Porsche has chosen Automobil International (AMI) in Leipzig to debut the 911 Cabriolet, new Boxster and Cayenne GTS.
“The AMI is an ideal venue for unveiling the new products in front of a domestic audience”, said Klaus Zellmer, CEO of Porsche Deutschland GmbH. “The domestic market Germany is a known quantity for Porsche. That is why, with our partners, we are planning to invest more than 100 million euro in the medium-term in existing and new Porsche centres”.
Porsche says current sales figures substantiate these plans. In May, Porsche customer deliveries in Germany totalled 1,917: up 24 per cent on last year. Cayenne alone sold 750 units and continues to be a domestic best seller.
Is bullish Stuttgart on the money? Well, the upswing defies a German market trend of reduced sales through May, due to fewer trading days in the month. Total German market for 2012 is predicted at close to 3.2 million vehicles, but Reuters says this prediction will depend on “further economic development”.
While PWC reports that German brands now account for 80% of luxury sales in the fired-up Chinese market, and German business sentiment has been rising for the last six months, consumer confidence in Germany fell for the fourth consecutive month in May, tempering hopes that citizens’ spending would supercharge the economy.
“It would be premature to believe that the German economy can maintain strong growth rates when the rest of the Eurozone is faltering”, cautioned Carsten Brzeski at ING Bank.
Anyone reading road test reviews of the new Porsche 911 will have noted claims that the longer-wheelbase, wider-track 911 is now more grand tourer than sports car. If the new Cayman will now be Porsche’s truest sports car, why don’t Porsche take it to the max?
Motor Trend Editor Angus MacKenzie recently put this directly to Porsche CEO Matthias Muller. I’m sure he’d considered his response at length: what to do about Cayman must be a hot topic in Stuttgart. The model is the most undermarketed Porsche I’ve ever seen, and yet remains one of the best sports cars the company has built.
Will there never be a Cayman that will outperform a 911? “If I look at pure performance numbers,” says Muller thoughtfully, “then maybe.” But then he quickly adds he believes Porsche’s two sports cars are aimed at two entirely different customers — substitution between the two cars is less than five percent in the United States. And with Turbo and Turbo S versions of the new 911 still to come — as well as GT3 and GT2 variants — you can bet there will always be at least one 911 variant that will be faster than even the hottest Cayman in the future.”
Watching the privateer Caymans circulating at Nurburgring 24, it’s clear that the chassis has plenty of headroom. The cars looked much lighter on their feet compared to heavier GT3 cars in switchback direction changes, making Cayman the perfect base for a good power-to-weight race platform that could be up there on efficency, speed and reliability. Translate that to a road car that wasn’t too stiff and you get something like the Cayman R, but with added marketing mojo.
Boxster Spyder ticked the box for everyone who took it out wanting to drive. James May’s Spyder review (video below) will go down as one of the great Top Gear Porsche product tests. The only downside – certainly for the UK – was that convoluted canvas top. So why not a Cayman R Carrera: same ethos as Boxster Spyder, but with a solid roof? We would finally have a daily drivable Porsche sports car, raceable for not much money, marketed as a drivers piece and sold at a sensible price (we hope).
New Boxster is into UK £60k when specced to the hilt and Cayman is likely to be similar. I guess we’ll see how the Cayman plan works out, but it would be nice to see more on the road, taking it to the Porsche-is-911 brigade and speaking to prospective buyers who view PDK 911 as expensive pipe and slippers.
The Porsche Museum is currently hosting an exhibition that celebrates sixty years of Porsche clubs. The manufacturer has just announced that it will make thirteen special edition 911 Coupes: twelve will be sold to clubsters who win the right to buy in a raffle, and one will remain in Stuttgart.
The first Porsche Club was started in Germany in 1952. Porsche clubs now have more than 181,000 members worldwide. This is officially recognised Porsche Clubs, so doesn’t include people like me and many others reading this.
If one included non-club Internet forum members, and fans of the brand regularly interacting with other Porsche owners, on- or off-line, the number would be a lot higher. Remember Porsche has 4 million Facebook fans.
