Only 750 examples of this Porsche will ever be made. One found its way here.
PORSCHE DESIGN is a product design studio founded by Prof. Ferdinand Alexander (also known as “FA” or “Butzi”) Porsche in 1972. His grandfather with whom he shares his name (along with his own father) is the founder of the iconic sportscar brand headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. In his younger days, FA would spend “countless hours” in the design office and development workshops of his grandfather.
Fast forward to the 1970s, the Porsche family withdraws from the business, which takes on the name Porsche AG. Prof. Ferdinand initially retains a seat on the Supervisory Board, but is later asked to let go to comply with rules. Two years later, he establishes Porsche Design, also in Stuttgart, which moves to Austria (in Zell am Zee) another two years after.
Prof. Porsche’s company is “among the first to commission” projects such as “suitable (gifts) for employees of longstanding service,” but generally, the brand takes on anything its founder would fancy – “pursuits that interest him personally.”
FA passed on in 2012, but his vision is very much alive in the company he created, which Porsche AG itself now commemorates with a limited-edition 911: The Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS 50 Years Porsche Design Edition.
Limited to 750 examples, the company said that this 911 “has many features and details that pay homage” to FA’s “iconic designs.” He, of course, is also for known producing the drafts the very first 911 was based on. This 911, based on the 911 Targe 4 GTS, gets a “plain black exterior,” (or, as an option, Jet Black Metallic). The choice of black is distinctly Porsche Design, as the first product of the studio was the Chronograph I in the same color. Meanwhile, according to Posche Design Managing Director and Chief Designer at Design Studio FA Porsche in Zell am See Roland Heiler, platinum hues “elevate” the paintwork as chrome accents would. Platinum in satin finsish appears on the Targa bar, the “Porsche Design” decorative film emblazoned on the doors, and the wheels (which, by the way, measure 20 inches in the front and 21 inches in the rear).
The hub covers feature colored Porsche emblems, while brake calipers are painted in high-gloss black. On the slats of the rear lid grille is a “Porsche Design 50th Anniversary Edition.” badge on the slats of the rear lid grille; the 911 logo is in black.
Aboard this 911, a checkered pattern appears on the Sport-Tex seat center panels in black and Cool Grey, with special leather features in black. These contrast with seams in Slate Grey hue.
Speaking of the seats, these are Adaptive Sports Seats Plus that are electronically adjustable in 18 ways, and have a memory function. Porsche Design 50th Anniversary logos are embossed on the headrests, and also appear on the black, brushed aluminum door entry guards.
Standard on the vehicle is a Sport Chrono Package with the Porsche Design Subsecond clock on the dashboard – with the second hand colored red as with the aforementioned Chronograph I of 1972.
A leather-wrapped GT sports steering wheel has a Slate Grey marking on the 12 o’clock position; the seatbelts are rendered in the same hue.
Meanwhile, a silver dashboard trim has the “911” badge and the limited edition number of the vehicle, along with the FA Porsche signature. The last is also embossed on the lid of the center console storage compartment.
As with the 911 Targa 4 GTS it is based on, the 911 Targa 4 GTS 50 Years Porsche Design Edition is powered by a turbocharged three-liter, flat-six delivering a stout 480ps and 570Nm, mated with an eight-speed Porsche dual clutch transmission (PDK).
It gets the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) and the 911 Turbo’s high-performance brakes. Its standard sports exhaust system gets special GTS tuning, while “special GTS tuning and omission of some of the interior insulation” results in a more “emotive” sound. — Kap Maceda Aguila
