Porsche is working hard on the future and will launch its first electric car on the market this year. However, the Stuttgart do not want to lose sight of their history.
The Cayenne Porsche has just reissued, the Macan has been thoroughly revised, and Panamera and the 718er have not even many years under the hood. Add to this the all-new flagship, the 911er, which has been on the cusp only since the beginning of this year. In short, the Stuttgart have brought their existing portfolio up to date, and can now devote himself with all his might to the Taycan. That first all-electric Porsche, which is still at the start 2019 at the start and is enormously important to meet future emission limits. The fact that the car maker will also take this caesura with left, one may like to believe, after all, Porsche has already coped with completely different upheavals: water cooling, SUV, diesel, four-cylinder - the outcry of the traditionalists was always great, but the success even greater. Nevertheless, the Zuffenhausen do not want to rely solely on their good name, and announce in a time in which all talk of the electric future, a special model series that will refer to the glory days of past decades.
A foretaste of the history models developed by the Porsche Exclusive Manufactory was the 911 Speedster with Heritage Design package, which Porsche showed at the Auto Show in New York in spring and which was sold out in no time: the Speedster, itself an eye-catcher par excellence, the Heritage package pays homage to the early days of the car manufacturer. Not for nothing was the two-seater in GT Silver Metallic with the eye-catching Gumball graphics on the front and doors limited to 1.948 units - the year of birth of the 356ers. Cognac-colored leather, gold lettering and historic Porsche crests on the hood and hubs of the 20-inch central locking rims are quotes from the past.
With such quotations, the four now announced heritage design models are to work, each referring to a decade from the 50ern to the 80ern. Porsche does not want to reveal many details, but it is already certain that all special models will be produced on the basis of the new 911er. 2020 will be launched in the first half of the year - probably on the basis of the then-released 50 Targa. Between the individual models will always pass around one and a half to two years, so Porsche wants to take advantage of the entire construction period of the current series of 911. And of course, the special edition is limited, probably there will be little more than 911 units each. How expensive the Heritage-Elfer are is still open. However, the extra charge will not be enough for the roughly 1.000 Euro invoiced for the Speedster Heritage Design package.
Small consolation for those who are snatched away the limited copies in front of the nose: Porsche plans to offer, based on the so-called "lighthouse models", also equipment packages with individual design details, which should then be available for all 911er. What details the Heritage-Elfer should make exactly, does not tell Porsche yet. A first draft of the 50er model, for example, features cherry-red metallic paint, cream velvet seat covers, and a burgundy-beige leather interior. A small, fine tribute to the first Porsche models are the green digits in the rev counter and the stop-watch of the Sport Chrono package.
Although the designers for the Heritage models were digging deep in old cloth boxes, the Cord seat cover was also so similar in the 50ers. For the new special models, however, it was not easy to use the old material, which would certainly have found some more rolls in the warehouses. After all, today it has to fulfill completely new requirements, be it in terms of fire protection, light authenticity, weather resistance, but also with regard to the "acceleration of the body on the seat center panel in the event of an accident" - things that no one in the 50 years has thought about.
For this reason, the developers are already working on the Pepita fabrics for the 60er models, the seat cover with Pascha pattern from the 70ers and the tartan plaid fabric for the 80er edition. Even the golden lettering, which was used on the Speedster, and which we will also see in the Heritage models - but not in the individual design packages - has presented challenges for the engineers: Porsche simply did not have a licensed supplier in it anymore File that produces golden lettering.
Whether the heavily limited special models at the end flush money in the Porsche cash register, is questionable in view of the high cost. Of course, with the equipment packages offered as a spin-off, one or two euros can certainly be earned. And the matching merchandising items, such as the planned chronographs of the in-house Porsche design watch manufacturer, which can only buy, who owns one of the special models and who work with the same fabrics, leathers and colors, like the cars, will be for the Carmaker worthwhile. Above all, however, Porsche wants to emphasize its history with its heritage models and uphold the heritage that makes up the myth of Porsche. Even in times of electromobility.