Led by Stewart Johnson, Brandpowder have designed the Porsche-Citroen 911 DS, the result when the Porsche 911 and the Citroen DS are merged together. The result is a four-door sportscar fitted with a turbocharged 260 horsepower engine in the rear. The original air-cooling system would be replaced with forced water-cooling pipeline.
From Brandpowder:
Courtesy of © Brandpower
The Challenge: take the two most beautiful cars ever made…and put them together, literally… The technical challenges are enormous even to the most skilled team of mechanics and nobody, it must be said, ever dared to touch these holy icons of design, two sweethearts which rank in the top 5 Car of the Century, a hall of fame where Ferdinand Porsche, no less, figures as the first and foremost Car Engineer of the Century. Citroen DS, designed in 1955 by Italian designer and sculptor Flaminio Bertoni, is still considered today the most advanced car ever produced, for the amount of innovation it had in every detail.
Courtesy of © Brandpower
The process isn’t one of ‘cut and paste.’ The two cars function differently, from weight, shape, horsepower, and the list goes on. From the front, the car looks like the Porsche 911. And though you would never have guessed it by looking at the rear, under the hood lives the turbo engine.
Courtesy of © Brandpower
With a mixture of hand-drawn sketches and virtual modeling, Brandpowder have made decisions regarding possible assembly and have designed the parts within that assembly.
Courtesy of © Brandpower
Brandpowder is an independent design firm. They describe their work as ‘speculation on creative possibilities.’ They usually work without a client. The challenge, thus, is to produce extremely sellable ideas, which are then financed and produced after the design is complete.
Courtesy of © Brandpower
If you look at any brand of car the design has to pay homage to the brand, and if the car is part of a series, it has further aesthetic and formal limitations. A group like Brandpowder has the freedom to design without a client or a brand in mind. The Porsche Citroen 911 DS is an interesting product of: ‘What is the perfect car?’ without being limited to one brand’s aesthetics, rather simply concerned with the best possible design.
Courtesy of © Brandpower
