Porsche Vision 357 Concept Is a 718 Cayman GT4 RS-Based Homage and B-Day Gift

Known around the world by its shorter name of Porsche, initially, the company did not create any cars. Instead, it was mostly focused on the development and consulting of motor vehicles, so it was not until 1948 that Ferry Porsche and his team produced the Porsche 356 ‘No. 1’ Roadster, the brand’s first sports car that marked the birth of a legend and “laid the foundation for an exemplary success story,” the Porsche story.

“75 years of Porsche stand for pioneering spirit, passion, and dreams. We are celebrating together with people who are inspired by dreams,” explains Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG. The anniversary celebrations will open on 27 January in ‘DRIVE. Volkswagen Group Forum’ in Berlin with a special exhibition called ‘Driven by Dreams. 75 years of Porsche sports cars,’ which is scheduled to run until September 10, 2023.

Of course, that is not the only anniversary present. Instead, Porsche has just officially presented the first details regarding Porsche Vision 357, a tribute concept car that brings a ‘past-present-future’ homage to the company’s first model family, the 356. By the way, the birth of the sports car brand will effectively be marked on June 8th, 75 years after the 356 No. 1 Roadster “became the first automobile bearing the name Porsche to receive its general operating permit,” in 1948.

Naturally, the Porsche Vision 357 represents the company’s modern interpretation of “Ferry Porsche’s dream of a sports car” and as such the Style Porsche Team tried to answer a complicated question: “what would that dream look like today?” Innovation is present here, as well, particularly because the tribute concept does not need to worry about the potential morphing into a series model – “one example is the consistent enhancement of the light signature, which is both progressive and visionary in the way it points towards the future.”

As such, we could expect that various styling elements might hint toward upcoming design traits of future Porsche models. “We created a very special birthday present in the form of the Porsche Vision 357, one which uses the 356 as a basis to underscore the significance of our design DNA,” further explains Michael Mauer, Vice President of Style Porsche. “The concept car is an attempt to combine the past, present, and future with coherency, featuring proportions that are reminiscent of its historical archetype and details that visualize the outlook for the future.”

By the way, this is not just a styling exercise/anniversary gift. Instead, Porsche stayed true to its sports car core and used the 718 Cayman GT4 RS platform as a starting base for the compact sports car concept, meaning the prototype has 493 ponies under its belt. Vision 357 will be the hero of the new special exhibition and it will also visit the United States as the design study will be presented to the public at the South by Southwest event in Austin (March 10-19) before embarking on an international tour over the course of the year.