The on-going Star Wars saga and Porsche’s decades-long racing heritage have collided. Shortly after teaming up with Boeing to develop a flying taxi, the German firm joined forces with Lucasfilms to design a spacecraft that will make its galactic debut when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits the big screen.
Porsche has worked on a lot of different projects since its inception in 1948, including tractors and an economy car for the then-burgeoning Chinese market, but this is the first time it’s applying its design philosophy to an outer space-bound vehicle. So, will we see a Virago Sport Turismo? Or, how about a hot-rodded Millennium Falcon GT2 RS? How does Chewbacca feel about the idea of a 911 hybrid? We don’t know yet; the German firm hasn’t shed much light on the project.
“Developing a spacecraft with clear Porsche design DNA is exciting and challenging. Even though they do not seem to share many elements at first glance, both worlds have a similar design philosophy. The close collaboration with the Star Wars design team inspires and fascinates us — I’m sure that both sides can draw major benefits from this exchange,” opined Michael Mauer, Porsche’s vice president of design, in a statement. That hopefully means Porsche will make the next Cayenne Coupe available with a class 4 hyperdrive but it’s too early to tell for sure.
Design work is already underway. Porsche stylists based in Stuttgart, Germany, the company’s home town, are regularly meeting with Lucasfilm stylists based in San Francisco, California, to exchange ideas and move the project forward. Neither side will reveal the final design until the release of The Rise of Skywalker, which is scheduled for December 20, but Porsche told Digital Trends the spaceship won’t be part of the film; it will be off-screen, and it’s merely a design exercise at this point. It sounds like it will be worth the wait, however, and hopefully the Porsche DNA goes beyond one spacecraft, because we think R2D2 deserves to get the track-bred Sport Chrono package. Remember, little guy: The ignition is on the left.
This is, as far as we know, the first time an automaker has participated in the development of a Star Wars spacecraft. There’s no indication Chevrolet sent Lucasfilms some of its speed-obsessed engineers to put the final touches on the CR90 Corellian Corvette. There are no Rolls-Royce parts in the Ghost, the Imperial landing craft isn’t part of Chrysler’s now-defunct flagship brand, and the Ebon Hawk wasn’t made by Studebaker. But, who knows, this partnership might start a trend. Imagine a small, nimble spacecraft inspired by Mazda’s MX-5 Miata, or a big-bodied hauler with a Ford F-150-like design.
Updated 10-25-2019: Added statement from Porsche about the spacecraft not starring in the upcoming movie.
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read more at https://www.digitaltrends.com by Ronan Glon
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