Click on either image to view more of the GT3 RS-inspired Nike sneakers
Remember the 80’s? Frankly, we’d rather not, what with all the neon colors and fifth-grader graphics. But some people just won’t leave it alone. Like sneaker freaks, who need to have those Nike high-tops they had (or didn’t) as a child. Or Porsche, with their obscenely bright-colored 911 GT3 RS. The two may seem at diametrically opposite ends of the spectrum, but it was only a matter of time before someone brought them together.
That someone is Purchaze, a German retro clothing company. Upon opening its newest location in Holland, a nearby Porsche dealership hooked them up with a Cayman S for promotional purposes. (We would have figured some neon-colored slant-nose would have served better, but what do we know.) As a thanks for the loan, Purchaze whipped up the series of sneakers you see above. Inspired, supposedly, by the GT3, each pair of kicks features the Porsche badge on the tongue and are colored in the shades of the GT3 palette: one pair in orange, one in green, another in black and a fourth in silver. The sneakers were presented to the team at the Porsche dealership, who are wishing they had irregularly-sized feet to use wear them in the pits at an upcoming race. If you want to get your hands on a pair of these, you may have less taste than boiled chicken you can’t, because they were made exclusively for the dealership, but Adidas offers a line of Porsche Design shoes that may not, you know, be a cause of embarrassment when worn in public.
Featured Gallery
This single-seat concept car is one of the coolest we’ve seen in a long while. If only Dean Kamen had come out with this instead of the Segway…
There wasn’t much novel branded merchandise at this year’s show, but there was this: a Cadillac Rabbit with leather trim and contrasting white stitching. Is there anyone who loves Cadillac enough to own this?
A Cadillac wine is within our mental reach, if not our grasp. But a Kia calculator? Branded merchandise is supposed to say something about the brand. This item says much more about the person who owns it. Not nice things.
There were more than the usual number of heritage cars on display in stands at this year’s show. Some were benign, such as the first Legacy from September 1, 1989 in the Subaru stand.
Some heritage cars were cool: the 365 hp No. 1 Boyle Special Maserati 8CTF won the Indy 500 in 1939 and 1940. Maserati was the first marque to win Indy back-to-back, and the same car also won Pike’s Peak.
Some heritage cars were worth a smirk: we thought “Phaeton” was a bad word inside the VW group, since it got this man fired and VW run out of the luxury segment. But 2009 is Audi’s centennial, so they showed off their Type A Double Phaeton, a subtle way of saying “We will handle the Phaetons, thank you…”
And some heritage displays were just a little doleful. While we really do like the 300C, and it really could be “The Most Awarded Car Ever,” it’s time for compelling new ideas – like the 200C – so we can stop trotting out this swayback nag and let it retire gracefully.
We thought this was a garbage can. Turns out it’s a very expensive loudspeaker from Bowers & Wilkins, Jaguar’s audio system partner.
This Chinese version of Harley Earl created this hood ornament for the BYD F6.
A landscaped track was created inside Cobo Hall where people could ride in – not actually drive – hybrids and electric vehicles. It was called the Eco Xperience, and it smelled like a giant compost heap. The odor was so strong it drifted up the stairwell to the VW stand and had people looking at the Bluesport Concept and wondering “Do you smell that?”
This is a concept car created for the American Iron and Steel Institute. We aren’t sure where or how the people fit inside since it looks like a giant grille on wheels. But the design language is a little familiar…
Since it ended up on the Lincoln MKT, which came from the sea, looking like a baleen whale, and now every time we see it we want to shove krill in its mouth.
[Source: High Snobiety via Jalopnik]