- Simas Design Studio grafts 996-style headlights onto a modern 911.
- Extra vents frame the lights, echoing the classic 996 hood contours.
- Rest of the design is unchanged, making us wonder if it could work as a kit.
The 996 generation marked a turning point in the 911’s lineage, introducing a water-cooled engine, an all-new platform, and the polarizing “fried-egg” headlights. Porsche soon restored its trademark round setup with the 997, but two decades later, one independent designer has dared to ask the forbidden question: what if those headlights actually deserved another chance?
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The project comes from Simas Design Studio, which posted a series of renderings on Instagram. Speaking with CarScoops, Simas described it as “a quick personal experiment” to explore how the 996’s distinctive headlight shape might blend with the latest 911.
What If The Eggs Returned?
The basis for this fictional facelift was the 996.2 GTS that was unveiled in 2024. Rather than just slapping on retro headlights that could ruin the minimalist lines of the German coupe, the designer managed to neatly integrate the new-old shape.
New vents now sit beside the rounded headlights, forming housings that echo the 996 while following the natural curves of the hood. They pair neatly with reworked LED graphics that keep the slightly smoked finish from the production car.
Simas Design Studio
Interestingly, the only modification on the bodywork appears to be the cutouts on the front fenders. The rest of the panels remain intact, although Simas has added a set of the “Turbo Look II” wheels as an another nod to the original 996.2 Turbo.
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The end result looks convincing enough to pass for something that might roll straight out of Stuttgart. A few 992 owners even chimed in on Instagram, wondering if the new headlight housings could be 3D printed and sold as a do-it-yourself kit.
When Porsche Did The Unthinkable
While Simas’ proposal was well received, reactions were less forgiving. The first 996, launched in 1997, represented the most radical evolution of the 911 since its birth, even sharing its front-end design with the entry-level 986 Boxster.
The heavily criticized “fried-egg” headlights were quickly softened for the 996.2 Turbo in 2000, then gradually applied across the range. More than twenty years later, it’s hard to deny how well that facelift has held up, especially on the Turbo, GT2, and GT3 models.
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With design trends cycling back around, it’s not impossible to imagine Porsche revisiting that once-controversial look. After all, how many times can you improve the same recipe without making small deviations?
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