Duotone Mag 2024

Florian Panther, Creative Director at Duotone, talks about how this special racecar design can be transferred to a kite. Florian, the Porsche “Sau” is a legendary design. What were the particular challenges for you in adapting this design for a kite? A racecar and a kite or kiteboard are completely different products. The particular challenge was to authentically transfer the iconographic design of the Porsche 917 / 20 to our products. It was particularly difficult to achieve the same look with completely different materials. A racecar is made of hard materials like carbon, fiberglass, aluminum and glass. These are painted and covered with stickers. A kite is made of sailcloth and Dacron and is flexible and partially translucent. This made color-matching in particular a challenge. But I was totally thrilled when I saw the Pink Pig kite fly for the first time. The dashed lines and the light reflections when the sun shines through look great. I think the look of the kite is cooler in the air than on the ground. How did the idea for the “Pink Pig” design come about? In one of our meetings with the Porsche team, we discussed possible collab products and their design. The idea came up to make something that thematizes the incomparable racing history of Porsche. Having studied in Stuttgart, the headquarters of Porsche, I was, of course, familiar with the “Sau” from the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen as well as many other historical designs. The design has always fascinated me. It stands out completely from everything else in the Porsche Museum – not because it is particularly harmonious, but because it is unique. The design is also polarizing. Why did you still dare to print the markings of a butcher- style pig on a pink kite? To understand the design, you have to put it in its historical context. At the beginning of the 1970s, automobile racing was characterized by classic corporate design. Teams and their racecars were usually designed in the colors and logos of their main sponsors. Martini Racing, Gulf, Rothmans, to name but a few. Porsche made history with the Sau design in 1971 by creating something unprecedented. They were brave enough to go against all conventions and enter a racecar in Le Mans that looked completely different from everything else. This courage has resulted in a design which, despite the lack of racing success, is today one of the most famous historic racecar designs in the world and is also held in the highest esteem at Porsche due to its popularity. For us, the transfer to the Evo SLS Pink Pig Limited Edition is a tribute to a courageous and extraordinary design – which, of course, is just as surprising in the kite world today as it was in the racing world back then. It is certainly the most special thing we have ever done at Duotone. Were you able to transfer the design true to the original? There are many special details on the Porsche 917/20. We really got to grips with the vehicle and its history in great detail. It was precisely this detailing that made the whole project so exciting for us but also nerve-wracking. For example, it was a mission to find the original lettering that was used back then. Of course, we tried to place the names as sensibly and realistically as possible. So “trunk,” “brain,” “neck,” and “tail” move from the leading edge to the trailing edge, flanked by “ear lobe,” “loin,” “shoulder,” and “rib”. In addition, it is a small highlight that we were also allowed to implement the original Porsche crest on the center strut, as well as the lettering “The truffle hunters from Zuffenhausen”. The limited Pink Pig special edition of Evo SLS and Select Concept Blue are certainly exceptional collector’s items. Howmany of the 360 kites and 360 boards do you think will actuallymake it onto the water? I really hope they all do! The products look really cool on the water & in the air. It would be a shame to leave them in the bag in the basement. A special thing about Porsche for me has always been how many classic cars and strictly limited racecars are still being driven on the roads and at track days. I think that’s really cool and, conversely, it’s a shame when special cars are no longer visible because they disappear somewhere in private garages. That’s why I was particularly proud when Andrea Principi won the King of the Air 2023 with a Pink Pig Kite. That was basically our race entry for the kite, and we crowned the project at the end. prints Kite! New logo Attention! New „PORSCHE“ Logo update! Make sure to use new version only! Old logo n DLE 140gr: ne 7540 C W70: ne 7540 C Evo SLS „SAU“ 2024 06.2023 N 2 D U O T O N E D U O T O N E 76 77 W H Y P I N K P I G