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Designer Sean Wotherspoon’s streetwear-inspired take on the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo boasts corduroy upholstery and pastel-hued Harlequin paint.
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Porsche’s higher-riding electric wagon, the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, has received a Harlequin-inspired makeover, courtesy of American designer Sean Wotherspoon.
Known for his colourful clothing and art creations, the Virginia-born Wotherspoon boasts a 1.1 million-strong Instagram following and a number of high-profile brand collaborations with the likes of Adidas and Vespa.
The 32-year-old is the proud owner of a 1996 Volkswagen Golf Harlequin – one of only 264 produced for the US market – so for his latest collaboration, Wotherspoon customised his own personal Taycan 4 Cross Turismo to look like his other pride and joy.
The Golf Harlequin was an American-market follow-up to Europe’s 1995 VW Polo Harlequin, which created a unique look by mixing and matching the colours of the car’s exterior panels.
While only 264 Golf Harlequins were built for the US, demand for the smaller 1995 Polo Harlequin in Europe was so unexpectedly high that Volkswagen had to increase its production run from 1000 to 3800 examples.
Like the Golf Harlequin, the exterior of Wotherspoon’s Taycan features four separate (and unique) paint shades, all named after members of his family: Nash Blue, Sean Peach, Loretta Purple and Ashley Green.
Sean Wotherspoon with his “favourite whip”, a 1996 Volkswagen Polo Harlequin.
Using Porsche’s Paint to Sample Plus customisation program, future buyers of the Taycan will be able to select Wotherspoon’s custom paint colours for their own cars – albeit only one per car.
The one-of-a-kind Taycan also boasts an interior accented with cork and corduroy, with Wotherspoon, a vegan, intent on ensuring the car was leather-free (an option also available to normal Taycan buyers).
It’s not the first time corduroy has adorned the interior of a Porsche, with the first use of the fabric dating back to the 1952 Porsche 356.
The design process required the car to be disassembled and rewired, with Porsche’s design team painting a perfect circle on the side of the Taycan’s exterior in a nod to the brand’s racing history – symbolic of a starting-number roundel.
“The circle represents Porsche’s race history dating back to the 1950’s Le Mans car and so many more icons to follow. The hand painted artistry and time that goes in to achieving the perfect circle on these cars is pretty unbelievable, especially when you’re dealing with curves like the Taycan’s,” Wotherspoon wrote of his creation.
“Our teams worked extremely hard around the clock on all ends off of the energy and excitement of working together on such a unique project and I believe the circle also represents that journey and final product we achieved.”
The regular 2021 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo.
Wotherspoon’s Taycan is the latest in a number of artist interpretations of Porsche’s first-ever electric model – in early 2021, a Taycan designed by American artist Richard Phillips sold for $US200,000 at auction.
Selecting an individual paint shade for the Taycan wagon, via the brand’s Paint to Sample Plus service, adds $42,230 to the purchase price and at least three months to the lead time.
Susannah’s background is news journalism, followed by several years spent in celebrity journalism, entertainment journalism and fashion magazines and a brief stint hosting a travel TV show for Channel Ten. She joined Drive in 2020 after spending a year and a half at the helm of Harper’s BAZAAR and ELLE’s online platforms.
Susannah holds a Bachelor in Media and Communications from the University of Melbourne and cut her teeth as an intern for Time Inc in New York City. She has also completed a television presenting course with the National Institute of Dramatic Art. She lives in Melbourne with her husband and her one-year-old son who, despite her best efforts, does not yet enjoy a good road trip.
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