This Daewoo Matiz Has Been Reimagined as a Porsche 996
The Daewoo Matiz, also sold under Chevrolet badges and even as a Pontiac in Mexico, is best known as an affordable city car designed by Italdesign Giugiaro in the 1990s. Independent designer Timur Dautov saw something very different in its familiar shape: a Porsche 911 996 waiting to get out.
His project began with a Matiz Carrera 4S artwork displayed at the EREVO Sinsa Gallery in Seoul alongside other creations inspired by the 996’s distinctive “fried-egg” headlights. The idea proved popular enough for Dautov to develop a series of increasingly realistic renderings showing what a Porsche-inspired Matiz could actually look like.
The transformation centers around a pair of pre-facelift 996 headlights integrated into the Matiz’s tiny hood. They are combined with a Turbo-inspired front bumper featuring large cooling intakes and an integrated splitter. The sides gain wide fender extensions, 996-style graphics, and Porsche-inspired five-spoke alloy wheels.
At the rear, a full-width red reflector connects the taillights in the style of the 911 Carrera 4S. A small roof spoiler, black lower-body graphics, body-colored bumper trim, and twin exhaust outlets complete the makeover.
Dautov studied design in Moscow and later worked for Mitsubishi in Japan before moving to South Korea to join a local automaker. He says the Matiz always reminded him of a car designed in collaboration with Porsche, making the 996’s signature headlights a natural fit. The fifth-generation 911 is also one of his favorite cars.
The contrast between the two cars is particularly amusing. The first-generation Matiz debuted in 1998, a year after the fifth-generation 911. Its 0.8-liter three-cylinder produced just 51 hp, while the naturally aspirated 3.4-liter flat-six in the base 996 Carrera developed around 300 hp.
For now, the Matiz Carrera 4S exists only as a digital creation. However, there is already a rather tempting donor candidate: a few years ago, PowerCrazy Automotive built a heavily modified Matiz with a 3.2-liter V6 swap and Porsche alloy wheels. It might just be the closest thing to the real-world version Dautov imagined.
