Interesting Article
01-02-2002, 12:53 PM
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Interesting Article
Chicago Tribune
(Copyright 2001 by the Chicago Tribune)
And what should consumers expect when the Porsche Cayenne rolls into showrooms next fall as a 2003 model, the first sport-utility
vehicle from the German maker of high-performance sports cars?
"It will be a fun vehicle that goes like stink, is king of the highway and will kick the BMW X-5's butt," says Porsche Cars of North America President Fred Schwab. Schwab provided the Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) with an update of the long-awaited Cayenne developed with Volkswagen, which will get its own version.
Cayenne will be a little wider and a little lower than a Jeep Grand Cherokee, seat four to five based on choice of bucket or bench seats and offer full-time all-wheel-drive with a transfer case to engage four-wheel low for off-roading. It will be powered initially by a V-8 engine, with a high-performance twin turbo V-8 and a more mileage-minded V-6 to follow.
The sales target is 25,000 annually, which will double Porsche's U.S. sales. No price but Schwab said the $40,000 to $67,000 BMW X-5 is the target rival.
Schwab said unlike most automakers that produce small, medium, large and behemoth SUVs, Porsche will settle for a mid-size model.
"Toyota [Motor Corp.] has eight SUVs of all sizes, but we're little Porsche and have to have one size that will fit all. Detroit and Japan think big is luxury, but for us luxury doesn't mean huge. If an SUV is big, it isn't fun," he said.
Schwab also said he had just returned from Germany, where he was privy to the products Porsche plans for the next 10 years.
Though refusing to go into detail, Schwab said a street-legal version of the 911 GT2 racer is arriving in showrooms, while two new 911 models, a wide-body Carrera 4S coupe and a targa model with a glass roof, will arrive in February.
Porsche showed a Carrera GT all-wheel-drive concept at the 2000 Paris Auto Show with a 550-horsepower V-10 engine that reportedly
would carry a $300,000 price tag if built.
"We'll talk about that in a matter of days, but we don't put prototypes out there that can't be built," he said, then hinted that GT production will be confirmed at the Detroit Auto Show in January by saying: "Our press conference is 9:20 a.m. Jan. 8--be there."
Schwab also said the Boxster roadster will get a facelift next summer for the '03 model year, and the 911 will get a major redesign for the '05 model year.
Though refusing to elaborate on other models, he ruled out speculation about a sedan gracing the Porsche lineup by noting: "The guys who came up with that idea were fired."
(Copyright 2001 by the Chicago Tribune)
And what should consumers expect when the Porsche Cayenne rolls into showrooms next fall as a 2003 model, the first sport-utility
vehicle from the German maker of high-performance sports cars?
"It will be a fun vehicle that goes like stink, is king of the highway and will kick the BMW X-5's butt," says Porsche Cars of North America President Fred Schwab. Schwab provided the Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) with an update of the long-awaited Cayenne developed with Volkswagen, which will get its own version.
Cayenne will be a little wider and a little lower than a Jeep Grand Cherokee, seat four to five based on choice of bucket or bench seats and offer full-time all-wheel-drive with a transfer case to engage four-wheel low for off-roading. It will be powered initially by a V-8 engine, with a high-performance twin turbo V-8 and a more mileage-minded V-6 to follow.
The sales target is 25,000 annually, which will double Porsche's U.S. sales. No price but Schwab said the $40,000 to $67,000 BMW X-5 is the target rival.
Schwab said unlike most automakers that produce small, medium, large and behemoth SUVs, Porsche will settle for a mid-size model.
"Toyota [Motor Corp.] has eight SUVs of all sizes, but we're little Porsche and have to have one size that will fit all. Detroit and Japan think big is luxury, but for us luxury doesn't mean huge. If an SUV is big, it isn't fun," he said.
Schwab also said he had just returned from Germany, where he was privy to the products Porsche plans for the next 10 years.
Though refusing to go into detail, Schwab said a street-legal version of the 911 GT2 racer is arriving in showrooms, while two new 911 models, a wide-body Carrera 4S coupe and a targa model with a glass roof, will arrive in February.
Porsche showed a Carrera GT all-wheel-drive concept at the 2000 Paris Auto Show with a 550-horsepower V-10 engine that reportedly
would carry a $300,000 price tag if built.
"We'll talk about that in a matter of days, but we don't put prototypes out there that can't be built," he said, then hinted that GT production will be confirmed at the Detroit Auto Show in January by saying: "Our press conference is 9:20 a.m. Jan. 8--be there."
Schwab also said the Boxster roadster will get a facelift next summer for the '03 model year, and the 911 will get a major redesign for the '05 model year.
Though refusing to elaborate on other models, he ruled out speculation about a sedan gracing the Porsche lineup by noting: "The guys who came up with that idea were fired."
