Report: VW To Kill Porsche Panamera, Cayenne
08-31-09, 10:02 PM
#1
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Report: VW To Kill Porsche Panamera, Cayenne
http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1...namera-cayenne
Porsche fans have loudly lamented the company's loss of independence, especially - as they see it - to Europe's prime purveyor of the mundane, Volkswagen. But that alliance may actually bring about the Porsche Purists' ultimate end goal: the eradication of the non-sports car models from Porsche's lineup - at least, if the latest reports out of the UK are to be believed.
Take the following with a lifetime supply of salt, but according to a report in Car magazine, the Volkswagen Group is planning to force Porsche out of the SUV and sedan business once the current models are done with their run. That should take about seven years - the average lifespan of a car architecture.
The argument goes something like this: VW already builds plenty of sedans and SUVs through its VW and Audi brands, among others, and doesn't need the duplicative efforts of Porsche impeding growth and sapping development dollars.
That makes sense, in a way, but presumes that Porsche and VW's other brands overlap in a way that makes significant business sense. An extension of this logic would lead to the banishment of all sports cars from Audi's portfolio, including the stunning new A5 and its upcoming S5 Sportback and possible RS5 variants. Does that make sense?
And while they're at it, they might as well eliminate duplication between VW and Audi as well, and scrap all the sedans, wagons and SUVs at VW, leaving only a few hatchbacks, the rebadged Chrysler-based Routan minivan and a few odds and ends in the South American market.
And so on, to even greater levels of absurdity - why not throw Skoda into the mix? Surely Bentley and Lamborghini could use some tweaking as well?
On the other hand, a VW vendetta against Porsche's more mainstream offerings wouldn't be entirely out of character with the boardroom dramas and baby-monitor spy sagas of the previous two or so years of hostile takeover posturing.
Volkswagen also won't be putting Porsche development entirely on the back burner, instead leveraging a joint platform that's been discussed many times over the past year: a mid-engine, entry-level roadster like the Bluesport. The idea behind the project would be to revive the spirit of one of the cars that made Porsche great, the original 356.
Following on with the sports-cars-only theme, a possible replacement to the Carrera GT could also still be on the books, possibly something like the Le Mans Prototype RS Spyder-based car we previewed for you back in May.
Porsche fans have loudly lamented the company's loss of independence, especially - as they see it - to Europe's prime purveyor of the mundane, Volkswagen. But that alliance may actually bring about the Porsche Purists' ultimate end goal: the eradication of the non-sports car models from Porsche's lineup - at least, if the latest reports out of the UK are to be believed.
Take the following with a lifetime supply of salt, but according to a report in Car magazine, the Volkswagen Group is planning to force Porsche out of the SUV and sedan business once the current models are done with their run. That should take about seven years - the average lifespan of a car architecture.
The argument goes something like this: VW already builds plenty of sedans and SUVs through its VW and Audi brands, among others, and doesn't need the duplicative efforts of Porsche impeding growth and sapping development dollars.
That makes sense, in a way, but presumes that Porsche and VW's other brands overlap in a way that makes significant business sense. An extension of this logic would lead to the banishment of all sports cars from Audi's portfolio, including the stunning new A5 and its upcoming S5 Sportback and possible RS5 variants. Does that make sense?
And while they're at it, they might as well eliminate duplication between VW and Audi as well, and scrap all the sedans, wagons and SUVs at VW, leaving only a few hatchbacks, the rebadged Chrysler-based Routan minivan and a few odds and ends in the South American market.
And so on, to even greater levels of absurdity - why not throw Skoda into the mix? Surely Bentley and Lamborghini could use some tweaking as well?
On the other hand, a VW vendetta against Porsche's more mainstream offerings wouldn't be entirely out of character with the boardroom dramas and baby-monitor spy sagas of the previous two or so years of hostile takeover posturing.
Volkswagen also won't be putting Porsche development entirely on the back burner, instead leveraging a joint platform that's been discussed many times over the past year: a mid-engine, entry-level roadster like the Bluesport. The idea behind the project would be to revive the spirit of one of the cars that made Porsche great, the original 356.
Following on with the sports-cars-only theme, a possible replacement to the Carrera GT could also still be on the books, possibly something like the Le Mans Prototype RS Spyder-based car we previewed for you back in May.
08-31-09, 10:06 PM
#3
Wow, if this happens that will be quite dramatic indeed. And to think that they still want to sell the Phaeton and the A8, probably competing in the same market.
I'm conflicted on this, because there is the purist point of view and yet Porsche has brought its 'look' to the Cayenne, Panamera...both in styling and performance.
