Yahoo Autos Porsche 996 "Swan Car" is fanciful fun at SXSW
The star of the show at Porsche's South by Southwest presence was undoubtedly the Nebula 928, but Stuttgart has another another art car up its sleeve. Whereas the 928 is a serious study of Y2K-era design, the 911 Swan Car is pure bizarre fun. There's nothing nebulous about the name, either. It's quite literally a Porsche turned into a giant white cygnus.
The Swan Car is based on a 996-generation "cracked egg" 911. Artist Chris Labrooy then went about de-wheeling the car and stripping out the interior before inserting a 8-foot inflatable waterfowl through the carcass. Its graceful neck extends out from there the windshield would be while the inflated body acts as the base, emerging from either side like puffy tank treads.
Porsches are frequently the subject of Labrooy's work and the artist has collaborated with the company before. In 2020 his Dream Big at the Pérez Art Museum Miami featured a life-size 911 Carrera 4S placed next to a sculpture of a racing helmeted figure. It appeared as if the figure was playing with the car like a Hot Wheels toy.
