Porsche Design Launches Race Edition Pilot Shoe

As part of its Spring / Summer 2011 collection, Porsche Design Sport - a collaboration between adidas and the Porsche Design luxury brand - has launched its first made in Germany shoe: the Race Edition Pilot. The product is manufactured at the adidas shoe production facility in Scheinfeld (Bavaria), where football shoes, such as the Copa Mundial and World Cup, are also produced.

The Race Edition Pilot Shoe is inspired by open-road racing, featuring a rounded heel and collar padding for comfort. A TPU midsole shell is engineered with shock-absorbing adiPRENE for platform stability and a smoother ride, while low-profile rubber outsole inserts facilitate fluid pedal work. The Pilot’s silhouette is crafted from premium Italian full-grain aniline leather.

One hundred pairs of Porsche Design Sport’s most innovative Driving shoe to date are currently produced each day, employing components, uppers and soles supplied from Asia.

This process requires about 30 production steps, of which the following are the most important: attaching the insole, lining up the toe, pre-spreading the lasting margin (lower edge of the upper), clipping the side margin and heel, buffing and finely polishing the uppers, cementing the lasting margin and sole, applying and pressing the sole, finishing, and final inspection.

“Launched in 2006, the Porsche Design Sport collection fuses engineering excellence with an inherent commitment to refined style. The range of luxury sportswear utilizes the industry’s most advanced technologies in concert with luxurious, exclusive materials, performance-enhanced details and impeccable craftsmanship. Stylish yet understated, casual yet technical, Porsche Design Sport is defining a new era of engineered luxury sportswear,” a company statement reads.