Some people find joy in buying new cars, others thrive on restoring old gems, but few things are as satisfying as a restomodded icon. Meet the Aimé Leon Dore 911 Carrera 4, a restoration project done in collaboration with Porsche and founder of popular New York fashion label Aimé Leon Dore (ALD), Teddy Santis.
Santis has a soft spot for the Porsche brand, because he says the brand has been “so instrumental in shaping his own outlook and aspirations” as a creative person. With that, the 964 Carrera 4 gets painted in the same shade of white as the storefront of ALD’s flagship outlet in Manhattan, and it’s shod with Cup 2 wheels (a nod to Porsche in the 90s), plus it features the iconic ducktail spoiler which originated from the first 911 Carrera RS 2.7.
There’s a Pegasus graphic right above the front wheels, designed specifically for this project. It also references logos from historic Porsche racing cars. At the back, there’s a custom grille with a unique badge that harks back to collectible Porsche memorabilia. Note that all technical restoration and reassembly of the vehicle were completed using period-specific, original Porsche parts and with support from Porsche Classic.
Inside, the cabin is fully customised, starting with the gorgeous Schott sunflower leather and Loro Piana houndstooth. Both materials were featured in ALD’s Fall/Winter 2020 collection, by the way. Top-grain leather was used to wrap the dashboard, steering wheel, and door panels, while the reverse suede side of the hide is used for the headliner and sunroof. Exquisite stuff, this.
Then, the seats are custom-made as well, and meticulously restored in the legendary Recaro workshop in Kirchheim, Germany. A Schott leather trunk with Loro Piana highlights complete the interior. There is also a care bag inspired by designs from the Porsche Classic product archive. According to Porsche, the project took months, and Santis even made multiple visits to the Porsche Museum and 911 assembly line in Stuttgart as part of the research.
Porsche’s vice president of marketing, Kjell Gruner said: “Teddy Santis is as much a Porsche fan as we are, and we are delighted to see his inspiration and creativity applied to the 911. His interpretation is visually stunning and also shows unique features for a 964 – it’s a true one-of-a kind.” The car is currently on display at the 2020 New York Fashion Week.
“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,” Santis said. If you’re a fan of the Porsche 911, be sure to check out our tribute, here.
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