Porsche 911 (964) Carrera 4

After Porsche had demonstrated the technical possibilities of four-wheel drive at the Paris-Dakar Rally and sold 291 units of the 959, the first time in the history of the brand that they offered a supercar as a technology testbed, the new 911 generation 964 also appeared with this drive concept. The displacement was increased by 0.3 liters to 3.6 liters compared with the predecessor. The engine technicians got 250 hp from this. In the first modelyear there was even only the four-wheel drive model called Carrera 4. Only after that did other variants such as the Carrera 2, Carrera RS, Turbo and so on follow. Until today the generation 964 enjoys high worldwide popularity and constantly rising prices. Therefore, it is now worthwhile to do even more complex repairs and restorations of less well-preserved specimens. While most owners attach great importance to a restoration as true to the original as possible, there are also other car lovers.

Teddy Santis belongs to the latter group. As founder and creative director of the New York fashion label ‘Aimé Leon Dore’ (ALD), founded in 2014, he is known for his special taste. Together with Porsche, he set out to rebuild a 964, following several months of design work during which he visited the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen and the neighboring production facility for the current 911 (992), among other places. “Working together with Porsche on this project has been a dream come true. It has been a deeply humbling experience to be entrusted with a project of such importance to the Porsche community and to work together on a design that has been so instrumental in shaping my own outlook and aspirations,” he reported at the unveiling of the completed vehicle. Both the restoration of the technical components and the assembly were carried out with the support of Porsche and using original spare parts.

For the exterior of the 964 Carrera 4, Teddy Santis chose a special white paint, which also adorns the facade of the ALD flagship store on Mulberry Street in SoHo/Manhattan. Deviating from the original vehicle, a ducktail spoiler in the style of the classic 911 Carrera RS 2.7 is used on the bonnet instead of the automatically raising wing. Classic Cup 2 alloy wheels are fitted to the car as well. Between the front wheels and the doors, a red Pegasus reminds of a logo which, especially in the USA, was often seen on racing Porsche cars in the past.

The interior of the 964 is quite extraordinary. Schott sunflower leather and Loro Piana houndstooth fabric are the names of two materials that can be found in ALD’s current autumn/winter collection. Both were used to create a tailor-made new interior and also to decorate the trunk. For the dashboard, the door panels and the steering wheel, high-quality grained leather is used. The back of these leather skins adorn the roof and the inner lining of the sunroof. While the rest of the car went through the restoration, the seats were sent to Recaro in Kirchheim to have them also refurbished and reupholstered. As part of this year’s New York Fashion Week, Teddy Santis showed his Porsche at the Jeffrey Deitch Gallery until 9 February.

Images: Porsche Newsroom