to allow realisation of the especially sporty proportions: could this exciting athlete of a car be powered by a mid-mounted engine? Or should it receive a rear engine in the tradition of the brand — as the first full four-seater Porsche 911? “In view of the question of the proportions and the emergence of the topic of electric mobility, we discovered that the idea could be realised even better with a purely electric powertrain,” remembers Michael Mauer. The first evolutionary stage of the Porsche Taycan was therefore developed from a four-seater super sports car.
A vision that set a trend and can now be found on almost all Porsche models
The Porsche Vision Turismo also set new trends in terms of style: the continuous light bar with the Porsche logo at the rear was adopted as a fixed element in the brand identity and it can now be found on almost all models. The new design identity of the electric vehicles has also been further developed and defined on the basis of the front lights.
In order to break free from specifications and explore the creative space of the fantasy world, Michael Mauer also values the exchange of insights with creative sectors away from the automotive industry — that is why Porsche and the SXSW festival are such a great match. See you in Austin, Texas!
We have summarized all information on Porsche’s program at #SXSW in the Porsche Newsroom. Further information will follow in the Porsche Newsroom.
About this publication: Where innovation meets tradition. There’s more to Porsche than sports cars — we are developing new digital products and services — always with our customers in focus. On our Medium blog, we tell these stories. It’s about our #nextvisions, emerging technologies, and the people that drive our digital journey. If you want to know more, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
