Shanghai Surprise: Modern Long Tail Racer Surfaces in China

Team of designers gathered in China for two years to create a modern version of the 1969 908 LH with the 908-04 Concept, and it’s stunning.

“Since I was nine years old, I’ve been dreaming about Porsche. This brand is the reason why I became a car designer,” says 28-year-old Alan Derosier about his role in spearheading the incredible Porsche build featured here. But this is no ordinary car build. Derosier recently gathered with a crew of fellow car designers in Shanghai to create a modern version of the 1969 908 LH with the 908-04 Concept that melds contemporary design with classic curves and a whole lot of Porsche history.

As Automobile Magazine reports, Derosier along with Marcos Beltrao, Martin Peng, Guillermo Mignot and Tom Wheatley wanted to create a modern take on the 1969 908 LH and, after two years of hard work, their piece of art is finally complete.

“We wanted to create a car that nobody makes anymore,” says the team on their website, Porsche Vision GT. “A ‘back to basics’ kind of feel, mainly focused on generating a feeling for the love of racing.”

With that in mind, the team set out to create something unique, something that brought gear heads and automotive enthusiasts back to the golden era of cars when vehicles were purely mechanical and centered on the way they drove. As the team puts it, the 908-04 Concept is meant to be a vehicle for Porsche devotees that miss the automaker’s old-school machines. And boy did they hit the nail on the head.

The concept has the same sweeping lines as the ’69 908 LH, but shares a lot of similar design touches with the Porsche 919 Hybrid. The headlights, for example look like a combination of the ones found on the 919 Hybrid and 918 Spyder. And the top-pipe exhaust design mimics the 918 hypercar.

‘We wanted to create a car that nobody makes anymore–  a ‘back to basics’ kind of feel, mainly focused on generating a feeling for the love of racing.’

It’s an incredible design and, what’s even better, is that Automobile Magazine claims that Porsche even gave the team their blessings halfway through the build. Wow, just wow.

To get a better look at the 908-04 Concept and the team behind the build, check out the video below from Porsche and get ready to be stunned.

You’ll also be glad to hear that these Porsche enthusiasts are so passionate about their dream car that they strategically planned every minute detail of this vehicle, and each of those details has its own backstory, including the idea to specifically recreate the longtail.

“I, as designer, made the choice to have the longtail because Porsches with this feature have something genuinely unique,” said project leader, Derosier. “And until now nobody, as far as I know, has tried to create a modern version of it.”