Carpoint GT-K44: This shooting brake reimagines the Artz Porsche

In the mid-1980s, Andreas Freund drove a rather unusual Porsche for several months: a 924 Turbo converted into a station wagon by Günter Artz. Even decades later, its appearance continued to haunt the future Carpoint founder. Since his search for such a car proved fruitless, he teamed up with designer Michael Söhngen to develop his own interpretation based on the Porsche 944. The result is the Carpoint GT-K44. Behind its harmonious shooting brake silhouette lie a comprehensively modified roof and rear structure, as well as hundreds of hours of bodywork and paintwork.

The Carpoint GT-K44 project got its start as a birthday gift

With his modification of the 924 Turbo in the early 1980s, Hanover-based car customizer Günter Artz created a unique variation on the transaxle Porsche. Its extended roof gave the sports car a completely new silhouette and provided additional luggage space. At the time, Andreas Freund regularly used one of the 20 quirky shooting brakes for weekend trips to Lake Garda. “I’ve been a station wagon fan my whole life. Sports cars and station wagons—that was my thing,” he recalls. After the car was sold at an auction in Paris, the founder of the auto parts manufacturer Carpoint kept looking for another one like it for decades.

In early 2022, Freund told his designer friend Michael Söhngen about his fruitless search and asked him if they could work together to make such a conversion a reality. For his birthday, Söhngen surprised him with a design: a 944 with a station wagon-style rear, in Oak Green, and with seats in a Pascha pattern. This sketch finally got the project off the ground. Freund liked the design so much that the color scheme and seat pattern made their way into the first finished car, a 944 S2 converted into a Carpoint GT-K44.

For the GT-K44, the roof and rear structure of the Porsche 944 have been extensively modified

The GT-K44 looks as if the shooting brake body style had already been part of the Porsche 944’s specifications. Looking at the finished car, it’s hard to tell just how much work went into achieving this harmonious design. To achieve this, Carpoint makes extensive modifications to the roof and rear structure of the transaxle Porsche. It wasn’t just the new roof that had to be integrated. “We had to adapt the B-pillar and the rear side panel so that the car could be fitted with a C-pillar and the large rear side windows,” explains Freund. The base car’s distinctive glass dome gives way to an extended roof and a large tailgate, both being made out of sheet metal.

The modifications to the rear are particularly extensive. There, the original sheet metal between the taillights is removed to make room for a tailgate that extends downward to the bumper. This tailgate also extends about 40 centimeters into the roof surface. “When opened, this makes part of the cargo area accessible from above as well, making it easier to load bulky items,” says Freund. Additionally, the taillights are also modified for the GT-K44. The originally one-piece units, with their six characteristic rectangular panels on each side, are divided asymmetrically. The two inner panels are moved into the tailgate as a separate reflector unit, while the remaining four remain on the body. All active lighting functions thus remain outside the tailgate.

Inside, the new body style also brings about numerous changes. A new headliner and correspondingly adapted trim pieces create a seamless transition to the revised roof and window lines. The rear seats remain unchanged. By the time all work is completed and the surfaces are painted, hundreds of hours of bodywork and paintwork go into every single GT-K44.

Oak Green and Pascha define the first Carpoint GT-K44

The first completed GT-K44 is based on a Porsche 944 S2 with a 3.0-liter engine and 211 PS. Its oak green paint job and seats featuring the Pascha pattern echo Söhngen’s original birthday design. Added to this are details that gently modernize the classic transaxle: The third brake light is integrated into the roof spoiler, and a modern radio antenna sits on the roof. A rear wiper keeps the new rear window clear.

Its name also reflects the concept. GT stands for Gran Turismo, while K44 combines the station wagon body style with the abbreviated model designation of the base vehicle. The choice of the S2 for the showcase vehicle is not binding. Other 944 coupes are also suitable for customer conversions, ranging from the early naturally aspirated model with 163 PS to the potent Turbo S. This means that by choosing the base vehicle, you can determine the character of your own GT-K44.

Carpoint brings decades of experience in coachbuilding to the table

No matter which 944 serves as the base, transforming it into a GT-K44 requires experience with classic car construction and the fabrication of custom parts. At Carpoint, both have been part of the business for decades. The company has been restoring classic Porsches and British sports cars since the 1980s. This work has also included custom projects such as an Austin-Healey 3000 Mk II, which Carpoint converted into a station wagon in the 1990s for a Munich-based architect.

Carpoint’s restoration work also led to the development of their own spare parts production. A shortage of components for early Porsche models prompted Freund to have parts remanufactured. “Our product line now includes around 2,000 different replacement parts manufactured in-house,” Freund reports proudly. For the GT-K44, Freund and Söhngen were able to draw on experience ranging from the preservation of classic cars to custom bodywork modifications.

The conversion to the Carpoint GT-K44 costs at least 100,000 euros

Anyone who wants to commission their own GT-K44 must first provide a base vehicle, ideally already in the desired color. Andreas Freund then discusses each modification individually. Extensive bodywork, including painting of the modified areas, adjustments to the lights and interior trim, a new headliner, and all necessary TÜV registrations are standard. The conversion costs for the Shooting Brake alone amount to 100,000 euros, excluding VAT.

We can’t make it fly, but anything else is possible.

Andreas Freund, Carpoint

The customer decides how far the work extends beyond the actual shooting brake conversion. The interior, wheels, and suspension can also be customized to suit personal preferences. Accordingly, the build time depends on the scope of the order. Andreas Freund sums up the possibilities in his usual unconventional way: “We can’t make it fly, but anything else is possible.”

Carpoint GT-K44

1991

Show listing

Premiere at the Transaxle Anniversary Celebration at the Nürburgring

On Saturday, September 19, 2026, Carpoint will unveil the GT-K44 at the Transaxle Anniversary event as part of the ADAC 1,000-km race weekend at the Nürburgring. Andreas Freund and Michael Söhngen will showcase the shooting brake in a pit in the historic paddock. A lap of the track is planned afterward.

About four decades after his drives in the Artz Porsche, Freund once again has a transaxle with a station wagon-style rear end. This time, the car embodies his own vision and bears Söhngen’s design signature. Carpoint plans a small production run of ten vehicles, which will be built to customer specifications. Thanks to the fold-down rear seat and the cargo opening that extends all the way up to the roof, the GT-K44 stands a good chance of earning the title of the world’s most practical transaxle Porsche.

Carpoint’s GT-K44 builds on the concept of the Artz Porsche

Porsche had been toying with the idea of sporty station wagon body styles for decades, but it wasn’t until the Panamera Sport Turismo that the concept made it into production. A classic two-door shooting brake, however, remained a pipe dream. It is precisely this now-rare concept that Andreas Freund revives with the GT-K44. With his reinterpretation of the Artz Porsche, he has—in a sense—incidentally created one of the coolest transaxle cars money can buy.