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Porsche Design

Porsche, the renowned German sports car manufacturer, has surprised tech enthusiasts by teaming up with Shenzhen-based electronics firm HONOR to infuse luxury and automotive design into the latest iteration of its folding phone.

Dubbed the Porsche Design HONOR Magic V2 RSR, with “RSR” paying homage to “RennSport Rennwagen” (translated to “Racing Sport Racing Car”), this collaboration has birthed a revamped outer design for the Magic V2 foldable phone launched last year, along with a heftier price tag of £2,349.99 (RM14,211) ― a £650 (RM3,930) premium over the standard price of the HONOR Magic V2.

Drawing inspiration from the iconic Porsche silhouette, affectionately known as the “flyline,” the handset sports a sleek ridge along its back. This design element, according to marketing materials, exudes the legendary sports car’s sense of dynamic sportiness.

Additionally, the camera module has received an upgrade from the standard HONOR Magic V2, featuring a titanium frame and a distinctive trapezoid shape. The phone is available in a single colour option: Agate Grey, a subtle blend of light green and grey reminiscent of many Porsche models, including the iconic 911.

Despite the added Porsche flair, the dimensions of the Magic V2 remain unchanged, measuring 9.9mm when folded and 4.7mm when open. Interestingly, the Magic V2 claims the title of the world’s thinnest folding phone, edging out competitors like the iPhone 15.

The Porsche Design HONOR Magic V2 RSR weighs 234g, 3g more than the standard model. In the UK, it will be accompanied by a stylus, a protective case made from stitched dark grey vegan leather, and a spare 66W fast charger.

Ferry Porsche predicted it back in 1989: “If we build an off-road model according to our standards of quality – and it has a Porsche crest on the front – people will buy it.” He would go on to be proved right. Since 2002, the Cayenne has been one of the top selling models of the carmaker, a success globally and now, it is even being assembled in Malaysia.

The decision to develop a SUV after decades of making sportcars was influenced by the recommendation of the sales organisation in the USA – Porsche’s largest market at the time. While a people-carrier had been under consideration, the company opted for an off-road vehicle as it was increasing in popularity in North America. BMW and Mercedes-Benz had even set up new factories there to build their first SUVs in the second half of the 1990s.

A new type of Porsche that was not a sportscar joined the carmaker’s range in 2002.

Crucial decision for Porsche
The decision was a crucial one because, at the beginning of the decade, the company found itself in one of the most significant economic crises in its history. It was in the red and delivered only 23,060 cars in the 1991/92 financial year. While the Boxster (launched in 1996) helped Porsche out of its downturn, it was clear that the legendary 911 and the new mid-engined model would not be enough to ensure a secure future. A ‘third Porsche’ was therefore necessary and this would eventually be a SUV.

This saw the start of the Colorado project, a massive undertaking tackled as part of a joint project with Volkswagen and announced in June 1998. However, Porsche was not content merely to build just another SUV but aimed to give the top competitors in the off-road segment a strong rival. In fact, in early advertising, it even suggested that the Cayenne not be considered just ‘another SUV’ but rather, another Porsche.

First design sketches of the Cayenne in the late 1990s. The model was developed as a joint project with Volkswagen which called its SUV the Touareg (below).

Like BMW with its X5, Porsche could not offer a product that did not also have the brand’s DNA of superior driving dynamics. Thought the platform was shared with the Volkswagen Touareg, each company initially used their own engines and developed their own chassis set-ups. Porsche was responsible for developing the joint platform, while Volkswagen contributed its production expertise for large volumes.

A very different type of Porsche
It was the first time in Porsche’s history that, instead of a sportscar, a blueprint for an SUV was required. This was, in a way, the exact opposite of a sportscar layout – a big, high-roofed car with 4  doors and room for 5 people and their luggage. Additionally, the Cayenne needed much greater ground clearance than a classic sportscar, as it was expected to count among the best when driving off-road as well.