The Porsche Museum is showing twelve special cars as club anniversary exhibits, including Dr. Wolfgang Porsche’s personal 993 Turbo S (top) and the neat Type 957 Jagdwagen (above).
Stuttgart is “using the anniversary as an opportunity to thank club members for their steadfast loyalty over the decades and their deep commitment” by building twelve special edition Club Coupes. Based on special-order Brewster Green Carrera S models, the cars feature a Powerkit upgrade to 430 hp, the SportDesign package and colour coded wheels. They come with bespoke lettering, and illuminated door entry guards with the anniversary logo.
Each coupe will retail at €142,800 in Germany, plus 19% tax. Or $175,580 in the USA, also plus tax. The standard Carrera S costs €102,000 in Germany, but that is including tax. Sorry, I should have sat you down before that.
Prospective buyers have until July 16th to register interest on the Porsche website, before a draw is held to decide the twelve winners. You can be from anywhere except China or India. I have no idea why this is – someone enlighten me.
A dozen €143,000-plus-tax Carrera S coupes awarded in a lottery is not Cult of Porsche. But, if you’ve got the cash and this is your thing, good luck to you. The lighting is very nice in the promo pics.
Porsche announces completion of the 918 Spyder prototypes. Dressed in camouflage reminiscent of the 917, development focus now turns to the relationship between the sophisticated driveline components.
918 runs a combustion engine and two electric motors – one feeding each axle – but has been designed as a plug-in hybrid. Though the supercar will contain 770 horsepower, its fuel consumption should be respectable at an expected three litres per 100 kilometres. That’s three litres per 62 miles, or .66 imperial gallons per 62 miles. 62 miles on .66 imperial gallons works out to 93 mpg on my calculator, so I might have this wrong!
“What we are doing with the 918 Spyder is redefining driving fun, efficiency and performance,” said Wolfgang Hatz, Member of the Executive Board Research and Development of Porsche AG. “We have put all of our expertise and capacity for innovation into this vehicle.
“The operating strategies and the development of the software to go with them are one of Porsche’s core competences. Both have a major influence on the extreme driving fun to be had with the 918 Spyder, allowing a unique combination of minimal fuel consumption and maximum performance. The initial results of the driving trials are in line with the high expectations placed on the 918 Spyder.”
Porsche is also implementing a full carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) monocoque, fully adaptive aerodynamics, adaptive rear-axle steering and the upward-venting “top pipes” exhaust system. The hybrid hypercar is the perfect response to those who claim Porsche is now all about selling SUVs to China. Gotta love the corporate finger.
Between January and March 2012, Porsche produced a total of 36,067 vehicles: 15% up on last year. Leipzig plant now makes 450 Cayennes and Panameras per day.
Porsche’s 2012 financial year is off to a flying start. Worldwide sales are up almost 30%, and revenue is up a bit more, at 32%. Operating profit hit €528 million, 18% more than Q1 2011. The company took on 725 new people in the same period and now employs over 16,000.
President and CEO of Porsche AG, Matthias Müller, says this success comes from focus on sustainable growth. “The youngest and most efficient model range of all time gives us an outstanding platform on which to sustain this course throughout 2012.”
New 911 has lifted sales of the icon by almost 40%, and new Boxster has strong interest. This year, Porsche brings nine more models to market – from new 911 derivatives to the Cayenne GTS.
In Q1 2012, Porsche saw increased demand in China, the German domestic market and in the USA. Biggest increase came from Panamera: up almost 60% and very strong interest in the six cylinder (tax law changes or good lease deals somewhere maybe). Thirty percent more Cayennes were delivered to customers worldwide in Q1 2012.
Porsche has set itself ambitious business targets with “Strategy 2018”. The intention is to boost sales to approximately 200,000 vehicles by that point, so Porsche is investing in rejuvenating and expanding the entire model range. New 911 is part of that, new Cayman (perhaps the real sports car of the range) and Macan will bolster the effort. Macan will be built at Lepizig from 2014 onwards.
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