PALLY ZHANG

Pally Zhang

The undisputed champion of the two car solution.

“I really resonate with the 911’s Teutonic heritage. I have a specific colour choice that my mechanic makes fun of me for, which is silver. I know it’s the German racing colour, but it’s also the colour of my favourite German products like Rimowa cases and Leica cameras, which have that simple silver look.”

There are two sides to Pally Zhang, the one expressed in his work and the one expressed in his garage. A concept artist living in Los Angeles, Pally’s bread and butter is illustration work for the video game and animation industry, wherein he’s able to express a love for adventure, grand landscapes, vehicle design and occasionally, Porsches.

In his short illustrated series “Pacifica”, he tells the story of Danica, driver of an early 70s Porsche 911 as she drives through a lonely alt-universe American west coast. The car in the story looks like it might once have resembled one of his own, though dirtier, more weathered and more tinkered with. A stark contrast to the exquisite condition of his 1973 911T. Clearly, the divisions between art and life are very well defined for Zhang.

“From a very young age I’ve been a big fan of adventure stories about faraway lands. History books and National Geographic piqued my interest even more. Some of my favourite characters were Indiana Jones and Tintin, both heroes who tough it out in hostile places. I graduated with a BFA in Ilustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and I’ve spent the past 10 years as a concept designer for companies like Treyarch and Dreamworks.

I feel I’m the opposite to the art I make, like who I am is a juxtaposition. Danica’s 911 in Pacifica is like an alternate version of me who wouldn’t mind a patinated 911 with quirky aesthetics and a roof rack. In reality I want my car to reflect the understated, functional simplicity that I believe the creators of the 911 wanted to express. I’ve stared at the back windows on the car and pondered for hours over what stickers to even put on. Sometimes applying one and then deciding it was too distracting or flashy.”

“I did want one old and one new, but honestly if I could have it all I’d want every generation of 911."

Pally Zhang’s other Porsche is a much later 2018 991 C4S, but the two suit one another so well, it’s hard to believe they weren’t bought as a set. Both incredibly well matched in specification despite the 45 years that separate them. Traditionally speaking, a collection like this comes together when an owner plans on using one every day and the other for “special occasions”. That’s true enough in Zhang’s case, but it might surprise you to find out which of the two he uses more.

“The Porsche that came first was actually the 991. Most of it is factory stock and I like the fact that it’s a manual in a sea of PDKs. I take it to the track sometimes, but not as frequently as before. It’s quite a commitment, since I started running my own design consultancy I haven’t scheduled the time to do that as much. The ’73 911 is more often the daily driver. It actually came about after a failed search for my dream car, a G-body 911. I was offering a seller of a silver 911SC way more than it was worth, but he still insisted on a higher price. I kept searching and by luck found the 911T.

It’s hard for me to pick between the two, each offers a different experience and both are icons in the 911 lineup. If they aren’t listening, I’d say the ’73 car is my favourite, just the unfiltered sound of a classic flat-6 is enough to put a smile on my face every single day. The car came to me as a carbureted 2.4 litre, but originally it had a 73.5 CIS (fuel injected) engine. My driving mentor Ian Carpenter, who builds these engines for a living, is teaching me how to adjust the car so it’s pushing out more power and balanced fuel and air mixtures in the carbs. I hope to learn to rebuild it someday so I can drive it until the end of time.”