Louis Vuitton has moved into automotive design for the first time in its history, revealing a pair of one-off Porsche 911s created in collaboration with Singer Vehicle Design.
The Southern California customiser, known for rebuilding early-Nineties 911s into six- and seven-figure commissions, has produced a coupe and a convertible. Both are based on the 964-generation car that Porsche built between 1989 and 1994. According to Jean Arnault, Louis Vuitton’s director of watches, the project began as a request from Singer for a dashboard clock and expanded from there.
The coupe, designated Classic, carries a detachable Tambour-inspired timepiece that lifts out of the dashboard and doubles as a desk clock, with the speedometer, rev counter and remaining gauges executed to match. Singer strips its donor cars to the chassis before restoring, reinforcing and rebodying them in carbon fibre. The Classic runs a naturally aspirated air-cooled 4.0-litre flat-six producing 390 hp. The convertible, a Classic Turbo, uses a 3.8-litre twin-turbo unit with air-to-water intercooling and 510 hp. Both drive through a six-speed manual.
The coupe is finished in saffron, cobalt blue and yellow. The convertible wears Calcaire Lutétien white with wood veneer trim developed by Nicolas Ghesquière. Interiors are trimmed in Louis Vuitton leather with chromium-plated knobs, switches and air vents, and a roof rack has been built to take a trunk, a surfboard or a pair of skis.
Each car is supplied with its own luggage and a coordinating outfit. The coupe’s includes a racing jacket in Millésime leather, cotton-and-silk denim jeans, a choice of customised LV driving shoes or Remix Derbys, perforated leather gloves in natural or cobalt, and a calfskin-trimmed helmet. The convertible is paired with a made-to-measure driving suit cut from parachute silk, braided leather gloves, LV Sneakerinas and a monogrammed helmet.
Louis Vuitton has attached itself to travel since 1854 without ever putting its name on a vehicle until now, despite a catalogue that now runs from trunks to trainers to foosball tables. Specifications on pricing are yet to be released.