“Of course, it wasn’t at all easy to express the identity of the Porsche brand in a car that had absolutely nothing in common with the existing models made by our company,” said Harm Lagaay, head of the design department. The designer spent a whole year on the headlights alone. It wasn’t just that they had to incorporate the low and high beams and the cornering light while preserving the clear lines of the Cayenne body – these were among the components that guaranteed the brand identity.

Porsche board members looking over a Cayenne prototype in 2001.

Even today, the face of the 996-generation 911 can be seen in the face of the first Cayenne. This impression was reinforced by what is referred to as the topography of the front section. The highest point of the wings and the headlights is above that of the bonnet. This is a distinguishing feature for a Porsche, because these contours are a clear visual reference to the design of the iconic 911. However, it was significantly more difficult to incorporate this specific element in the Cayenne, which would have a big V8 engine under the bonnet.

The Porsche product became a brand
Another feature of the 911-style bonnet is its noticeable taper towards the front. The designers also wanted to adopt this for the Cayenne, but the engineers initially suggested a square engine bonnet. This would make it easier to access the air filter and the headlights. The designers prevailed on this point, but they also worked with the car’s engineering team on areas that were not visible. For example, they worked together to find an optimised arrangement of the air filter.

Michael Mauer, who took over Lagaay’s position later, was also pleased that Porsche was willing to invest so much in design and construction. “For me, the Cayenne is about a fundamental question. No matter which type of vehicle concept would have been used to enhance the 911 and Boxster sportscar lines, the step to the third Porsche made a brand out of the product. And the design gave the car, the proportions of which take it as far away from the sportscar as it is possible to go, a Porsche identity that transcends the brand name,” he explained.

This remains evident today in the distinctive shoulder at the back of the original Cayenne – in which Ferdinand Alexander Porsche played a significant design role – as well as the smooth surfaces of the body and the omission of a traditional radiator grille between the headlights.

These classic Porsche characteristics also reduced the significance of the comparatively large air intakes in the front apron. A front-mounted engine requires air for combustion and cooling. And Porsche customers were already used to front air intakes from the sportscars. In this case, though, they are responsible for cooling the brakes.

The biggest design challenge
Mauer remembers the side profile of the car as the most difficult design challenge. The Cayenne was created together with the Volkswagen model, which is why the windscreens and all 4 doors of the two SUVs are identical. “It’s easy to underestimate how much the doors define the side of a car. Behind the rear door, we’ve got maybe another metre, and only a little more at the front, so there is not a lot of room to do very much,” said Mauer, who first worked on the Porsche SUV for the first generation facelift which appeared in 2007.

“With the facelift, we gave the whole car more visual sharpness and definition,” he recalled. However, the door issue was still there, along with the difficulty of designing a fastback-style rear – one that would taper diagonally to the rear like a sportscar. At Porsche, this is known as the ‘flyline’.

However, if the doors cannot be changed to prevent the roofline from dropping, there is little space left at the rear to create a flyline that the customer recognises as a characteristic feature. The options that remained to solve this were a more sloping design of the rigid side windows behind the rear doors, and the addition of a spoiler to extend the roof line.

Compromises within
Overall, even from today’s perspective, the first Cayenne with its formal clarity and emphasis on characteristic Porsche elements was a worthy and consistent member of the model range. The interior was, however, strongly influenced by Volkswagen.

“The interior can hardly deny its kinship with the Touareg,” said Markus Auerbach, Head of Interior Design Style at Porsche. This is where Porsche had to make compromises; one example was on the brand’s customary 5-tube design for the instrument cluster. While five interlinked rings can be seen in front of the steering wheel, the tachometer is not positioned in the middle as is usual for Porsche, but on the left.

To obtain the usual Porsche arrangement, developing a new instrument cluster would have been necessary – an unplanned investment for the first Cayenne. However, Porsche was still able to include a number of characteristic elements: its own 3-spoke steering wheel, hand-grips on the centre console, and the ignition lock that can be found in the same place as in every Porsche – to the left of the steering wheel.

