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Porsche Zero Rendering Is a Cool Tesla Model X Alternative

It won't be long until electric powertrains cover all market segments, and if you think about it, there are pretty few left already.
Porsche Zero rendering 20 photos
Photo: Ming He on Behance
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One that immediately springs to mind is the pickup truck one, but just look what's around the corner: the Tesla Cybertruck, the Rivian R1T, the Nikola Badger, the Bollinger B2, hell, even Ford has a battery-powered F-150 coming, so there'll be plenty to choose from in just two short years.

Sports cars? One could argue the original Tesla Roadster is still a decent choice, but you can aim a bit higher and go for the Rimac C Two which could be described better as a hypercar. How about multi-purpose vehicles, then? Well, there are the Mercedes EQV and the Citroen e-SpaceTourer, but those are quite large and cumbersome. One could even make an argument for the Tesla Model X as a vehicle fit for large families with its flexible configurations and up to seven seats, but it might be a bit of stretch.

Not more so than calling the Porsche Zero concept an MPV, though. The author of this study, an Art Center College of Design student called Ming He, thinks "cars shouldn't be categorized by body type anymore, but [by] the user experience," which is why he's calling the 4+2 seats Porsche Zero a "sport lounge."

Porsche Zero rendering
Photo: Ming He on Behance
That, you'll have to agree, sounds pretty good. The idea is to have a car that can score high on both the "exotic" and "fulfilling human needs" axes he used for his graph. He feels the Model X fails in the former (with that exterior design, who doesn't agree?) while the Porsche 911, for example, is all about it. But what about something that truly offers the best of both worlds?

Well, don't tell Ming, but you can't really have it, and the Porsche Zero is yet another vehicle that proves the best you can get is a compromise that doesn't excel at anything. But at least it's way cooler than the Tesla Model X, we'll give it that.

The concept is a low-slung one-box design with the wheels pushed as close to the vehicle's extremities as possible to maximize cabin space. Ming says we're looking at a 4+2 configuration, but we're not sure we understand how those two extra seats work. The way we understand it, the rear ones slide further to the back and two jump seats pop out of the backrest of the two upfront. The legs of the four people in the back appear to intertwine in a way that could become weird depending on how close those persons are outside of the vehicle.

Anyway, it doesn't look like the kind of place you would want to sit in for a long journey, regardless of the company you're with. The Model X's six-seat configuration looks a lot more solid, and that's mostly because it sits its occupants in a more upright position thanks to the higher silhouette. That also allows the Tesla to be slightly shorter.

Porsche Zero rendering
Photo: Ming He on Behance
But any shortcomings of the Porsche Zero are instantly forgiven when you look at its exterior design. I wouldn't mind sitting crammed inside this thing next to three other people I don't know or don't even like, and I'm six-foot-six. Hell, it would be a privilege.

It's a good thing Ming doesn't believe in categorizing cars based on their body styles because that would make the Porsche Zero an MPV, which is ridiculous. And it's definitely not hard at all to imagine the Zero would come with excellent performance figures thanks to its slippery shape and quite aggressive aerodynamics features. It may not be the perfect marriage between exoticism and an MPV, but it's definitely the best one we've seen.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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