It is DECIDEDLY the greatest collection of "what-ifs" since my dating history in university. You see, Porsche has, hidden in a locker, a series of hypercars that never made it past the clay model stage. And before you dismiss these as mere styling exercises, remember: this is Porsche we're talking about. When they design something, they design it to work. These aren't just pretty shapes or expensive paperweights. They're fully engineered dreams that somehow never made it to reality. It's like finding out that somewhere in a vault, Leonardo da Vinci had sketched out plans for a smartphone. These cars represent not just what could have been, but what Porsche's engineers were thinking while the rest of us were busy arguing about wing sizes on the 911 GT3. 6. 2013 Porsche 917 Living Legend Based on the legendary 918 Spyder's architecture, the 917 Living Legend was Porsche's way of saying "remember when we absolutely dominated Le Mans? Let's do that again, but for the road." It would have shared the 918's 4.6-liter V8 hybrid powertrain, which means this retro-styled beast would have packed modern hybrid punch. The design is what happens when you let Porsche's designers drink espresso after hours. That sweeping body with its high tail is a masterclass in modern reinterpretation. And that wraparound windscreen? It's like someone took the visor from a Storm Trooper's helmet and made it beautiful. Sadly, this one never made it past the clay model stage, which is a bit like finding out your perfect match on a dating app lives on Mars. 5. 2015 Porsche 906 Living Legend If the 917 Living Legend was Porsche's love letter to Le Mans, the 906 Living Legend was its ode to the Targa Florio. Based on the car that won the grueling Italian road race in 1966, this concept looks like it's doing 200 mph standing still. The front end is pure vintage Porsche, but the rear... well, the rear looks like it was designed by someone who'd just watched Tron. Those tall LED taillights and that smooth tail section make it look like two different cars had a very successful first date. And that air intake where the two design languages meet? It's like the automotive equivalent of a peace treaty - bringing classic and modern together in perfect harmony. Like its 917 sibling, this one also never made it past the clay model stage, which is a shame because I suspect it would have made the Carrera GT look a bit pedestrian. 4. 2017 Porsche 919 Street Now this... this is what happens when Porsche's engineers finish their race car project and think "you know what would be fun?" Based on their spectacularly successful LMP1 racer, the 919 Street was essentially what would happen if you asked Porsche to build a road-legal spaceship. And the numbers are properly insane: a 2.0-liter V4 (yes, V4) turbo hybrid powertrain producing 900 horsepower. That's 450 horsepower per liter, which is the kind of math that makes Ferrari engineers need a lie down. The design is essentially a 919 race car with just enough modifications to make it street legal - like giving Usain Bolt a business suit but letting him keep his running shoes. They even kept the short-tail design but reduced the size of the fin, presumably so you could still use drive-through restaurants without decapitating the server. Mercedes eventually did something similar with the AMG One, but Porsche had the idea first. They just didn't have the heart (or perhaps the patience) to deal with making a race engine deal with speed bumps and cold starts. 3. 2019 Porsche Vision 918 RS Remember the 918 Spyder? That hybrid hypercar that made Ferrari and McLaren owners question their life choices? Well, apparently Porsche thought it wasn't quite extreme enough. The Vision 918 RS was meant to be the 918's final form - like when your favorite anime character goes Super Saiyan, but with more carbon fiber. The upgrades weren't just cosmetic either. While the standard 918's 875 horsepower was hardly lacking, Porsche's engineers wanted more. They planned to upgrade not just the powertrain, but also the chassis and aerodynamics. That massive rear fin looks like it was stolen from Le Mans, and the front splitter appears capable of plowing snow in a pinch. It's the kind of car that would make physics textbooks need a revision. But alas, like that one perfect parking spot you see just as you've committed to another one, it wasn't meant to be. 2. 2019 Porsche Vision E Just when you thought Porsche couldn't get any more radical, they designed what can only be described as a Formula E car for the road. With 340 horsepower from a single electric motor, it might sound a bit tame compared to the other monsters on this list, but remember - this thing probably weighs about as much as your lunch. The design looks like something out of a sci-fi movie director's fever dream. That panoramic glass canopy would give you the kind of visibility fighter pilots dream about, and the low-slung body makes a Cayman look positively portly. It's what would happen if you asked Porsche to build a car for Tron 3. And while 340 horsepower might not sound like much in a world of thousand-horsepower hypercars, I suspect this thing would've been faster around a track than most of them - if they'd ever actually built it. 1. 2019 Porsche Vision 920 For their final act of theoretical madness, Porsche created what might be the most extreme road car never made. The Vision 920 was essentially the 919's angry younger sibling - the one that went to the gym and got really into CrossFit. It could have used the 919 Hybrid Evo's 1,160 horsepower powertrain, which, in a car the size of a large bathtub, is the kind of power-to-weight ratio that makes physicists nervous. The design is what happens when you let race car engineers design a road car without any marketing people in the room. Those exposed front suspension components aren't just for show - they're proper pushrod suspension units, like you'd find on a Formula 1 car. The whole thing looks like it's ready to set a lap record even when it's standing still, which is probably why it never made production. The insurance premiums alone would've required a small mortgage. The Dreams That Could Have Been Looking at these six cars, it's clear that Porsche's engineers and designers have no shortage of imagination - or ambition. Each one represents a different "what if" scenario, a parallel universe where regulations and practicality took a back seat to pure performance and innovation. What's most remarkable isn't just how beautiful or powerful these cars would have been, but how close they came to reality. These weren't just sketches on napkins - they were fully designed, engineered concepts that could have worked. The fact that they exist as full-scale models shows just how serious Porsche was about each one. And perhaps that's the real tragedy here. In an alternate universe, somewhere, there's a car show where all six of these machines are running, driving, and probably terrifying their owners in the best possible way. But in our universe, they remain as silent sentinels in Porsche's museum, reminding us that sometimes the best cars are the ones we never got to drive. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go write a strongly-worded letter to Porsche asking them to reconsider their decision on at least one of these. I suggest we start with the 919 Street. Anyone want to sign the petition?
