Apparently not content with its existing range of clothes and merchandise, Porsche has teamed up with New York fashion house Aimé Leon Dore to create a range of brand-specific products – and, more interestingly, a retrimmed 964 Carrera 4. In a new preview video to announce the partnership, the air-cooled 911 can be seem slipping and sliding around on snow and ice like all the best flat-six classics, but it's the retrimmed cabin that's supposed to be in focus. It features new colours and materials inspired by ALD’s winter collection, but of course we're more interested in the dynamic stuff. Like spotting more than one potentially unsavable slide…
You’ll no doubt notice the driving gloves (remember those?), too, which are a signal for the fashion line-up to come. We’re expecting lots of suede, because, well, that’s what adorns almost all of this rear-engined classic’s interior. If the fashion link has you cringing, do give the cabin a closer look, because it is - like the rest of the dovetail car - really rather lovely. So lovely, in fact, that it wouldn't be a complete surprise to see Porsche launch the ALD cabin as a retrim package for retro 911 owners.
It also points to a growing effort from Porsche to develop a ‘lifestyle’ image, something Ferrari has arguably done to a point of exhaustion. And no clearer is that than in its growing number of experience centres, the latest of which has just been announced for the northern Italian region of Franciacorta. It’s presently being built and is expected to have cost the manufacturer €26 million when completed.
It's due to open next year, with the main building accompanied by a new 1.5-mile circuit, off-road course and low friction handling track, plus an EV go-kart track and driving simulator. You might think of it as a (much) bigger version of Porsche’s Silverstone site, but the Franciacorta centre is expected to host over 20,000 people per year, so it’s not just for Porsche owners looking to stretch the legs of their machines, but fans of the brand in general. A bit like Mercedes’ Brooklands facility.
Not that Porsche won’t be hoping to entice a few of these visitors to convert their interest into the purchase of a new car. Because after all, that’s what most of this is about. Only now, they’ll be able to add a matching pair of driving gloves designed by those fashionistas in New York to the order, as well. What a time to be alive.
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