Porsche prototypes and concept cars
Porsche has built prototypes for road cars, race cars and body studies since 1939. This drawer lists them by date and marks how much of each story rests on factory documents.
Porsche prototype timeline
| Year | Prototype | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1939 | Type 64 | Berlin–Rome race coupé on Volkswagen mechanicals; one survivor. |
| 1948 | 356/1 “No. 1” | Mid-engined aluminium roadster, Gmünd, Austria. |
| 1959–60 | Type 754 T7 | Four-seat body study that fixed the 911’s roofline. |
| 1962–64 | 901 prototypes | Thirteen pre-production cars, chassis 13321 onward. |
| 1964 | 901 cabriolet 13360 | Karmann-reinforced open car; Targa precursor. |
| 1973 | 911 Turbo prototype | Frankfurt show car with a dummy turbocharger. |
| 1983 | 959 “Gruppe B” | Frankfurt show prototype for Group B homologation. |
| 1982–2017 | 956, 962 C, 919 Hybrid | The 956 and 962 C won Le Mans six years running (1982–87); the 919 Hybrid won three (2015–17). |
| 2023– | 963 | Hybrid LMDh prototype racing in IMSA and WEC. |
| 2026 | Flachbau RS | Sonderwunsch one-off slant nose on a 991.2 GT2 RS. |
- Porsche 356 No. 1: the first car to carry the Porsche name Porsche 356/1 (356-001), the first Porsche: a mid-engined aluminium roadster built in Gmünd and registered on 8 June 1948. Engine, body and designer.
- Porsche 901 prototype chassis numbers: every car from 13321 The Porsche 901 prototypes by chassis number, from 13321 Sturmvogel to cabriolet 13360: nickname, purpose, and which cars survive or vanished.
- Porsche 901: the car that became the 911 The Porsche 901 explained: the 1963 Frankfurt debut, thirteen prototypes, the 82 cars built as 901, the flat-six engine, and how to tell a real early 901-era car.
- Porsche 902: the four-cylinder 901 that became the 912 The Porsche 902 was the four-cylinder version of the 901. Its test cars, why it became the 912, the 616/36 engine, and 912 vs 911 differences.
- Porsche 959 prototypes: from the 1983 Gruppe B to Paris-Dakar The Porsche 959’s prototypes explained: the 1983 Gruppe B show car, the Paris-Dakar rally cars, the 961 at Le Mans, pre-production cars and how many 959s were built.
- Porsche Flachbau RS: the 2026 slant-nose one-off on a 911 GT2 RS The Porsche Flachbau RS: a Sonderwunsch one-off revealed in August 2026, a 991.2 GT2 RS rebuilt with a Moby Dick-inspired slant nose. Design and testing.
- Porsche Le Mans prototypes: every overall winner and the 963 Porsche’s Le Mans prototypes and all 19 overall wins: 917, 936, 935, 956, 962, WSC-95, 911 GT1-98 and 919 Hybrid, plus the 963 LMDh’s record since 2023.
- Porsche slant nose: the Flachbau 930, its generations and production numbers The Porsche slant nose (Flachbau): the 935 origin, three generations of 930 slant nose, 948 built, M505 and M506, the 964 Turbo S Flachbau and values.
- Porsche Type 114: the 1938 V10 sports car that was never built The Porsche Type 114 F-Wagen: a 1938 design for a mid-engined sports car with a 1.5-litre V10. Why it was drawn, why it was dropped, and its legacy.
- Porsche Type 64: the 1939 Berlin–Rome race car and its survivor The Porsche Type 64 was built for a 1939 Berlin–Rome race that never happened. Three cars, one survivor (chassis 38/41), Otto Mathé’s 46 years, and the 2019 auction.
- Porsche Type 754 T7: the 1959 prototype that shaped the 911 The Porsche Type 754 T7 was Butzi Porsche’s 1959 four-seat body study for the 356’s successor. How its 2,400 mm wheelbase became the 911, and where it is today.