HEADLINER
SOURCE CODE
BECAUSE THEY DON’ T MAKE’ EM LIKE THEY USED TO
This is the Vision 357, a GT4 RS-based retake on the 356... and Porsche’s 75th birthday present to itself
WORDS JASON BARLOW
PHOTOGRAPHY JOHN WYCHERLEY
Porsche must have registered the number 357 but has never used it. Until now. This is the Vision 357, the latest in a long line of Porsche concepts, this one powerfully invoking the memory of the 356/1 Roadster. That, fact fans, was the first production car to bear the Porsche name, the model that kick-started the whole adventure on 8 June 1948, 75 years ago.
So what is it? It’s primarily Porsche’s birthday present to itself as this important year gets under way. Vision 357 is a mercifully compact, beautifully proportioned little coupe that swerves the retro thing by taking modish design tropes like reductionism and stirring in some emotive historic references. Kind of old and new at the same time and yet neither. Or, as Porsche says, “It’s a look back at the conceptual journey to the future.” Huh?
If you’ve seen the book Porsche Unseen, you’ll already know that the company’s design team are also knowledgeable historians. Design head (and new VW Group design boss) Michael Mauer is clear about how this works in Weissach. “Would it be better to have a clean sheet and not have any restrictions? No. History gives us orientation... I’d compare it to a compass. It also gives you a brand that stands for certain values. It would be stupid not to build on this, but you have to find the right balance between tradition and innovation, otherwise you won’t be successful in the future.”