Porsche worked with Bertone during the early development phase of the 996/986, and they even created 1/1 scale models of the design proposals they brought up.
At this point in the development program, the plan to build the Boxster (986) and the new 911 (996) with shared components had already been considered, so naturally, Bertone had designed both cars in tandem.
These early design studies show that the 996/986 were possibly intended to be more avant-garde than what eventually came out, with specific design elements more closely resembling those of contemporary Ferraris, such as the 456 GT.
You can also see some design elements, such as the headlights, that were further developed and eventually incorporated into the final design.
Porsche 996/986 Design Study
