With the new, electric Macan, Porsche has taken a great leap into the future. In this interview, Michael Mauer tells us how far he has leapt in terms of design and what role intuition plays in design decisions.
Chapter What does the new, electric Macan tell us about the future of the brand? To what extent is it forward-looking from a design perspective?
Michael Mauer On many different levels. We know from history that there are always discussions within the community when the Porsche brand makes a drive or technology change. This was also the case when we switched from air to water cooling, although this was a relatively small step compared to the generation change in the Macan. When the successor to an established model becomes a purely electric vehicle, this generates a little more attention than would probably be the case with other brands. In addition, the predecessor was very successful in its segment. From a design perspective, I also found the Macan to be quite successful, although as a designer you are of course never one hundred percent satisfied. As far as the future of the brand is concerned, the new Macan underlines that it is not our strategy to design new vehicles in such a way that they no longer have anything to do with their predecessors. Ideally, when we introduce new design elements, we do so in such a way that these features reflect how we as a brand want to think about design and develop it further.
Chapter At the beginning of electromobility, cars were created that were very different from the rest of the model range due to their futuristic appearance – to visualize that the future was happening here. We got away from that more and more. How did you perceive this development?
Michael Mauer There were brands that did exactly as you describe. Presumably also to suggest that their new, electric vehicles no longer have anything to do with the old, dirty world. With other brands, the cars looked exactly the same as always. It is a fundamental question of how you want to deal with it. I firmly believe that a strong brand would be ill-advised to change something in a product in such a radical way that it can no longer be clearly assigned to that brand. With a strong brand, the new car must fit in with the brand identity, but should visualize in detail that it is entering a new era in terms of drive technology. These are interesting strategic questions that we have to deal with every day in this profession.
Chapter So basically it’s always about standing out from the crowd and still remaining true to the brand identity and not just the design philosophy?
Michael Mauer The question is always how far you want to go. I always say: far enough, but not too far. If I have founded a start-up and want to be successful in a saturated market, I have to develop a product that is also completely different in terms of design – in order to stand out at all. With success comes market analysis, and then it often happens that companies forget what actually made them successful. I believe that it’s about having the courage to do things that you might not necessarily expect from a particular brand, even in the face of continued success, but without losing sight of the brand identity. This is an exciting task and I have the feeling that designers and creative people could be even more involved in these discussions.
Chapter In an interview, you once said: »If the board is initially skeptical about a decision, I’m in good spirits. Because that means that the design breaks with familiar visual habits.« That also sounds like a tightrope walk to me.
Michael Mauer We are finalizing the design and then it will be another year or two before the cars actually come onto the market. If there is instant enthusiasm on the day of the presentation, the question is whether it will still be as strong by the time the car actually rolls off the production line, or whether it will sink because the world has moved on in the meantime. However, it can also happen that the step is too big. There have always been products like this, especially in the automotive sector. The Lancia Stratos, for example, was light years ahead of its time. Even the first Porsche 911 was not really well received at the beginning, because it was designed far into the future. I find it extremely exciting, but also very challenging, to find exactly the right time window.
Chapter Are there things where you know that if you change that, Porsche fans will go on the barricades?
Michael Mauer In my opinion, nothing is sacrosanct. I’ve been in this profession for almost 40 years and from this experience I would say that you can definitely go further today than you could 20 years ago. And even must. But the things you rethink and change must also be done well. Just doing it differently is not enough. It’s also a good sign when people are watching closely and discussing a lot, because it shows that people are paying close attention to the brand.
Chapter Do you sometimes have to consciously go beyond these limits in terms of design in order to then scale them back again—even if it’s only for your own head or drawer?
Michael Mauer Definitely. This is actually extremely important. And I also believe that some companies completely underestimate this. I am very lucky that the Board of Directors gives me and the team the freedom to let off steam and come up with new ideas. Only by jumping far into the future, detached from schedules, budgets and technical restrictions, and questioning everything that makes up a Porsche today, can I get a feeling for how far I can go in the end. We call this process forecasting. From there, we then do a backcasting to move back again. Always with the maxim in mind that something might not work today, but tomorrow it might. I also think that you can sometimes see brands when they don’t deal with it enough and therefore don’t jump far enough.
Chapter What is »typically Macan« or »typically Porsche« about the vehicle and which features have so far tended to be perceived as new?
Michael Mauer We have roughly divided our design process into three stages, starting with the architecture and proportions. After that comes the styling phase and then we deal with the details. Proportions are very important to us in all our vehicles and I think we’ve improved a little more in this respect with the new Macan. I’m thinking in particular of the larger wheels, the shorter overhangs and the roofline. The way we treat surfaces is always typical Porsche, but there are always subtleties that are different. You can also see it in the front fenders, which are a little higher than the hood. This transition is still very soft in the 911 and not quite as defined in the predecessor of the current Macan as it is now in the successor. For us, in this transitional phase that we are currently in, the headlights at the front are a symbol that we use to give the car a clear electrical identity. The interior is a bit more radical because we have a lot more space in the center console area due to the fact that there is no longer a drive tunnel. However, we haven’t completely cleared this space because it’s important to us that you still feel like you’re sitting in the car. As a result, the center console is relatively high despite its airiness. These are not radical changes, but continuous developments of certain elements.
Chapter Is it the case that the great importance of aerodynamics in electrically powered vehicles means that there needs to be even more intensive collaboration between the design team and the engineers?