After its launch, the Cayenne was shown worldwide and in places like Malaysia, its off-road capabilities were convincingly demonstrated as this picture shows. The rough and muddy course near the Sepang Circuit was used during the Porsche Roadshow in 2003.
An early advertisement introducing Porsche’s new SUV in America.

Shortly after its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show in September 2002, the Cayenne became a worldwide success, exceeding sales expectations. Originally, Porsche expected to sell 25,000 units a  year but in the 8 model years of the first generation, 276,652 SUVs were sold – just under 35,000 vehicles per year. By 2020, the one-millionth Cayenne left the factory. In 2021, just over 83,000 units were delivered worldwide, with the US market alone taking around 21,000 units.

Porsche begins vehicle assembly in Malaysia, the first time outside Germany

Two years ago, Porsche Design debuted the 1919 Chronotimer Flyback Brown & Leather, a genuine chronograph that set new standards in the world of luxury wristwatches. Equipped with a complex flyback function with chronometer-certified precision, the Porsche Design movement Werk 01.200 represents state of the art.

In addition to its innovative inner workings, the timepiece, like its legendary role model, the Porsche 911, unites uncompromising functionality, thoroughly designed in all details, with an expressive sporty appearance.

Now, Porsche Design launches this chronograph classic in a new edition with a bold colour combination. The dial and strap, made from Porsche interior leather, radiate a subtle blue hue.

Porsche 911

Fascinating shape
The Porsche 911 is an icon that has sparked enthusiasm for decades. Since its launch in 1963, the sportscar has been a synonym for the perfect combination of design and performance. Its secret of success is surprisingly simple: Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche consistently focused on form and function so that the legendary minimalist design was a natural consequence. “Design must be honest,” emphasized the founder of the Porsche Design company.

This maxim also applies to Porsche Design’s timepieces that translate the DNA code of the sports car into the design of a wristwatch. The 1919 Chronotimer Flyback Blue & Leather continues the tradition of the company’s first timepiece, the Chronograph I, which Prof. F. A. Porsche introduced in 1972. The large-scale, high-contrast dial is all about legibility, so that the attention is automatically directed to the essentials, namely the time display and the measurement functions.

Clean Arabic numerals and bold markers combined with intense use of Super-Luminova increase the readability under difficult lighting conditions and at night. Sevenfold and hard coated on both sides, the sapphire crystal prevents all light reflections, thus guaranteeing optimum readability at all times.

Porsche Design

Lightweight and powerful
All timepieces of the 1919 Collection – including the 1919 Chronotimer Flyback collection – are entirely made of titanium. Despite its low weight, this high-tech material derived from the world of motorsport is extremely resilient and resistant. With the same volume, it is 46% lighter than stainless steel, but significantly stronger and also non-magnetic, anti-allergic as well as saltwater and heat resistant.

The signature trademark of the 1919 Collection are the characteristic openings on the lugs and their form-fitting transition into the bracelet. These features not only eliminate the design-related disadvantage of classic horns – the connection via a spring bar – but also lend a unique lightness to the collection’s puristic aesthetics. The owner can literally feel the connection to the sports car on his wrist: the strap is made of original Porsche interior calf leather.

Porsche Design

Maximum performance, like the 911
The 1919 Chronotimer Flyback Blue & Leather is powered by Werk 01.200. This chronograph calibre offers a flyback mechanism that allows the measurement of successive intervals, eg lap times on the racetrack. It uses a single process for starting, stopping and resetting. Paced at 4 hertz, the automatic movement represents the culmination of engineering and watchmaking combined with its vehicle manufacturing expertise. The bridges are load/stress optimised. The special architecture allows the unobstructed view of the fascinating mechanism of the flyback function through the sapphire crystal caseback and is a further proof of the implementation of the lightweight principle.

The 1919 Chronotimer Flyback Blue & Leather goes on sale from this month, priced in Europe from 5,950 euros (about RM28,400).

Porsche unveils the Belgian Legend Edition

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