The Porsche 928 is probably the pinnacle of Zuffenhausen’s transaxle era, with a production run spawning between 1977 and 1995. Contemporary artist Daniel Arsham wondered how would the Porsche flagship look if it was designed in the early ’00s, taking inspiration from the Y2K aesthetics movement. The resulting Porsche Nebula 928 is an impressive one-off, which has already escaped the digital world and exists in real life.
Porsche describes the Nebula 928 as an “automotive sculpture” that embodies Daniel Arsham‘s “time-traveling concepts”. Vehicle designer Khyzyl Saleem contributed to the bespoke exterior components combining organic shapes with references to Porsche’s heritage, while the interior has also been overhauled under the same theme.
Read: Porsche 928 Gets Stunning Futuristic Makeover By Nardone Automotive
The redesigned front and rear bumpers feature unique LED lighting units shaped after interconnected liquid circles. The same pattern – pioneered by the Y2K movement which prevailed in popular culture between 1997 and 2004 – is used for the front bumper intakes above the pronounced splitter. At the back, there is an illuminated Nebula badge with a fancy font, and a large rear wing reminiscent of the one used in the 996 GT3.
The iridescent pink shade for the exterior is another reference to the Y2K era, looking similar to the retro Cassis Red Metallic and the new Frozen Berry Metallic from Porsche’s own color palette. As for the wheels with overlapping triangles, their design is sourced from the 1989 Porsche Panamericana concept, although they have grown in diameter.
Moving inside, the Nebula 928 features a pink/purple theme, looking like it could easily star in a pop music video from the early ’00s. The seats are upholstered in purple leather with custom woven fabric inserts made by a clothing firm called Byborre, while the dashboard is covered by a matching Ultrasuede trim. The most striking features however are the weird-shaped steering wheel and shift knob made of aluminum. The same material was used for the center console and interior accents.
In the exterior renderings by Khyzyl Saleem, the suspension is lowered, something that is not the case with the actual model as proven by the real-life photos shared by Porsche and Daniel Arsham. There are no reports about any mechanical modifications, so the concept presumably retains the stock underpinnings of the original 1978 Porsche 928 donor car including the 4.5-liter V8 which produced 237 hp (177 kW / 240 PS) and 363 Nm (268 lb-ft) of torque.
The Nebula 928 is on display at the Porsche X space exhibition which is held at SXSW in Austin Texas between March 10-19. As is the case with art cars, the model will most certainly remain a one-off.