Michael Mauer I wouldn’t say that it has become more intense, but the focus has shifted. First and foremost because aerodynamics play a central role in electric vehicles due to their range. On the other hand, aerodynamics have always been very important at Porsche, because the cars sometimes travel over 300 kilometers per hour. Compared to the past, however, it is now more about range than downforce. I also find aerodynamics an exciting field because the laws of aerodynamics are the same for everyone and cars are therefore becoming more and more similar in their basic proportions. This can now also be seen in road traffic. The greater the expertise in this field, the better I can differentiate myself. It’s also exciting that it’s all about millimeters. I like to compare it to the fact that it sometimes bothers you when a single hair sticks out—even though it’s so thin. Sometimes you don’t like something and you can’t put your finger on it. Or you find something beautiful and don’t know why. Sometimes it’s just a few millimeters that swing the pendulum in one direction or the other.
Chapter You mentioned earlier that you were very satisfied with the predecessor. Did this make it more difficult to work on the successor?
Michael Mauer I’ve been through this process so many times now that I know by now that there will come a point when the work on the successor starts. It is also important to be convinced that the successor will be even better (laughs). Of course, the bar is a little higher in this case, but at the same time, we do nothing but develop things further every day. And as I mentioned earlier, we have the opportunity to test things out in Advanced Design. When the work on the successor starts under all the time pressure, we have usually already tried out a few ways beforehand.
Chapter To a certain extent, the design process is also determined by intuition or so-called gut feeling. How important is it in your profession to be able to explain intuitive decisions rationally?
Michael Mauer I once read a text in which intuition was described as perceived knowledge. That’s exactly what it is. When you are in this profession, you look at something and know relatively quickly whether it is good or not. But at the end of the day, it’s just a feeling because there’s no data on it. If the board of directors isn’t immediately on fire at a presentation just because a designer has said they have a good feeling about it, I can understand that. After all, countless jobs and large sums of money depend on this good feeling. Then comes the point where I often think to myself that in my next life I might study rhetoric and take an evening course in design (laughs). In the end, as a designer and creative you also have to learn how to package things well in order to sell them. However, if I have to spend hours selling and explaining a design and it doesn’t at least support itself to some extent, then it won’t work.
Chapter Timelessness is a major theme for Porsche. How difficult is it sometimes to approach current trends with the necessary distance?
Michael Mauer I always say that you shouldn’t be so arrogant as to not deal with it at all. I think it’s important to deal with what’s happening right now. Then this perceived knowledge comes into play again, as well as the awareness that as a designer you are actually always traveling in the future. It is therefore important to consider what role the respective trend could play in the future—and whether it is relevant for the brand and the product at all. I see the greatest danger in simply adopting trends uncritically and without reflection. As a rule, you then get a characterless product. The fulfillment of all customer wishes also leads to a characterless end result. All of this has become more difficult—partly because loyalty to certain brands is no longer as strong as it used to be. I think it is all the more important to not just look at the product, but to always consider what the product means for the brand and vice versa. In other words, not only the design of the product, but also the design of the entire brand cosmos.
Chapter You have been working in automotive design since 1986 and have been head of the design department at Porsche since 2004. How has the profession changed during this time?
Michael Mauer Since I started at Mercedes in 1986, there have been radical changes, particularly in the area of technology. With the support of digital technologies, many processes have become significantly faster. When I started, the first color copier had just arrived in the studio – it was almost like a moon charge(laughs). What has also changed is that brands are increasingly realizing how closely brand and product are connected. In the past, designers were not so involved in these processes, everything was handed over to the technical department and then it went to sales. Today, these things happen much more interactively and much more in exchange with each other. Sometimes I wish I was back in the old days, because we were able to concentrate much more on our core competencies. On the other hand, I find it incredibly exciting that we designers are becoming more and more involved in shaping the overall brand image. This has also changed the significance of design as a whole. In management positions, you are suddenly part of the company’s overall direction.
Chapter Do you react differently today than you did at the beginning of your career when you realize that the creative process has come to a standstill?
Michael Mauer I would say: the grace of early birth. Or to put it another way: When I was born, the rainbow was still black and white (laughs). I can still remember that as a young designer I sometimes got stuck and my bosses at the time were breathing down my neck. I still remember what that pressure felt like. With increasing experience, however, I know that the solution is already there, I just have to find it. I have become more relaxed. It also helps me to let a model rest from time to time. Continue working on something else for two or three days and not frantically try to find the solution. Of course, this is sometimes difficult because there are deadlines.
Chapter When do you consider a car to be a success?
Michael Mauer As a designer, you naturally want to go on indefinitely. In every vehicle I sit in, I see a detail and think that it could have been done better. However, it is important to weigh up the costs and benefits. In this respect, one of the most important criteria for me is customer relevance.
Chapter What do you mean?
Michael Mauer I ask myself whether this one thing that bothers me is probably also bothersome to an untrained eye and has such relevance. When I give someone a lift in the car, I find it exciting to observe which details people notice and which they don’t. It can also happen that I’m 80 or 90 percent satisfied with a car and then I’m stuck in a traffic jam behind it and think to myself that I could have noticed this one thing back then. As designers, we are people of the eye.
Chapter Your Instagram account reveals that you are an avid skier. Skiing and driving a Porsche—what do they have in common?
Michael Mauer The ideal line(laughs). I would say that I drive a car like I ski. There are many parallels. I’ve also had people say to me that they’ve never experienced someone who slows down so little and is so much in the flow. But skiing is primarily important for me to get some distance from something and to give my subconscious the opportunity to process impressions rather than always being fired up. When I’m back in the studio on Mondays, I’m usually more creative than on Fridays. [SW]
