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While the latest entry in the spacefaring Star Wars series may have just had its Hollywood premiere Monday, filled with celebrities hoping to hop to the stars for just one evening, one company instead took a more terrestrial approach to celebrating The Rise of Skywalker’s release.
Given that Star Wars is set in a universe full of spaceports and hovercars, you wouldn’t expect many collabs with real-life automobile manufacturers. But just like Nissan and Mercedes-Benz before it, famed luxury car maker Porsche has now collaborated with Star Wars to both bring its design language to a galaxy far, far away, as well as snag a little piece of Star Wars to hyperdrive back home.
Showing at the Rise of Skywalker premiere this Monday, Porsche unveiled a model of a new starship it designed for the movie, alongside its new 2020 Porsche Taycan, which has previously been shown racing TIE Fighters in ads. Dubbed the Porsche Tri-Wing S-91x Pegasus Starfighter, the vessel combines elements of X-wings and real-life cars to create a new class of Star Wars spaceship.
According to the Lucasfilm vice president and executive creative director Doug Chiang, the new Pegasus Starfighter would be a combination of the X-wing fighter, Y-wing bomber, and U-wing gunship, and would be the new fastest ship in the galaxy, regardless of what Han Solo might say.
Looking at its design, the ship could easily take the Y-wing or V-wing name, if those weren’t already taken. Simple and to the point, this new collab essentially staples the front half of a Porsche car onto what looks like a space-flight ready American stealth bomber, then gives it some extra cannons near the cockpit for good measure, as well as an astromech droid slot directly behind the pilot.
Fine German starship engineering. #Porsche @StarWars: #TheRiseOfSkywalker pic.twitter.com/IXQLH34xgO
— Porsche (@Porsche) December 17, 2019
The direct fusion comes across better than one might think, adding a unique flat aesthetic to the starship’s bow that isn’t seen much elsewhere in Star Wars. Similarly, the car-like headlights give the fighter a cute, somewhat rounded appearance. These Earth-native design features help give the Pegasus a friendly demeanor, giving the audience something familiar to latch onto while they explore the galaxy far, far away.
According to Chiang, “This collaboration is an amazing opportunity to merge the design aesthetics of Porsche and Star Wars. I found it to be creatively challenging and extremely inspiring. It is thrilling to infuse Star Wars with Porsche styling to create an iconic new spaceship that could exist both on Earth in the cinematic universe.”
Speaking of spaceships existing on Earth, it seems Porsche isn’t quite done melding their design sensibilities with Star Wars, either. Aside from their consumer cars, Porsche also runs a Formula E team. For those unaware, Formula E is an offshoot of Formula 1 focused on electric cars, with its own unique rules to compensate. And while the Pegasus Starfighter is getting the most attention, Porsche also tweeted out another Rise of Skywalker premiere display this Monday, a new Formula E car that only “knows one speed: hyperdrive.”
It knows one speed: Hyperdrive. #Porsche @StarWars: #TheRiseOfSkywalker pic.twitter.com/zCnZLXPR2d
— Porsche (@Porsche) December 17, 2019
It’s not clear yet whether the Pegasus will be featured in Rise of Skywalker or if the Star Wars-style Formula E car will ever hit the circuit, but just as with Disney’s Rise of the Resistance ride, it’s equally surreal and exciting to see Star Wars technology replicated on Earth, even if we still haven’t quite figured out lightsabers yet.
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