Last year, Porsche unveiled a slew of concepts and a book called ‘Unseen’ from the depths of its design studio. The Vision Renndienst concept was one of them, with the minivan being an updated version of the vintage Volkswagen Type 1 race service van that served the Porsche racing team in the 1950s (Renndienst means ‘race service’ in German).
The interior of the concept was not revealed, but a peek through the tinted window of the rendering revealed what appeared to be seating for five or six people, with one of those seats placed along the centerline. Porsche told Autoblog at the time that the company is focused on sports cars and that ‘the minivan concept… is not our plan at all.’ Nevertheless, of all the concepts in the book, Porsche decided to dedicate three of its finest design minds to creating ‘the interior of the future’ for this one.
Michael Mauer, Porsche’s design chief, Markus Auerbach, head of interior design, and Ivo van Hulten, director of user experience design, collaborated on imagining what the future minivan driver will require. Because this is a Porsche, the captain’s quarters is a single seat in the middle of the cockpit, as this minivan driver enjoys a romp on some twisty B-roads. Two ergonomic bucket seats flank the driver on the passenger side, providing unobstructed views out the windshield as well as views of two retractable screens hanging just below the instrument panel, assuming the occupants have raptor-like vision.
A bench seat in the back spans the width of the minivan, curving along the wall at the edges. Because there doesn’t appear to be much space between the back bench and the rear hatch, the six-seat cabin is likely to be the best option for race services such as transporting team drivers and VIPs from hotel to track. That captain’s chair in the front can rotate 180 degrees to face the rest of the occupants, perfect for a track-side confab in a private, mobile office.
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