Veloce Raptor

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Communi...hats-going-on/

Rassel

Power struggles in the VW dome and forcing Porsche to fall in line.

agdamis

When the VW took over a very independent Porsche the only positive I could see is about Piech and the Porsche family getting together was Piech's interest in racing "That's it!!!!" I was called a backward thinking a$$hole by most on this board.

Only upside we have the last of the real Porsches

Have fun with VW in your shorts now.

Rassel

Even though things didn't go exactly as planned. There are some logical points with Porsche trying to merge with VW. But everything comes at a price. The independence of the product portfolio as example.

ironimages

VR, Thanks for posting.

This may not be good:

"group design overlord Walter da Silva told CAR that he wanted more stylistic change."

mglobe

I'm not a fan of mergers at all. They always give me cause for concern, particularly when it involves a small, unique, and innovative company like Porsche.

However... if you look at the stable that VW controls, not only is the list pretty damn impressive, but so is what those manufacturers have produced. Audi, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Bentley... I'd argue that each of these makes are at the top of their game right now. In spite of sharing of parts and power plants in some cases, each has a unique, and impressive product. So... I remain optimistic... for now.

agdamis

From your mouth to God's ears!

I am still scared

utkinpol

looks like there is a good chance for 911 model 997.2 car to become the last of its kind.

ltc

Everyone can thank Dr. W and his delusions of grandure for putting Porsche in this position. It was inevitable.

Porsche has earned everything it has coming to it now under VW ownership.

John H

The comments are funny. (although I suspect they weren't meant to be)

wanna911

Well on a positive note, VW has done nothing but positive things for Audi and Lambo since they have been in control of them, both of which were in a downward spiral prior too. However neither was as successful as Porsche which will not need as much "fixin". Whether they decide to assert their authority and make drastic changes or not is the question.

I'm just glad they got the GT2 RS out before hand. That thing is a beast!!!

Ritter v4.0

CAUTION: WINGE ALERT

I wouldn't say that Porsche is just another car company now, but even before the VW mess they showed a propensity for putting profit ahead of producing the best cars (or more accurately "sports cars") they could. I'm not a shareholder so have no say in things but as an owner/fan its disappointing to see the deviation from the storied past.

Also disappointing, unlike Ferrari, they have also gotten away from their racing roots. They don't compete at the highest level of any racing category and even withdrew from LMP2. That's weaksauce.

If I was VW I'd redirect Porsche back to solely sports cars and nix the SUV and 4 door saloon. VW/Audi have it covered. I'd also treat Porsche like a "skunk werks" to develop new technologies.

Rassel

Rennlisters isn't the target group and can't keep Porsche profitable. It's about profit per unit, life cycle and volume.

Racing is a profitable business for Porsche. It's customer based and have a full scale bottom up approach from Sports Cup Series up to Super Cup. It is more profitable than running head to head competition against GT series. It also provides a lot of resources so customers can race GT.

Porsche doesn't have the capabilities for "Skunk Werks". If you look at a complete car, it's packed with technology from third part suppliers, such as Bosch.

I'd love to see a Porsche that you described and that none of above was true. Unfortunately it doesn't look so.

What can be discussed is of course what racing does to the volume parameter. Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday is having a bit of revival.

Ritter v4.0

Its a sure of aging to be nostalgic for the past.

On the w/e I watched a few minutes of the Indy cars at the Glen.
I thought if they can race there, why can't F1 again? It was then that I awoke up from my reverie and switched over to MotoGP on SPEED.
But I digress.

smlporsche

Funny, I thought the same thing especially when I saw Sato's name across the screen