A few weeks ago we told you about Porsche joining forces with Lucasfilm to design a new starship for the Star Wars franchise. The 9th film of the Skywalker saga is upon us, and it’s about to come to an end in just a few days time. Today Porsche took the cover off of its sportiest spacecraft design, the Tri-Wing S-91x Pegasus Starfighter. It’s an interesting new design for the characters to zoom through space. Maybe this will do the Kessel Run in even fewer parsecs than Han could?
“The design of the spaceship is harmoniously integrated into the Star Wars film world while at the same time demonstrating clear analogies with the characteristic Porsche styling and proportions,” says Michael Mauer, Vice President Style Porsche at Porsche AG. “The basic shape of the cabin, which tapers towards the rear, and a highly distinctive topography from the cockpit flyline to the turbines establish visual parallels with the iconic design of the 911 and the Taycan. The very compact layout conveys dynamism and agility, lending emphasis to the Porsche design features mentioned.”
“This collaboration is an amazing opportunity to merge the design aesthetics of Porsche and Star Wars. I found it to be creatively challenging and extremely inspiring,” says Doug Chiang, Vice President and Executive Creative Director for Lucasfilm. “It is thrilling to infuse Star Wars with Porsche styling to create an iconic new spaceship that could exist both on Earth or in the cinematic universe.”
Porsche says that a number of this ship’s features are Porsche-inspired. I can’t see any of it, so I’ll just let their press release explain the connection to you.
The front is reminiscent of the so-called “air curtains” (air inlets) that go together with the headlights to create a single formal entity in the Taycan. In addition to the four-point daytime running light typical of Porsche, the so-called “blasters” – long gun barrels at the front – are located at the tip. The rear grid with the louvres and integrated third brake light was inspired by the current 911 generation, and the rear section of the starship bears the brand’s hallmark light bar. Porsche design criteria have been applied to the interior, too: the instruments in the cockpit are clearly aligned with the driver’s axis, while the low seating position is reminiscent of the sporty ergonomics in the Porsche 918 Spyder. All in all, the design follows a basic principle that is characteristic of the brand: all the elements on the exterior have a clear function, and purely visual features have largely been dispensed with.
The real question here isn’t Empire or Rebellion, but stick or PDK.