August 19, 2011

My Other Stroller Is A Porsche

dawod_porsche_1.jpg

Holy crap, people! You think there could actually be a Porsche Design stroller hitting the streets and I haven't heard about it? I've got freakin' web alerts set up for this kind of thing! [At least I do now.]

And yet it's too late. The 911's out of the barn, at least according to Child Mode®, heard about the "Porsche Design P'4911" from actual design blog Yanko Design. Which, sidebar, Judge Ito, I think we know the difference between Porsche and Porsche Design, right? Pens & sunglasses vs Caymans and Cayennes? Titanium watches vs. 911s? OK, maybe that's the confusing part, since Porsche Design's founder F.A. Porsche is the grandson of the Porsche car company founder, and the designer of the original 911, before the family dealt itself out of management for a generation. And in 2003, Porsche Design merged back with Porsche AG as a separate Porsche Design Group subsidiary, majority-owned by the automaker, with F.A. retaining a 13% stake. So Porsche Design is way more Porsche than it used to be, but it still is not Porsche Porsche, got it?

Anyway, for a design firm, Yanko does not seem too concerned with the distinction:

The Porsche Design P'4911 blends a unique mix of materials such as carbon fiber, aluminum, leather, ball-bearing wheels, into this tough looking design that is, to say the least, quite masculine (man growl). The minimal design folds compact enough to fit into the trunk of any Porsche.
Alright, now we're moving into Daddy Types territory. As it happens, I've been covering the "strollers that fit in the trunk of any Porsche" beat for six+ years now, and this:

dawod_porsche_stroller_2.jpg

is total bullshit. At best, it's fitting half a stroller in the trunk of any Porsche, and it's only a rendering at that. Where's the kid supposed to go, on top? Or is that stroller seat also a fully functioning car seat? Because Porsche or no, that'd be the killer app right there. I mean, sure, the Orbit Baby System has completely reinvented a superior stroll/ercar seat solution, but it still can't fit in the back seat of any Porsche. Not even of any Porsche with back seats.

I smell a design study. Well, designer Dawid Dawod? Please explain your prod--oh, I see, you just graduated from design school in Sweden, and the "Porsche Design P'7411" [not P'9411] was your class project last semester? And so you set out to "understand what Porsche Design stands for as a brand" and to create "The Ultimate Porsche baby stroller for men," because you wondered "Why is it that in most cases only women take their children out on a trip to the park?"

Do you actually live in Sweden? The involved dad nirvana of the developed world? Where dads take more paid parental leave than anywhere else on earth? And where parents park their kids in strollers on the street year-round while they do every possible activity but walk in the park?

At least we're getting somewhere now. This is not a product. It's not even a prototype. It's a class project, done in "cooperation with Porsche Design" and Dawod's design school.

dawod_porsche_stroller_3.jpg
"All mechanical solutions were accurately tested using Lego Techinics."

And the original concept was a luxurious stroller that was small enough to carry on a plane. And "Throughout the ideation process it was found that lots of necessary functions and solutions had to get compromised away due to this idea." To which I say, no shit, Sherlock. Please let me know the registrar's contact info, because I and every parent who's ever gate-checked a stroller would like to pick up our Swedish BA in industrial design.

Now let's get to the subject of the design itself, especially those distinctive wheels. Which eagle-eyed DT reader Melanie recognized from somewhere--oh, yes, they were one of the most eye-popping features on the Ljus Krön, a prototype, axle-less stroller by Christian Rancati introduced at the 2008 Kind + Jugend trade show.

ljus_kron4_dt.jpg

Welcome to the university of life, my friend.

P'4911 Porsche Baby Stroller: Details & Photos On The New Luxurious Design [childmode.com via dt reader melanie]
All errors can be traced back to: Porsche Baby!! [yankodesign]

11 Comments

The paraplegic baby in the first image tip you off?

You, my friend, are a buzzkill. It is nice to dream that such a stroller might one day exist.

But very nice takedown. Massive increase in respect for your blog.

Thanks, I am right behind you on wanting an actual Porsche stroller to exist someday, too, though I'm afraid I'm too skeptical by now to even dream.

What? No mention of how bright the light is coming through the windows at "12:13 AM"??? And why not "9:11 AM"? Maybe the university is really far north and it's a summer Sunday at 12:13 AM?

Awesome post. Thanks!

It can fit into a back of a Porsche but can a baby fit in a Porsche?

Looks like the photoshopped kid is about to fall out of the stroller. I guess parents will have to follow the lead of those who race their Porsches and head to the aftermarket for a 5 point harness.

This article made me laugh. Let's face it, if some designer is able to design a stiller that can fold up like a contortionist to fit in the back of the Porsche, what about the rest of the baby stuff a parent has to haul around? I know many men, and woman for that matter, would love to drive a Porsche or some other sports car all the time, but having kids just doesn't allow for that. I think that is why the so called "mid-life crisis" is so popular. Anyway, I really like your posts and I will continue to check back.
Ricky
www.thebuckeykid.blogspot.com

Yes, of course, except the point is, the designer couldn't. It's bullshit, and the only thing that fits in the 911 boot is the stroller base. So where does the seat go?

I try to be constructive about this, and the guy did just graduate from design school, but the school's whole exercise with Porsche Design ends up being about Porsche Desgin style, without a single hint at functionality, or if you want to be more Porsche-like about it, performance.

And anyway, I suspect the only reason they did a stroller in the first place was because it was deemed the most un-Porsche Design-like product imaginable, the most incongruous design problem Porsche would ever have to tackle. This, a company that designs pens and streetcars and external hard drives. So even though the significant majority of Porsches being sold now--Cayennes--are actually family cars, the company's pet designers still smirk around treating strollers as a stunt which they occasionally deign to address.

Meanwhile, they end up slapping the Porsche logo on the fugliest actual car seats known to man and cash the royalty checks without the slightest hint of awareness. I'd say don't get me started, but you obviously already did.

I remember that the wheels are patented in USA-EUROPE
and the patent is mine .
Thank you Melanie and Greg for to remember to everybody the stroller Kron.
I'm the stroller Kron designer and please mr Dawod and Porsche design try to be more original and innovative.
Now is Cristian Rancati speaking , next time maybe will be my lawyer.
My compliments to your blog Greg.

Can you please inform me on the possibilities of purchase and production of these wheels ?
many thanks,
Please reply as i searched allready for a long time.

His website appears to be gone, but you should search for Mr. Christian Rancati, who designed the Ljus Kron stroller, which was copied by these Porsche Design interns without attribution.

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