Revealed: the secret Porsche concept cars never seen before

Unknown to others, Porsche has for 15 years been hoarding a collection of intriguing concepts that it never showed – until now…

Autocar

13 November 2020

Follow @@autocar

Slide of

Porsche fans might need to sit down.

Porsche has just released a group of concept cars produced since 2005 for the first time. All are intriguing design studies, some of which informed production cars. They’re being released now for their inclusion in a new book about Porsche design called Porsche Unseen.

“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.”

Let’s take a closer look at the first three cars to be unveiled:

Slideshow story – please click the right-hand arrow above to continue
Slide of

Porsche 919 Street (2017)

This clay model was conceived as an idea to make the Porsche 919 Hybrid race car a production road-going model, following in a line of such Straßenversion conversions as the epic 911 GT1 of 1996/1997, of which just 25 were produced for homologation purposes.
Slide of

Porsche 919 Street (2017)

Under the outer shell is a carbon monocoque and an 888bhp hybrid powertrain that took Porsche to numerous Le Mans 24 Hours wins.
Slide of

Porsche 919 Street (2017)

Sadly, it doesn’t seem like we’re going to get to buy one of these or drive it on the road any time soon.
Slide of

Porsche 919 Street (2017)

The 911 GT1 was a truly amazing machine, so it’s a shame that it won’t get a reprise with a production 919 Street.
Slide of

Porsche Vision Spyder (2019)

Joining the 919 Street is this design study of a purist roadster.
Slide of

Porsche Vision Spyder (2019)

Porsche says its inspiration was the super-lightweight Porsche 550-1500 RS Spyder from 1954.
Slide of

Porsche Vision Spyder (2019)

One of the aims of this concept was to explore ideas that could make production, such as the sophisticated rollover bar.
Slide of

Porsche Vision Spyder (2019)

Mid-engined, this is one roadster that we would certainly like to have a drive in.
Slide of

Porsche Vision ‘Renndienst’ (2018)

Porsche was a huge user of the original T1 bus produced by cousin company Volkswagen in its factories. But this homage to it is a very different animal, despite the T1 being the inspiration.
Slide of

Porsche Vision ‘Renndienst’ (2018)

This van (or MPV?) is electric and apparently was seriously considered for production. That would have been decidedly off-brand and off-beat, which is presumably why it didn’t happen.
Slide of

Porsche Vision ‘Renndienst’ (2018)

It also features a central driving position, like the McLaren F1 and McLaren Speedtail.
Slide of

Porsche Vision ‘Renndienst’ (2018)

Despite that, it’s a six-seater. It has a ‘skateboard’ electric powertrain slung along the length of its underbody. It's something of a Porsche Avantime for the 2020s and we don’t expect to road test it in the foreseeable future.
Slide of

Porsche Vision 920 (2019)

A race car for the road may be something of a cliché, but Porsche has spent decades working on the theme, as with this concept.
Slide of

Porsche Vision 920 (2019)

In appearance and concept, it reminds us somewhat of the Mercedes-AMG One hypercar.
Slide of

Porsche Vision 920 (2019)

Built at 1:1 scale, the design emphasises aerodynamics.
Slide of

Porsche Vision 920 (2019)

Like many of the best road-going racers, this concept car features a centralised driving position.
Slide of

Porsche 917 Living Legend (2019)

The Porsche 917 is a legend in motorsport. In a project led by a young Ferdinand Piëch, the car took Porsche to its first overall win at Le Mans in 1970, driven by Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood.
Slide of

Porsche 917 Living Legend (2013)

In 2013, the company returned to LMP1 endurance racing and produced this thrilling modern take on the original.
Slide of

Porsche 917 Living Legend (2013)

"In the super-sports cars from Porsche, you always have the feeling of practically sitting on the road between the high wheel arches," says Porsche’s Michael Mauer.
Slide of

Porsche 917 Living Legend (2013)

"We wanted to emphasise this even further."
Slide of

Porsche Vision E (2019)

Like all the other major players, Porsche can’t ignore electrification.
Slide of

Porsche Vision E (2019)

Formula E may not have fully captured the public’s imagination like Formula 1, but with this concept, Porsche is looking at what’s possible in the world of electrified racing.
Slide of

Porsche Vision E (2019)

The car aims to be a super-light race car that can be owned by private racers.
Slide of

Porsche Vision E (2019)

Whether or not lightness can really be combined with a presumably heavy battery pack, we certainly admire the ambition.
Slide of

Porsche Vision 918 RS (2019)

The Porsche 918 Spyder of 2013 remains one of our favourite sports cars, and some of our writers rate it higher than its Ferrari and McLaren rivals also launched the same year.
Slide of

Porsche Vision 918 RS (2019)

Porsche not resting on its laurels, this concept car seeks to be an evolution.
Slide of

Porsche Vision 918 RS (2019)

Built at 1:1 scale, the car putatively features an extended version of the original car’s hybrid powertrain.
Slide of

Porsche Vision 918 RS (2019)

We reckon it looks sensational.
Slide of

Porsche 906 Living Legend (2015)

This 906 concept is Porsche’s vision of an impossibly low-slung super-sports car concept.
Slide of

Porsche 906 Living Legend (2015)

One of the aims, according to Porsche, is to create an image of two car bodies in one.
Slide of

Porsche 906 Living Legend (2015)

We don’t quite see it, but we can’t help admiring this design.
Slide of

Porsche 906 Living Legend (2015)

And the air ducts reassure us that this car would feature an old-school, mid-located petrol engine.

Close

Read time: 0 mins

Advertisement