But the Cayenne is Porsche's top seller...! If it happens, as the article says, it may be in part due VW's vendetta against Porsche's expansion and influence. They have taken over Porsche, beaten their leadership and staged a 'reverse takeover.'
Maybe this will make the Panamera that much more collectible.
I'm conflicted on this, because there is the purist point of view and yet Porsche has brought its 'look' to the Cayenne, Panamera...both in styling and performance.
But the Cayenne is Porsche's top seller...! If it happens, as the article says, it may be in part due VW's vendetta against Porsche's expansion and influence. They have taken over Porsche, beaten their leadership and staged a 'reverse takeover.'
Maybe this will make the Panamera that much more collectible.
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09-01-09, 12:34 AM
#8
Lexus Test Driver
If true, what a waste of resources and development dollars. Spend all that getting the Panamara out and announce it's death a few weeks later. (No way this will happen).
09-01-09, 01:14 AM
#9
Lexus Champion
killing the cayenne is like killing there cash cow....that's just stupid, i doubt they would do that, biggest example are the audi R8 and lambo gallardo, or the Q5 and the VW variant of it i forgot what its called, and lastly phaeton and A8
09-01-09, 04:15 AM
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http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=156306
Porsche Cayenne, Panamera To Be Axed in VW Takeover
Date posted: 08-31-2009
SANTA MONICA, California — Get a good look at the Porsche Cayenne SUV. In the wake of the bizarre German corporate soap opera whose end will soon see the absorption of Porsche AG into the mighty Volkswagen Group, the controversial Cayenne — and even more astoundingly, the just-released Panamera four-door sport sedan — has no future after VW takes over.
Such is the report from Britain's Car magazine, which says a "massive U-turn in Porsche's product plan" resulting from the bitter VW boardroom triumph means Porsche will be forced to discontinue the Cayenne and Panamera after their product cycles are complete around seven years from now.
"VW Group has plenty of SUVs and saloons [sedans] — it doesn't need Porsche to build them," says the story, which should be music to the ears of Porsche faithful and critics who insist the tiny sports-carmaker did potentially irreparable harm to its brand by pasting the Porsche badge on heavyweight off-roaders and sedans.
But all isn't totally jolly for those hoping for complete restoration of Porsche's independence and uniqueness. Under the seemingly more brand-protecting plan of VW Chairman Ferdinand Piëch, Porsche will get back to making only sports cars — but probably will be sharing at least one platform with a future VW.
Piëch fought back viciously against the improbable but almost-executed plan of now-ousted Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking for tiny Porsche to grab control of VW. Now that he's won and Wiedeking — the architect of Porsche's off-message forays into massive SUVs and sedans — has been forced out, VW and its board, led by Piëch, will be calling the shots. And Piëch, an intensely product-focused engineer, seems to be intent on unraveling Wiedeking's initiatives to expand Porsche beyond two-door sports cars.
But that doesn't mean Porsche won't be expanding at all. Car reports that the brand might use a version of VW's in-development Modular Sportscar Structure (MSS) for a future midengine, entry-level model below the current Boxster/Cayman that would be the spiritual successor to the first Porsche, the 356. Volkswagen's vision of a lightweight and comparatively affordable midengine roadster already has been previewed with the Bluesport concept, although that car is based on the underpinnings of the current Polo.
Porsche also reportedly will launch a new high-dollar supercar to follow up the Carrera GT, although VW watchers already have speculated endlessly about how the company that also owns Lamborghini, Bugatti and Audi AG, all with vital products in the supercar segment, will position a future Porsche entry into that league.
The backfiring fiscal overreach that almost brought VW under Porsche control isn't without certain non-product consequences. Qatar Holding LLC had planned to buy a hefty portion of Porsche to help the sports-carmaker out of the debt hole it dug in its aborted attempt to control VW, but instead hooked into a complex investment arrangement that will see the Qatar Emirate become VW's third-largest shareholder with about 17 percent of the company. The Qatar investment also will hold about 10 percent of Porsche Automobil Holding SE, Porsche's holding company.
Inside Line says: Only the future will tell if the new investors plan to be of the "active" persuasion. — Bill Visnic, Senior Editor, Edmunds' AutoObserver.com
Date posted: 08-31-2009
SANTA MONICA, California — Get a good look at the Porsche Cayenne SUV. In the wake of the bizarre German corporate soap opera whose end will soon see the absorption of Porsche AG into the mighty Volkswagen Group, the controversial Cayenne — and even more astoundingly, the just-released Panamera four-door sport sedan — has no future after VW takes over.
