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Recently updated on January 4, 2023 at 09:36 am
Trendy streetwear with a colorful mix of colors and unusual materials - that's what the designer and influencer Sean Wotherspoon stands for. Together with Porsche, the 32-year-old designed his very own Taycan 4 Cross Turismo. The striking color-blocked exterior was one of the highlights at South by Southwest® in March in Austin (Texas). Now Porsche is showing the interior of the art car for the first time: the colorful color blocking with Nash Blue, Sean Peach, Loretta Purple and Ashley Green continues there. Cork on the dashboard, steering wheel and center console forms a visual contrast to this. Another striking feature is corduroy. The headlining, center panels of the seats and sun visors are covered with this fabric in Atacama beige. At the request of the convinced vegan, the interior is also leather-free - an option that other Taycan customers can also choose.
Bold color blocking style
The art car will be presented by Sean Wotherspoon himself - via the Porsche Instagram channel, where he will also answer questions about it live. “From Janis Joplin's psychedelic 356 from the '911s to the Richard Phillips-designed 2019 XNUMX RSR, the list of iconic Porsche art cars is already long,” said Robert Ader, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Porsche. “Art Cars go very well with Porsche. The creative design work with artists inspires us and spurs us on to further develop the brand without fundamentally changing it.” “Creativity thrives on exchange,” says Michael Mauer, Head of Style at Porsche. “As a designer, you have to question everything and always strive to rethink something. It helps us to work with young designers like Sean to get new ideas from completely different product areas.”
"When I look at something, I question how I can change it and take it to a new level," says Sean Wotherspoon. “These questions are my personal challenge. It doesn't matter whether it's a sneaker or vehicle design, a workflow, sustainability issues or a new material. The pursuit of innovation drives me and I was fascinated from the start by the unusual materials that the Porsche designers in Weissach work with. We kept inspiring each other as part of the project and ultimately created a completely new type of vehicle design.”
About the creation of this Art Car!
The cooperation was initiated by a team from Porsche Marketing Communications. The communication experts brought Sean Wotherspoon together with the designers from Style Porsche and designed the world premiere of the vehicle on Instagram together with him. Wotherspoon has personally visited the Porsche design studio in Weissach several times. He also accompanied the immediate creation of his art car on site and was involved in the concept construction and in the upholstery shop at the Weissach location, among other things. First of all, with the help of virtual reality technology, many color variants of the exterior were played through and discussed on a vehicle model. "Inspired by a visit to the Porsche Museum, Sean had the idea of the circular element on the doors," remembers Volker Müller, Head of Color and Trim at Style Porsche. “It is reminiscent of the round start number holders on historic racing vehicles. At the same time, this inverted color interrupts the large area.”
Wotherspoon sent corresponding Pantone codes to Porsche for the desired colors. The tones were nuanced and reproduced in the paint shop of the concept building. Applied to so-called paint frogs, the sneakerhead was able to inspect them during his visit and examine them professionally under various conditions. In the light cabin of the Porsche Design Studio, it is possible to switch between daylight and artificial light at the touch of a button.
The unusual names for the paints have a personal background. "After we explained how important clear designations are here, Sean named the paints after members of his family," says Volker Müller. This is how Nash Blue, Sean Peach, Loretta Purple and Ashley Green came about. The interior should continue the color blocking concept of the exterior. Corduroy and cork were the materials Wotherspoon wanted, which he also uses for his streetwear. Corduroy has a long tradition at the sports car manufacturer: the soft, ribbed fabric adorned the center panels of the seats as early as 356 in the Porsche 1952. In the new Art Car, the same woven fabric in Atacama beige was used that Porsche had already used for the 911 Targa 4S Heritage Edition from 2020. "The processing of cork, on the other hand, presented our saddlers with a number of challenges," says Müller. Ultimately, the task was to adapt the laminated roll goods to complex geometries such as that of the control panel.
Special request program enables further customization
The Taycan 4 Cross Turismo designed by Sean Wotherspoon is rounded off with elements from Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur. These include the 21-inch Cross Turismo Design wheels and the rear wiper cover – each painted in black (high-gloss) as well as the light strip with the Porsche logo in black. Customers can implement comparable projects as part of the manufactory's special request program; a reinterpretation of the legendary program of the same name from the late 70s, which has existed since 2021. Among other things, work is underway to offer the four exterior colors of Wotherspoon's color blocking exterior via the Paint to Sample Plus option in the future.
About the Taycan Cross Turismo
As an all-rounder among electric sports cars, the Taycan Cross Turismo has all the strengths of the Taycan, such as superior performance and a long range. There is also more headroom for the passengers in the rear and a maximum loading volume of over 1.200 liters behind the tailgate. The chassis with standard all-wheel drive and air suspension is height-adjustable. The off-road design elements include wheel arch trims, separate lower parts at the front and rear, and the side skirts.
About Sean Wotherspoon
Sean Wotherspoon is best known for the 97 Nike Air Max 1/2018 sneaker he designed. In addition to the design, what is unusual is that corduroy is used as the upper material - a Wotherspoon trademark ever since. He has been working with Adidas since 2020. In 2013 he opened the first "Round Two Store" in the USA, a vintage shop for streetwear and sneakers. The designer and influencer has already worked with Porsche on “The Art of Drive”. In this interactive online mentoring program, well-known personalities report in short films, articles, interviews and digital events on how they have fulfilled their dreams and inspired others in the process.
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Photo credit: Porsche
