Porsche ignited the automotive industry by revealing a vast array of design sketches, clay models, and one-off prototypes produced between 2005 and 2019. Known as the “Unseen” series, these cars were stored under strict lock and key at the German automaker’s Weissach facility, which is comparable to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory for car nuts.
Collected into a magnificent 328-page book, it describes some of the most amazing Porsche creations that have never been seen before. A special display featuring these hidden gems is currently taking place at Curvistan Bangkok as part of this fascinating look into Porsche’s secret vaults. However, if you can’t make over to Thailand before the show finishes in February 2025, we’ve put together this roundup of the top sports vehicles from the Porsche Unseen collection.
Porsche’s Spin-Offs and Little Rebels
We’ll be concentrating on two subseries inside the little universe of Porsche’s Unseen line today. Porsche observes that James Dean would have undoubtedly loved the “Little Rebels” range of cars. Next are the “Spin-Offs,” which are basically pre-existing Porsche models that have been turned into wild one-off prototypes; some of these have even reached the manufacturing stage.
As part of the “Little Rebels” series of Unseen sports vehicles, a 1:1 scale model of the Porsche 904 Living Legend was made in 2013. This contemporary version relied on the carbon fiber monocoque of the incredibly economical Volkswagen XL1, evoking memories of the 1963 Porsche 904, a pure race car designed by Ferdinand “Butzi” Porsche that resulted in a short-run homologation special.
Porsche stated that a high-revving motorcycle engine would be the appropriate power source for the 904 Living Legend, which weighs only 1,984 pounds. This might have been a reference to the VW XL Sport concept, which chose an 11,000-rpm Ducati 1199 Superleggera engine over efficiency. It’s entertaining to speculate about what this Unseen Porsche may look like in production, with its broad rear haunches and closed top.
Porsche 911 Vision Safari
Porsche put together a running prototype of its 911 Vision Safari in 2012. Based on the 991-series 911 sports car, it paid tribute to the highly modified 911s from the 1970s that competed in races like the East African Safari Rally with higher ground clearance and reinforced components.
This modern concept of Porsche’s old-school rally racers bore the classic Martini livery of those cars, along with roof-mounted lights, fat wheel arches, all-terrain rubber, and a helmet shelf behind the front bucket seats with a fan designed to keep them cool between stages. Fast-forward to 2022 and the vision for a factory-built 911 Safari came to be with the introduction of the 911 Dakar.
Porsche Vision 916
Penned by an unnamed, but clearly talented, Porsche design intern back in 2016, the Porsche Vision 916 was an interesting blend of the 1972 Porsche 916 that never made it past prototyping and a turn-of-the-century electric-powered race car created by Ferdinand Porsche himself.
That 916 from the ’70s was intended to be a more potent 914 variant with a 2.8L engine out of the 911 RSR that only saw 11 prototypes ever built, the lines of which are evident in this Vision 916 concept. The four-wheel hub-mounted electric motors envisioned with this modern 916 were a callout to the exact same method used to motivate the Lohner-Porsche, an 8,800-pound battery-powered racer from 1900.
Porsche Boxster Bergspyder
In 1968, Porsche built its lightest race car ever, a hillclimb special dubbed the 909 Bergspyder that weighed just 846 pounds and was powered by a flat-6 making 275 horsepower. This tribute to that legendary sports car was conceived in 2014 and based on the 981-series Boxster.
Light for its day at 2,493 pounds, this one-off working prototype Bergspyder featured a mid-mounted 3.8L flat-6 out of the period Cayman GT4, good for 387 hp. The green accents were a nod to the O.G. Bergspyder, as was the single-seat configuration with a wrap-around wind deflector and dedication to light weighting. Unfortunately, it would not pass Porsche’s feasibility criteria, so it was never greenlit for production.
Porsche Vision Spyder
The most overt homage to James Dean’s famed 550 Spyder, the Porsche Vision Spyder from 2019 was designed to be “puristic, flat, and damned fast.” Touches included a rear license plate reading “Little Rebel”, silver paint, and the centered two-seat open cockpit.
Going further, the 131 and 551 vehicle decals were each one digit higher than those on Dean’s 550, which he called “Little Bastard.” Though this clay model was never built as a running prototype, you can in fact buy one today…in 1:43 scale over at Porsche’s online shop for a very reasonable $89.
Porsche Le Mans Living Legend
Another “Little Rebel” from the Unseen series that was never more than a 1:1 hard model, the Porsche Le Mans Living Legend from 2016, is a jaw-dropper. Designed as an “extreme road car based on the Boxster”, this Porsche concept pulls from the 550 Coupe that ran in the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The split rear window is a neat touch, as is the electrically retractable rear spoiler and asymmetrical design – only the passenger-side upper air intake is louvered. Though Porsche doesn’t specify what would have powered this Unseen sports car, it’s fun to think about the 4.6L V8 from the 918 Spyder hypercar as a possibility.
Porsche Macan Vision Safari
Considering the wide range of crossovers being fitted from the factory with serious off-road gear, it’s not hard to see the Porsche Macan Vision Safari, a creation from 2013, as a production possibility. Especially since the Macan already offers necessary overlanding equipment like all-wheel drive, adaptive air suspension, and an off-road driving mode.
One aspect of the Macan Vision Safari that would be unlikely to see a green light, though it would be amazing, is the two-door coupe design. In concept form, it features a full roll cage, roof-mounted lighting, beefy tires, and reinforced fender flares that are more than a little similar to the fully operational 911 Vision Safari of the same vintage.
