Two Porsches - 120 years apart.

In 1899, after gaining knowledge in electricity, electric motors, and designing one electric vehicle, a young Ferdinand Porsche joined the firm of Hofwagenfabrik Ludwig Lohner & Co. There he designed the electric wheel hub motor, first appearing on the Lohner-Porsche of 1900. AutoCult made this one in 2016 and you may recall I posted it here. 

In 1901, he designed the first gasoline-electric hybrid, the Lohner-Porsche "Mixte", meaning mixed or hybrid. Essentially a front-mounted gas engine drove a generator located under the front seat, which powered the front wheel hub motors. The body style was a rear-entrance tonneau seating four occupants. A model of this is available in plastic, though the thin nature of the fenders makes me think they could be p/e metal, and sold in the Porsche Museum. There is no indication anywhere as to who made it or where, though my guess would be China. The front radiator/hood lifts off to reveal a tiny but well-detailed engine.

Now fast forward to March 4, 2022 and the Porsche Werks Reunion at Amelia Island, where a beautiful gray 911 coupe appeared. But what was it exactly? Seems the Porsche Club of America (PCA) went in with Porsche Classic in their Sonderwunsch (special request) program (along with Porsche AG and Porsche Cars North America) to restore/customize a neglected 1999 Type 996. Known as the Classic Club Coupe, this 911 was reinvigorated with a type 996 GT3 power train. The body was modified with a slight 'double-bubble' roof and a ducktail spoiler reminiscent of the '73 Carrera RS. The retro look was enhanced with Fuchs 5-spoke wheels. The interior was upgraded with a modern infotainment system and black/gray twill-pattern seats with blue piping. The exterior was painted Sport Grey Metallic with lighter gray stripes and accents, bordered in blue. The blue accent theme extends to the black wheels with a thin blue outline in the rims. Of course, the real car is a 1 of 1.

I read about the conversion in the April, 2022 issue Panorama, PCA's club magazine. What a cool car, I thought. So I was surprised to see that Spark made one for Porsche dealers, in an edition of 996 examples, of course. All the details are there, even the upholstery pattern with blue piping on the edges and the 'Classic Club Coupe' script below the rear spoiler. The only nip I can pick is that the paint is solid gray, not metallic, and possibly a shade darker than the 1:1. At least, I cannot detect any sparkles in direct sunlight. I thought at first that the double-bubble effect on the roof had been missed, but by gently running my finger over the stripes I found that there is a slight depression in the middle. Kudos to Spark for catching this. 

 Both models arrived last week from Selection RS in France.