German automotive firm Porsche recently asked its sizable Facebook following to come up with designs for a new version of its classic  911 model.

The campaign was launched to mark the fact that the sports car manufacturer has reached five million followers on its Facebook profile. The 5 Million Car project took input from the fans before company design bosses put the one-off vehicle together for real.

Those who took part were given the opportunity to vote on different features of the car, like the wheels, spoilers, interior and paint colour. The company has said that nearly 55,000 people took part in the campaign, all submitting their preferences over the social media site.

The end result features a metallic blue finish, white 20-inch rims and the German firm’s ‘Aerokit Cup’ bodykit package.

Porsche unveiled the end result last week and company bosses have decided to follow the campaign by taking to Facebook with another competition – the winner of which will get to drive the crowd-sourced automotive creation around the legendary Silverstone race track in Northamptonshire. A further nine entrants will also receive the runner-up prize of a 1:43 scale model of the vehicle.

This isn’t Porsche’s first foray into the world of social media marketing, however. When the company hit the two-million milestone, it marked the occasion by using Facebook to gather ideas before building a one-off version of its Cayman S model, which featured images of some of the followers on its bodywork.

Since its first appearance at the IAA International Automotive Show in 1963, more than 800,000 911s have been sold by Porsche. The 50th birthday of the iconic car is also being celebrated at the Porsche Museum, which is located in the German city of Stuttgart. The exhibition there will run until the end of September.

Graeme Parton

Graeme has experience creating content for online sources and for the radio, and at university he studied Multimedia Journalism.