PORSCHΞ 911 is a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) created by German automobile maker Porsche. The collection, which is based on the iconic Porsche 911 sports car, was launched with the intention of selling 7,500 NFTs at a floor price of 0.911 ether (ETH), or roughly $1,420. However, due to lagging sales and an outpouring of criticism from the Web3 community, Porsche halted the mint early and ended with only 2,363 tokens created. ^{[2] [1]}

Concept

The collection was based on Porsche's iconic 911 sports car and was designed by several artists, including Patrick Vogel, VEXX, and Chris Labrooy. After making a purchase, holders are able to help shape the design of their individual NFTs. Specifically, individuals will be able to select a “route” for their NFT — Performance, Lifestyle, or Heritage. Each route embodies a specific aspect of Porsche’s premium brand identity and will influence the overall design and character of the NFT. Over the subsequent months, Vogel will work with this user input derived from the initial sale to prepare each NFT as a special 3D asset in Unreal Engine 5. ^[6]

Lars Krämer, Porsche’s manager of innovation & methods, told NFT Now in an interview that the team drew on “Porsche heritage, typical Porsche elements, and modern lifestyle to put together an exciting set of possible layers in a token-gated and creative journey.” He also emphasized that Porsche set aside a certain amount of freedom so that the owners “can let their style and situational mood flow into the visualization.” ^{[6] [6]}

Mint

The 7,500-edition collection, which pays homage to the brand’s iconic 911 sports car, opened minting for allowlist holders at 9 a.m. ET on Monday, January 24, 2023, in four waves of one hour each. After the initial allowlist mint ended, the mint was released to the general public with an open-ended stop time. Collectors were allowed to mint up to three virtual 911 Porsches at 0.911 ETH each, roughly $1,490. ^[1]

The next phases of the mint process allow holders to choose one of three “paths” to follow and customize the design and rarity of their NFTs.
In the hours after the mint initially opened, sales of the collection appeared to stall. At the time of writing on Monday evening, only 1,198 NFTs – about 16% of the total collection – had been sold through Porsche’s official website.

Sales on the secondary market also appeared idle on the day of launch with the floor price falling to 0.89 ETH, or about $1,450 – meaning, the collection was selling for $50 cheaper on secondary marketplaces such as OpenSea while the mint was ongoing.

Porsche first announced the NFT initiative at Miami Art Week in December with much anticipation. The company partnered with German digital collectible company Fanzone’s subsidiary Road2Dreams to distribute the tokens.

Some Twitter users pushed back against the collection, noting its expensive mint price and sales strategy that appeared misaligned with the ethos of Web3. Dave Krugman, artist and founder of NFT creative agency Allships, shared his thoughts about the collection’s mint price on Twitter, calling it out touch with its target Web3 community. He told CoinDesk that larger Web2 brands entering the Web3 space must act for the long term when releasing NFTs.

“When you begin your journey in this space by extracting millions of dollars from the community, you are setting impossibly high expectations, cutting out 99% of market participants and overvaluing your assets before you have proven you can back up their valuation,” said Krugman.

“If you can start from the bottom up, you build an organic community of committed advocates with aligned incentives.”

Halting the Mint

On Tuesday, January 24, 2022, Porsche announced it would halt its mint after backlash from the Web 3 community, ending the mint with 2,363 tokens created. Following the halt of the mint, the floor price of the collection's NFTs began to rise on the secondary market, with most of the tokens trading at more than double the mint price. The collection’s total trading volume surpassed 2,000 ETH by January 26, 2022, with a floor price of 2 ETH. ^[3]

After community feedback, Porsche also announced that it would expand holder benefits to behind-the-scenes access to the world of Porsche, co-creation of ”Porsche's future of Web3,” an exclusive physical capsule collection beginning Q2 2023, the opportunity to attend “money-can't-buy Porsche experiences,” and a "private airdrop" in March 2023. ^[5]