Imagine belonging to a group of designers responsible for the reinterpretation of a living legend like the Porsche 911: it’s both terrifying and thrilling at the same time.

Porsche itself is content with evolving the aesthetics of the 911 every decade or so, but nothing too radical – lest not forget that the most revolutionary 911, the 996 built from 1998 to 2004, was also the most loathed amongst Porsche enthusiasts.

But all that applies if you’re working under the watchful eyes of Porsche execs, because if you’re an aspiring designer like Ege Arguden, you have all the freedom in the world to experiment.

The industrial designer from Turkey, who has worked as an intern at BMW, Chrysler, VW and Ford, created the Porsche 901 Concept during his 7th term at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, under the supervision of Jae Min.

His goal was to reinvent the 911’s design by revisiting its past.

“The aim of Porsche 901 was to go back to the roots and capture the essence of the original 911,” Arguden explained. “The design process started by analyzing the original 911. Both in size and individual design elements I tried to capture 911 in a new way. Signature design elements of 911 such as round headlights and organic body shape was necessary to achieve my goal, yet I tried to modernize these elements with subtle changes.”

One of the key aspects of Arguden’s 901 Concept is its smaller footprint, which at 4,300mm (169.3 in) long, is about the same as the original 911 at 4,290 mm (168.9 in), and nearly 200mm shorter than the current 991 at 4,491mm (176.8 in).

“Even though it is considered one of the most traditional evolutions in car design, the Porsche 911 grew significantly in size and became a much more complex and luxury vehicle compared to the original 911,” said Argugen.

The designer said he spent many hours to achieve the right ‘911 silhouette’, with the most distinct design feature of his concept being the low rear end and the single arch beltline, both of which hark back to the original 911.

Designer: Ege Arguden , Story References: Carbodydesign

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