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A four door helps them transition from a specialty sports car maker into a maker of TRANSPORTATION vehicles not something designed to be collected , saved , restored , coveted BUT used driven , used up and thrown away ; to be replaced with another new TRANSPORTATION vehicle . Who would have thought Porsche would make a SUV with a little V-6 ? Should they make a 4 door you have to figure there will be a 500 HP plus variant among the mix . Specializing in selling "midlife crisis " toys to affluent 50 somethings limited the market , leasing Boxsters helped sales volume , The SUV could be cast as a "family vehicle" not just for me but for all of us ! ....... SO 4 doors , alloy chassis , all wheel drive , twin turbo 5 liter sounds a lot like an AUDI .......... Has Porsche been rummaging around the VW/Audi warehouse again ?
Porsche and Audi look nothing alike.
Although this car would fit the same market, and possibly share parts,
it would look a lot sportier than any of the BMW, Mercedes, or Audi offerings...
I don't like those crummy headlights. I like them even less on the 996 and Boxster. The rationale,as I understood it, was to lower the cost ......on a rather exclusive car that cost $50,000 to $120,000 !! I don't care what the rationale, I don't like them. Ugh!!
Porsche is going to need real 4-seat, 2-door luxo-sport-coupe to compete with the Ferrari Scaglinetti(sp?), Aston Martin DB9, and Bentley Continental GT et. al. in the $150,000 range, especially now that so many companies like BMW, Aston Martin, and Mercedes are all trying to upset the 911 domination.
Look out, in a few years the market is going to be rife with secondhand supercars, so everyone saving up might not have to as far to go as they thought.
Originally posted by Flint Look out, in a few years the market is going to be rife with secondhand supercars, so everyone saving up might not have to as far to go as they thought.
Amen to that! I'll be over here waiting for Ferrari 360's to drop to the mid 20's. In that 50-60 waiting period, guess I'll have to enjoy a few 928's.
getting back to Audi and Porsche.. and i'm not knocking any cars here, but have you ever compared the back of an A6 to the back of a 996 or Cayenne? especially in silver.. they look like very close cousins.. the lights, curves, etc..
The problem with Porsche making a four-seater or the Cayenne is that these cars are a lot more "comparable" to other cars than a 911 or Boxster. The latter are unique concepts and unique styles. There are few niches left for Porsche to go in and do something totally different that people will buy in large enough numbers. If they have to compete with others like Mercedes, BMW, etc. they not only have to be very good, they also have to stay ahead of the curve throughout the product lifecycle. That's pretty darn hard in markets where the big pockets and high volume of components allow other manufacturers to constantly innovate at a much lower cost than small Porsche. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it will certainly be a challenge.
I just hope they will give a future new model a more attractive and unique exterior than their "Hyundai with the 996 turbo nose stuck on"...
Maybe they should go the other way: downmarket. For example, a 4 cylinder true sports car to go up against the Miata or MR2 or (in other markets) the MGF. A true "entry level" Porsche.
It has been said before but, I am going to say it again The stupid Porsche SUV was the first blow, a four door will be the next, a lack of racing presence fits in there as well. It is the demise of Porsche as we knew it folks.
The cars are no longer forced on the company by engineers with their minds on racing. They are now figemnts of some marketing and bean counters fascination. Porsche is now less about the cars than ever before in its history. It is truely a sad thing IMO. A VW powered Porsche SUV, if that isn't offensive, then I guess the company is doomed to be just another car maker.
That will pretty much leave Ferrari to carry the torch of what I would consider to be true sports car manufacturers. Cars that use racing technology and have a history. Porsche USED to be that way. That is what made our cars as great as they are.
The 996 and Boxster are solid sports cars IMO. They are at or near the top of the performance heap. The Cayenne is a joke by comparison. It is no more than just another SUV, it just happens to have a Porsche badge. I expect that a four door would be driven by the same flawed logic as the SUV, the need to increase sales/market share in order to stay independant. I would suggest that nobody is going to want a Porsche soon. They will lose the exclusivity described above. They have lost the engineer driven designs. The stock holders and management are being painfully shortsighted IMO.
We are witness to the beginning of the end of one of the worlds finest maker of sports cars
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