PORSCHES TAKE CENTRE STAGE AT THIS YEAR’S MILAN DESIGN WEEK
The world’s most important design fair, which takes place in the northern Italian city of Milan each year and is supported by the Salone del Mobile furniture fair, features displays and events exhibiting exciting design of all disciplines across hundreds of venues. Milan Design Week usually takes place in April, but for 2022, the event was pushed back to June for the second year in a row due to the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the fair, which saw it showcase more than two thousand exhibitors, a return to pre-pandemic size after the event was cancelled in 2020 and organisers were forced to run a pared-down version of proceedings in 2021.
For 2022, Porsche presented a work of art by Ruby Barber (Studio Mary Lennox, Berlin), which the company says “connects nature with modern technology” by way of a labyrinth of wild roses “encouraging the viewer to question their own sense of reality and to follow their dreams in the labyrinth of life, no matter how surreal they might seem.”
Of particular interest to Porsche enthusiasts was the restored 1972 911 S 2.4 Targa featured alongside the artist’s botanic installation. This air-cooled classic was first presented to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Porsche Design.
The one-of-a-kind 911 was inspired by the legendary Chronograph I wristwatch designed by Ferdinand Alexander ‘Butzi’ Porsche back in 1972 — black dominates both the exterior and the interior of the car, while Porsche Design script appears on its flanks.
“Our vision was to build a historic counterpart for the 992 Porsche Design 50th Anniversary Edition model,” explains Ulrike Lutz, Director of Porsche Classic. “Our new Sonderwunsch programme gave us an opportunity to implement this idea for a unique 911 pairing. As a nod to Porsche Design, the year of manufacture was the only specific requirement for the donor vehicle. Our inhouse designers and members of the factory restoration team were tasked with carefully transferring specification from the limited-run 992 to the classic 911.”
The Targa restoration required Porsche Design and Porsche Classic to work closely together, though much of the design input came from Roland Heiler, Managing Director of Studio F.A. Porsche in Zell am See.
“When it comes to factory restoration projects, our general philosophy is to restore vehicles to be as faithful to original specification as possible,” explains Uwe Makrutzki, Head of Porsche Classic Factory Restoration at Porsche
AG. “We deliberately took a different approach with this project, creating a unique 911 which blends tradition with Porsche design language of the present day, thereby mirroring the attitude of Ferdinand Alexander Porsche.”
While the semi-open-top 911 sat pretty as part of Barber’s installation, French design house, Nardone Automotive, unveiled its reimagined 928. Based on an S4 and powered by a 400bhp V8, the car will be displayed at Goodwood following its debut in Milan. Launch edition cars will be available at the somewhat ambitious price of €480k (excluding donor S4).
YEAR OF MANUFACTURE WAS THE ONLY SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT FOR THE DONOR VEHICLE