Porsche is celebrating 30 years of the 968, one of its lesser-known entry-level models, in a rather unusual way. It joined forces with a Paris-based clothing company named L’Art de L’Automobile to give the car a drastic, street fashion-inspired redesign inside and out.
Arthur Kar, the man who founded L’Art de L’Automobile, spent about a year and a half working with Porsche to create the redesigned 968. Fittingly called 968 L’ART, the roadster features a design that is “based on the retro look of the early 1990s with an updated and modern flair,” which is a bit odd; the original car was manufactured from 1991 to 1995 so it was genuinely a product of the early 1990s. What this is, then, is an early 1990s car given a make-over that conforms with how some folks view the early 1990s in the early 2020s. Still with us?
Visually, the L’ART remains recognizable as a 968 thanks largely to its wedge-shaped silhouette but it gains a one-piece front end and its oval headlights have been replaced by ultra-strip units integrated into a newly-created air dam. The windshield is shorter, the quarter vents are gone, and the mirrors are much shorter than on the original car’s. Out back, the L’ART gets a tall, sloped rear end that dramatically alters its profile and a light bar with elements that spell “KAR.” Green paint and contrasting black wheels add a finishing touch to the custom look.
It’s a similar story inside, where the dashboard, steering wheel, and instrument cluster have been redesigned to achieve a look that’s less 1990s and more 1990s-viewed-from-the-2020s. The standard instrument cluster is complemented by a watch and a stopwatch.
Porsche made no mention of any mechanical modifications.
There’s no word on what will happen to the 968 L’ART. However, Porsche and L’Art de L’Automobile will jointly release two fashion collections that includes items like an air freshener, several different sweatshirt designs, and a keychain with the 968’s rear end on it.
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