Porsche 921 Vision is a Design Concept for a Modern 928 GT Coupe

Since we were on the topic of French industrial designer Anthony Colard this week (he's the talented guy who penned the AC 5-28 Mont Ventoux, aka the misreported "Dubai Roadster"), we thought we'd share another one of his projects, the Porsche 921 Vision made as a modern interpretation of the classic 928 built from 1977 to 1995.

Colard says he created the 921 Vision concept following a preliminary job interview at Porsche, where the Germans told him that his portfolio was "lacking of clean and simple designs".

"Designed as a job application for Porsche, this was a very quick project (2 weeks)," explains Colard . "Simple but efficient, the idea is to bring back the 928 model to the current line-up at Porsche. Keeping true to the original four-seater aluminium body design, the car has a slick and simple bodywork without any fancy speed activated wing or things like that. It stays clean and true to its origins."

The French designer further elaborates:

"The front end is very tidy and designed with very few lines, the volumes yet express strength and refinement with precise detailing in the lamps to show the technological quality of the car," says Colard.

"The rear echoes back to the original 928 design with its very specific glasshouse, here now with a floating A-pillar to emphasize the curvature and continuity between windshield and side windows. The tail shows its Porsche DNA by mixing the original 928 recessed lamp design with the new Porsche 991 lamps. The lower valance stays simple, integrating in orderly fashion the number plate and reflectors above a double exhaust diffuser," he added.

According to Colard, the 921 was made to be fitted with a front-mounted V8 engine.

Future Cars: Crystal Ball-Gazing Porsche’s Next 928

 

When you think of Porsche, images of its racing heritage, the Carrera GT and the iconic 911 usually come to mind - and of course some will think ‘glorified beetle’ as well. One of the German manufacturer’s more forgotten models is the Porsche 928 - a response to dwindling 911 sales back in the late 1970’s. It was a car that never quite emerged out of the 911’s shadow, even though it did survive an eighteen-year production cycle.

Today, the marque’s range is swelling with SUV’s to hybrid supercars - plus the legendary 911 and Boxster offerings. Yet one could argue that there’s still room for a two-door “grand-tourer”. So, what if the 928 made a return and what could it look like? First of all, lets go back to when Porsche launched its first SUV - the Cayenne. From a design standpoint, it was a good example of how to ruin a brand’s design DNA. Sure, it had 911-like headlights and grille, but the way these elements were translated into an SUV body made it look like a complete Monkfish.

Fortunately, Porsche has put a bit more effort into its new models of late, so a revival of the 928 shouldn’t resemble any ocean-dwelling creature. Building on this progress, my illustrated example below uses the best bits from the 918 Spyder and massages them into a package in-keeping with the 928’s heritage and the brand’s current design language.

The face is an evolution of 911 and 918; incorporating side intakes that flick up into the headlights, with functional lower cut-outs for cold-air induction. Viewing the long, sweeping hood emphasis the car’s sporting pretences - heck you could even say there’s an hint of ‘C6 Corvette’ in there too. Glancing your eye over the side bodywork will yield two distinct features; first are the lower door scallops that incorporate deep horizontal channels. Second is the daylight opening area that pays homage to the first 928.

You could say the cabin is a mixture of old and new; especially the roofline appearing semi-floating in nature. This is due to the B-pillar being separated on top by a sweeping pane of side-quarter glass, whilst retaining its original forward-leaning position. Under all this polished sheet metal (or aluminium and other exotic materials) will most likely lay a shortened platform that underpins the Panamera. Utilizing this will enable a front-engined layout and cost savings through shared suspension and drivetrain components. Speaking of the latter; propulsion would most likely come from the Panamera’s V8 engines as opposed to the flat sixes found in other models.

If this model were to get the green-light, it would face competition from Ferrari’s California, Aston Martin DB9 and Jaguar XKR-S, amongst others. There have been plenty of rumors and talk about a modern GT model by Porsche, but nothing solid yet.

For now and until Porsche makes up its mind, what do you think of this design study; Is it good, or should it be chucked back in the ocean? Let us hear your feedback in the discussion area below.