Porsche 35X Manta Rendering Imagines a Beautifully Confused Future 911

Why was so much digital ink spilled on one model alone, you ask? Well, you must be new here, and by "here" we mean "on this Earth." The 911 isn't just an iconic car for the German manufacturer, but for the automotive industry as a whole. Not everyone agrees, but most people will admit it represents the culmination of what a sports car should be. It might just be the perfect combination of everything: power, handling, comfort, build quality, and technology - if it had a low price to go with all this, you might as well call it a unicorn.

So, a lot is hanging on the 911's electrification for more than just Porsche, hence the probably exaggerated attention. However, if you think about it, the transition shouldn't have much of an impact on the model's appearance. Having a rear-mounted engine meant the front end never featured a big grille, with the emphasis always being on aerodynamics.

The only real challenge will be to find a way of keeping the vehicle's height in check while also tucking its significantly-sized battery under the floor. Well, while we wait for the years to pass until the fatidic 2040 deadline and for Porsche to show us how it plans to deal with it, we can always look at what independent designers from all over the world think the German carmaker's solution might be.

This particular rendering (coming from Romanian designer Mihai Panaitescu) doesn't necessarily include the 911 name - in fact, there is no reference to it whatsoever - but you can definitely see the resemblance. Instead, Mihai seems to link his creation to the classic 356 model - which is, for all intents and purposes, a precursor to the 911 we all know and love.

Looking at the 35X "Manta", as he calls it, you can't help but notice two other things: one, the front end is a little bit weird, and two, the rear is a little bit Bentley-esque. However, out of the two, it's actually the former we have a bigger problem with since it's the only design feature we don't find particularly appealing. Those headlights look futuristic alright, but they lack the simplicity, the clean design we've come to associate with Porsche models. We get they're meant to convey the presence of superior technology (laser?), but a designer's job is to find a way to integrate that technology and everything that comes with it into the brand's visual ethos, and this sure doesn't look like a Porsche model to us. Or at least we hope so.

The taillights are meant to resemble those found on the classic Porsche 356, yet in more modern times, that shape has been claimed by Bentley. Both the new Continental GT and Flying Spur feature more than similar rear lights - still, that's not a bad company to find yourself in. Plus, it's not a bad look, but it does make the 35X seem a bit confused. Not only does it have a front that doesn't match its brand and a rear that matches another one, but its name - "Manta" - is also more readily associated with a different manufacturer - Opel.

Does any of this matter, though? No, it doesn't, firstly because this is just an unofficial rendering created by an independent designer with no impact whatsoever in the real world, but perhaps more importantly because, despite all of its shortcomings, it still looks pretty darn sexy.