Retro Sport Coupe

Specs

This is my P.O.R.S.C.H.E, which stands for Prototype Of Retro Sport Coupe Heedfully Engineered, which is an alternate model of the  LEGO 10295 Porsche 911 set. Although it is inspired by classic front-engine Porsche models like 924 an 928 and has a certain Porsche DNA, it is not representing any specific type of Porsche, but my own interpretation.

This sport coupe features:

  • working steering connected to the steering wheel,
  • opening doors and bonnet,
  • pop-up headlights,
  • detailed engine,
  • a reclining backrest on the front seats to access the rear seats.

Development process

This model has to be one of the most difficult alternates I have created over the years. It all started when I wanted to use these new special curved pieces over the front wheels. To keep the wheel wells low, the solution that the official set uses cannot be replicated. So the front wheel wells had to be designed differently, but because the steering had to work as well, it was a struggle to keep them tight and neatly fit. Lowering the body lines, also meant that the steering wheel had to be positioned lower and under a different angle. This automatically led to a model with a longer front, and therefore it made more sense to create a car with the engine in the front.

The next challenge was that the shoulder line had to go up for the rear wheel wells to work. As a consequence there needed to be a smooth transition from the curved front and door to the shoulder line. The lower door line with the curved top part also meant that I could not use the same part combination for the door opening which seemed necessary if I wanted to keep the door opening feature without forcing the elements. After trying many configurations from the door to shoulder line I was able to get everything to work the way I wanted, without having to use force to open the doors.

Then at the rear end the challenge was to integrate the c-pillar. In the beginning I used the same part as the official set with the Turbo version, but it became obvious that this curved part was necessary to fill the front. Actually the whole window to roof line was an absolute nightmare to get right because of the angles. Putting things under an angle is not that difficult, but to get them back close in System at the other end required many different attempts. A solution between the windscreen and roof that felt kind of right, turned out to be at least 1,5 mm off when building the digital model, something I couldn’t accept which meant back to the drawing board and then updating the digital model.

Normally I do not apply any stickers to the official sets, so the parts are more versatile for alternates. However, lately we see more printed parts. This is great from a quality point of view but can be quite problematic when building alternates. This was the case with the logo emblem on the 2 x 8 curve. For the bonnet I had to cover a space of 8 wide – if I wanted to keep the pop-up headlights -, which would correspond with 4 times 2 x 8 curved pieces. However with the emblem this is not possible, because with 4 in a row it can never be positioned in the middle and will always be offset. So I had to opt for something else instead. Another problem with the bonnet was how to get the hinge to work at the back. Using a similar option as the official model was not an option, because there was not enough space left with the length of the bonnet. So instead I opted for a similar solution as in the 10262 Aston Martin set.

So after the exterior was finally completed it was time for detailing the inside, like the interior and engine. Normally this is not such a big deal, but everything was different with this model. Of course the sitting position for the driver has to be in line with the steering wheel. I couldn’t go for similar seats as in the Porsche model, because I already had used some of these parts in other essential places. Still, the seats had to become 5 wide to get them inline with the steering wheel. On top of that I wanted to make the front seats recline to be able to access the rear seats. In the end I opted for a solution that went from 5 wide in the bottom to 4 for the backrest, which I think works out quite well.

Moving onward with the engine, even this part caused a lot of trouble, because there was so little space left between the chassis and the bonnet. There was only about a brick height at the highest point at the back and then sloping down to just a plate in the front. Then I also discovered that the bonnet was actually too heavy to stay open by itself, so I needed to include some kind of supporting bar to keep it open, similarly to what the majority of real cars use. Luckily it all came together In the end in a very tight package.

Finally done! Now all that’s left is presenting the model with some nice looking photographs. Believe it or not, but even taking pictures was far from easy, because the details and shapes of a complete white model are hard to distinguish with a white backdrop. So this again required a different approach where I could not use my usual spot but had to rely on a different background. However, looking at the final result I’d say that this model could now almost be confused with a die-cast model if you do not look closely.

Want to build your own copy? I have once again taken the time to make detailed, high quality, step-by-step instructions, which are available for a small fee at Rebrickable and will soon follow as well at MOCsMarket.

 

5 thoughts on “Retro Sport Coupe

  1. g.de.jong says:

    Great. I was expecting you to make an alternative of the Porsche. I will also be purchasing this build instruction.

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