2016 Porsche Vision 916 Concept

The design process: from the first drawing to the drivable prototype

The design process starts with a sketch. This is visualised in the next step as a 3D model. As soon as an idea is to be developed further, small models are produced in a scale of 1:3, then followed by hard models in the scale 1:1. “The virtual world is the first step, but you especially have to experience the unusual models in reality in order to understand whether a car has small, large or surprising proportions,” says Michael Mauer, Vice President Style Porsche. In contrast to the development of a production model where several models are always developed with different styling formats, the vision projects, on the other hand, concentrate on a single vision model which serves as a protagonist for the central idea.

How minimalist can a Porsche be in current times? An intern from the design team answered the question with this really rather appealing little vehicle concept. The stylistic inspiration for the pigeon-blue study was the compact Porsche 916, which was developed as a prototype at the beginning of the 1970s but never went into series production. The Porsche Vision 916 is powered all-electrically by four wheel-hub motors – a tribute to the first all-wheel drive Lohner-Porsche race car, which automobile designer Ferdinand Porsche developed all the way back in 1900. In combination with its low weight, the technology of this minimalist sports car promised plenty of driving pleasure and just cried out to be tested on the Grossglockner or the Stelvio Pass – just like the first prototypes of the Porsche 356 and 911.

A study by one of Porsche’s design interns, the Porsche Vision 916 has compact dimensions similar to the Porsche 916, which was developed as a prototype in the early 1970s. However, this Little Rebel is driven purely electrically by four wheel hub motors. It pays homage to the car designer Ferdinand Porsche and his first Lohner-Porsche racing car with four-wheel drive from 1900.

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