Since its inception in 1948, Porsche has created a vast array of wild concepts and prototypes. One unique garage in Germany holds a secret stash of some of the craziest. Everything from a four-door 928 shooting brake to two Porsche-Mercedes mashups all live here. Let’s take a deeper dive into these rare cars.
Showcased by Tom Ford of Top Gear, these Porsches are a testament to just how creative the brand can be. The main feature is a 1989 Panamera Concept quietly made as a birthday present to Ferry Porsche.
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It has a flat-six engine in the rear, double-three-spoke wheels, wild wheel arches, and a suspension that can raise the car up for off-road adventures. The only problem? Ferry evidently didn’t love it and despite some consideration about a small production run, this is the only one that was ever made.
Next, Ford takes a closer look at a 1987 911 Speedster concept, and boy is it strange. True to form, it’s driver-centric but interestingly, it does have a second seat. Beneath the wonky-looking fairing atop the cabin is the normal passenger seat simply reclined. Stranger still is the entry and exit situation. The door opens normally but then one has to slink underneath the Speedster top. Still, it’s probably not the weirdest thing in this garage.
That might be what is likely the quietest Porsche with an internal combustion engine. It’s a 928 with two of the strangest exterior contraptions ever. Each is a muffler designed not just to quiet the car but to eliminate sound from the engine altogether. One on the hood silences the induction noises and one on the deck-lid quiets the exhaust. Why do this? It allowed Porsche to test tire noise. What a machine.
Then there’s the four-door 928 H50, a shooting brake with two reverse-hinged doors and four proper seats. Ford says to consider a grandparent to the Panamera and he’s not all that wrong. Its shape and seat configuration aren’t too far afield from the first Porsche sedan to ever make it to production.
Top Gear finishes up the tour with a quick look at three more cars including a clay model and two unique Porsche-Mercedes mashups. One is a Mercedes W124 Coupe designed and built for testing Porsche’s new-at-the-time V8 engine. Intended ultimately to go into the never-produced 989, this prototype allowed the brand to work through bugs in total secrecy.
Finally, a Mercedes G-Wagon ended up serving as a support car for the 959 at the Dakar Rally. The race didn’t really allow for support cars so Porsche had to enter another race car to meet specifications. It considered running another 959 but the G-Wagon provided better cargo storage. This isn’t any old G-Wagon though. It has the beating heart of a 928 S4. It was so good that it actually came in sixth overall. It’s great to see a brand like Porsche keeping its heritage around when so many other brands don’t.