Today Porsche unveiled a trio of concept cars that the design department had built, but never saw the light of day. This one, the Porsche Vision Spyder, was assembled in 2019 with an eye toward the future of the brand. The design department wanted to try to define the design trends that the company should follow, while keeping an eye on the past of Porsche. This compact, lightweight, analog, open-top machine is right on the money, as far as I’m concerned. If it could come in under 2000 pounds with no roof and minimal flair, while keeping horsepower from a naturally aspirated four cylinder above 150 and pairing it with a tight and responsive 6-speed manual transmission, that would be just a spectacular recreation of the Porsches of yesteryear. Don’t you agree?
There aren’t many details about this car, and no mention of the powertrain leaves a lot to interpretation. It’s obvious that this concept clearly calls to mind the Porsche 550-1500 RS Spyder from 1954. That was an icon of the Porsche brand, and has only gained a reputation as a giant killer in the ensuing 6 decades. It’s pretty clear that Porsche’s designers were trying to give the car a cult classic look by calling to mind the 550 Spyder once owned by actor and amateur racer James Dean. While Porsche isn’t going to write “Lil’ Bastard” on one of its cars, Little Rebel is pretty close. It’s a not-so-subtle nod to the car that Dean died in when he was t-boned on his way to race. I wonder if it has Champion spark plugs.
As for the concept, I think it looks superb. Perhaps the wheels are a bit too large, but the rest of the car is almost exactly what I want from a modern Porsche. Who needs a roof? Who needs much more than time and two seats? Come on Porsche, put this one into production, there’s still time!
To find out more about this car and 14 other concepts Porsche never released, check out the book Porsche Unseen from Delius Klasing.