Such is the report from Britain's Car magazine, which says a "massive U-turn in Porsche's product plan" resulting from the bitter VW boardroom triumph means Porsche will be forced to discontinue the Cayenne and Panamera after their product cycles are complete around seven years from now.
"VW Group has plenty of SUVs and saloons [sedans] — it doesn't need Porsche to build them," says the story, which should be music to the ears of Porsche faithful and critics who insist the tiny sports-carmaker did potentially irreparable harm to its brand by pasting the Porsche badge on heavyweight off-roaders and sedans.
But all isn't totally jolly for those hoping for complete restoration of Porsche's independence and uniqueness. Under the seemingly more brand-protecting plan of VW Chairman Ferdinand Piëch, Porsche will get back to making only sports cars — but probably will be sharing at least one platform with a future VW.
Piëch fought back viciously against the improbable but almost-executed plan of now-ousted Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking for tiny Porsche to grab control of VW. Now that he's won and Wiedeking — the architect of Porsche's off-message forays into massive SUVs and sedans — has been forced out, VW and its board, led by Piëch, will be calling the shots. And Piëch, an intensely product-focused engineer, seems to be intent on unraveling Wiedeking's initiatives to expand Porsche beyond two-door sports cars.
But that doesn't mean Porsche won't be expanding at all. Car reports that the brand might use a version of VW's in-development Modular Sportscar Structure (MSS) for a future midengine, entry-level model below the current Boxster/Cayman that would be the spiritual successor to the first Porsche, the 356. Volkswagen's vision of a lightweight and comparatively affordable midengine roadster already has been previewed with the Bluesport concept, although that car is based on the underpinnings of the current Polo.
Porsche also reportedly will launch a new high-dollar supercar to follow up the Carrera GT, although VW watchers already have speculated endlessly about how the company that also owns Lamborghini, Bugatti and Audi AG, all with vital products in the supercar segment, will position a future Porsche entry into that league.
The backfiring fiscal overreach that almost brought VW under Porsche control isn't without certain non-product consequences. Qatar Holding LLC had planned to buy a hefty portion of Porsche to help the sports-carmaker out of the debt hole it dug in its aborted attempt to control VW, but instead hooked into a complex investment arrangement that will see the Qatar Emirate become VW's third-largest shareholder with about 17 percent of the company. The Qatar investment also will hold about 10 percent of Porsche Automobil Holding SE, Porsche's holding company.
Inside Line says: Only the future will tell if the new investors plan to be of the "active" persuasion. — Bill Visnic, Senior Editor, Edmunds' AutoObserver.com
09-01-09, 04:18 AM
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Porsche sales numbers 2008
This may be the poorest business decision of all time, eliminating the Cayenne:
STUTTGART, Germany, Oct. 1, 2008 - Porsche Automobil Holding SE, Stuttgart, has again brought home record values in the business year 2007/08 (to July 31) despite the general lack of buoyancy in the economic environment. As the company announced on Wednesday, in a first review of the business year that has just ended, preliminary figures indicate that sales of the 100 percent subsidiary Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG have increased by 1.2 percent to 98,652 vehicles sales. Turnover also went up by 1.3 percent to 7.46 billion Euro.
The mainspring of Porsche’s growth course was the Cayenne series. With an increase of 34 percent to a provisional figure of 45,478 automobiles, sales of the sporting all-terrain vehicle reached a new record high. The new, emphatically sporty Cayenne GTS, which was successively launched on the global markets from February 2008 onwards, contributed to this success with 6,942 unit sales. The 911 series, with an estimated 31,423 vehicles sold, lay 16 percent below the previous year’s very high figure. In view of the model changeover of the 911 Carrera in the second half of the fiscal year 2007/08, this sales figure still represents a considerable success. The Boxster series, which also includes the Cayman, totalled 21,747 unit sales; this was 16,8 percent less than in the previous fiscal year.
The mainspring of Porsche’s growth course was the Cayenne series. With an increase of 34 percent to a provisional figure of 45,478 automobiles, sales of the sporting all-terrain vehicle reached a new record high. The new, emphatically sporty Cayenne GTS, which was successively launched on the global markets from February 2008 onwards, contributed to this success with 6,942 unit sales. The 911 series, with an estimated 31,423 vehicles sold, lay 16 percent below the previous year’s very high figure. In view of the model changeover of the 911 Carrera in the second half of the fiscal year 2007/08, this sales figure still represents a considerable success. The Boxster series, which also includes the Cayman, totalled 21,747 unit sales; this was 16,8 percent less than in the previous fiscal year.
