Munich University of Applied Sciences graduate David Wunderlich (aka @wonderworks_design) recently completed his Porsche Ucan thesis project, which was created in cooperation with the Stuttgart-based sports car maker’s exterior design team.
Studies have shown that millennials and Generation Z customers are more interested in experiences than material possessions. This will likely be a major selling point for Porsche’s future customers. Even in the age of autonomous mobility, the driving experience will have a higher emotional value than being driven from A to B in an autonomous living room.
Wunderlich, therefore, created the Porsche Ucan concept — a small, driver-oriented sports car designed to enhance the driver’s experience. Delving into the Stuttgart-based company’s history, Wunderlich harnesses Porsche’s purist roots and combines this with the driver’s body movement to generate maximum excitement.
The driver’s movement is directly transferred into the vehicle’s exterior structure through a pivot point that separates the car into two parts, effectively transforming the Porsche Ucan into a superhero suit with wheels.
The outer skin of the car adapts to the driver’s movement and supports it equally. In this way, the driver becomes part of the exterior and takes part in the driving action through his own physical activity. With this new concept, Porsche offers an extremely exciting driving experience and hits Generation Y and Z’s emotional nerve.
Measuring 3500mm long, 1500mm wide and 700mm tall, the directional gesture of the Ucan concept is based on the appearance of the legendary Porsche 917 K. The high, open rear and the flat front are reminiscent of the 917, while the typical ‘flyline’ has been reinterpreted and is characterized by the silhouette of the driver in the active sitting position.
The helmet at the top is the visual acceleration point from which the character line flows to the rear. The resulting landscape is highlighted and represents the brand. The rest of the vehicle is rather technical and dark. In this way, the overall architecture is reduced to the essentials.
As more and more carmakers look to develop the ‘experience’ element of design, sports car companies such as Porsche should increasingly amplify the emotional bond target customers have with the products. The Porsche Ucan concept encapsulates that notion beautifully.
