No fewer than 15 concepts were uncovered back in 2020 when the "Porsche Unseen" book came out. These cars were all secretly designed between 2005 and 2019 before the house of Zuffenhausen finally decided to release them all. Without a shadow of a doubt, the most surprising concept of the lot was Vision Renndienst. Yes, it's this futuristic-looking minivan.
Envisioned with an electric powertrain, the people mover was more than just a drawing as Porsche built a full-size scale model. A new video gives us the rare opportunity to get better acquainted with the unlikely MPV and its peculiar interior. It has a central driver's seat à la the McLaren F1 / Speedtail, Lamborghini Egoista, and Gordon Murray T.50. However, it's far more practical than the others since it has five more seats in the back, thanks to a pair of seats in the middle row and a three-seat bench behind them. Well, maybe just two rearmost seats since there are only two "floating" headrests.
The Vision Renndienst had an asymmetrical door layout with a single door on one side and two on the other side. These are all sliding doors, and since there's no B-pillar, getting in and out is a breeze. The floor is completely flat with its bespoke EV architecture, and the driver's seat also slides forward, making it even easier for second-row occupants to hop onto their individual seats.
The instrument cluster is flanked by a pair of screens that presumably show footage taken by the mirror-replacing side cameras. The electric minivan has one of the strangest greenhouses we've ever seen, especially among minivans, complete with a small sunroof just for the driver. There are also touch controls on the doors as well as on the ceiling but it's just for show since they're not functional. This is a 1:1 scale model after all.
You can imagine Porsche had no intentions to put the Vision Renndienst into production. Had it happened, purists would've probably sold their beloved 911s the next day. It was done just for fun and as a tribute to the Volkswagen Transporter-based Porsche Service Vehicles from back in the day. VW returned the favor last year with an ID.Buzz featuring Porsche Renndienst (Race Service) branding.
The minivan was arguably the least exciting of the Unseen concept. Cars such as the 904 Le Mans Living Legend, 919 Street, and Vision Spyder were all far more interesting for someone who likes sports cars with the famous crest. There was also a Vision Turismo that became the Taycan. Porsche created Safari versions of the 911 and Macan, with the former evolving into the 911 Dakar limited-run production model.
