Porsche 911 (992) Gets “Fried-Egg” Headlight Retro-Mod from Simas Design Studio

This personal experiment has generated significant interest, demonstrating that the most polarizing design of the modern 911 could potentially be redeemed.

High-waisted mom jeans are back, the mullet hairstyle is back, and Crocs have somehow become acceptable casual footwear. Considering this trend, Simas Design Studio wondered if it was possible to redeem the “fried egg” style headlights from the early 996 generation of the Porsche 911. Consequently, this automotive 3D modeling specialist came up with some renderings to see if this then-polarizing style could blend well with the current 992 generation. Simas described the renders to CarScoops as “a quick personal experiment”, but they have already cooked up a lot of interest.

The original 996 headlight shape was all lens. Furthermore, the amber patch coloring the indicator bulb represented the “yolk”. However, Simas has used intake vents to recreate the style of the housing. This effectively breaks up the overall form. The final effect looks convincingly Porsche in its design and detail. What’s more, the idea could be functional.

The Original Hate for the 996 and Cost-Saving

Porsche dropped the 996 in 1997. When they did, they introduced a new chassis. This model was the first to feature a water-cooled engine in a production 911. Along with this change came a new exterior design that needed to maintain the 911’s form. At the same time, it had to depart enough in detail to signify it was a whole new generation. The 996’s development was shared with the 986 generation Porsche Boxster. Therefore, both models received the fried egg-style headlights.

The headlights showed up just as the internet started to become a sea of change in culture. Consequently, news groups and forums became incredibly popular as a way of sharing information and, of course, opinion. This explains why the headlights blew up as a controversial topic so quickly. The controversy reached the point where Porsche quickly started evolving the design to get rid of the amber coloring.

The Legacy of the 996 Today

The headlight design was a cost-saving measure, as Porsche was at a critical financial point in the mid-1990s. Much of the dislike of the design came down to the idea of cheapening the 911. The car forced one unit to do two jobs (headlights and turn signals) and shared the design with the Boxster. Fortunately, the controversy did not negatively affect the careers of designers Pinky Lai and Harm Lagaaiji. A silver lining is that the 996 generation is so often looked over on the used market. Consequently, it is now starting to be considered a bit of a bargain and an undervalued model.