Porsche expanded its partnership with German clothing manufacturer Puma to celebrate 45 years of the 911 Turbo. Designers from both brands convened to create a line of limited-edition shoes inspired by the car.
Puma started by taking a history lesson from Porsche. Introduced in 1975 as the 930, the 911 Turbo was air-cooled during its first four generations, and water-cooled during the next four, leading up to the 992 model launched in 2020. Stylists chose the 1970s-themed Future Rider shoe to represent the first four 911 Turbo generations, and they selected the sportier-looking Speedcat shoe, which is inspired by racing, to embody the newer ones.
From there, Puma transferred many of the Turbo's defining traits to each shoe model. It replicated factory colors including Riviera Blue, Guards Red, Saffron Yellow Metallic, and GT Silver Metallic, and it color-coded different parts of the shoes to create an unmistakable resemblance with the car. For example, the 996-inspired shoe is mostly silver, but the strip of lighter silver echoes the wheels, and the red accents are reminiscent of the brake calipers.
Or, take the Future Rider inspired by the 3.3-liter 930. It's red and black like the car Puma used as a model. Drawing a shoe inspired by a car is a rather abstract task, unless we're talking about car-shaped slippers, but designers nailed it through the clever use of color. Of course, every pair receives Porsche badging on both sides.
Production of each pair is limited to 500 units globally and across all sizes, so you'll need to act fast if you want one. Pricing starts at $150. The collection will be sold online, on the Puma and Porsche sites, in the Puma flagship store in New York City, the Porsche Design stores in Los Angeles and Miami, and the Porsche Experience Centers in Atlanta and Los Angeles. They're scheduled to reach retailers on November 17, 2020.
Whether they're interested in shoes, cars, or both, enthusiasts will have an opportunity to reserve a pair on November 16 by visiting the Porsche Design website. When we say quick, we mean it: Porsche noted the window to score a set of sneakers early will last 2.7 seconds, which is the newest 911 Turbo's zero-to-60-mph time.
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