[88carrera]

From Automobilemag.com

If Porsche can make the three door car within $20-25k range and and still perform and handle like a Porsche should..they will sell tens of thousands...

• Small SUV: Porsche is working on a small SUV to fit below the Cayenne. Many have assumed that, just as the Cayenne came off a platform shared with VW's Touareg, this'll be a variant of the new small SUV under development as the Audi Q5. But Porsche sources have confirmed the company is pondering a radical, sporty three-door vehicle with strong 911 design cues. Porsche has successfully run all-wheel-drive 911s and 959s in the grueling Paris-Dakar Rally in the past.

• Cayman RS: This lightweight version of the Cayman is due soon. Porsche has no plans to offer more power, as it wants to ensure the 911 remains the company's icon car.


• Next-generation 911: Development of the all-new 998 version of the 911 is underway. A key issue with the next 911 is the iconic flat-six engine apparently can't be stretched beyond 4.0 liters, which limits the potential output, even with technologies such as direct injection. This means the car will almost certainly feature extensive use of aluminum and fast-shifting DSG transmissions to save weight and boost performance.


• New 928: With the front-engine Panamera now underway, Porsche engineers also are pondering whether a short-wheelbase, two-door version of the car could be built as a 21st-century 928 to take on cars such as Bentley's Continental GT and Ferrari's 612 Scaglietti.


• New Carrera GT: Production of the Carrera GT has finished, with about 1200 cars built. Insiders admit they'd like to build a successor to the mid-engine V-10-powered roadster, but that any work on such a car would be unlikely before the end of the decade.

[Mike W]

I'm not going to go on and on about diluting the brand, BUT.

If they are going to diversify their product line fine. But I wish they would make good looking cars in their own right and not try and make everything look like a bastardized 911. That does ruin it for me.

[Jazzbass]

They need to create a "SUV and other crap" division, kind of like how all the Japanese companies have their "luxury" divisions. Call it "Piech" or something.

In the end I guess it doesn't really bother me that much, though. No one says a BMW M3 is a crappy car just because BMW makes the X5.

But I do agree with Mike - they need to come up with a little more style than "911-looking big SUV" and "911-looking little SUV" and "911-looking sedan", etc, etc.

[smdubovsky]

Originally Posted by Jazzbass

Call it "Piech" or something.

Brilliant!!!

SMD
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[Trak Ratt]

Originally Posted by Jazzbass

They need to create a "SUV and other crap" division, kind of like how all the Japanese companies have their "luxury" divisions. Call it "Piech" or something.

Isn't that why they bought VW?

[Porsche_Driving_Club]

Originally Posted by Mike W

I'm not going to go on and on about diluting the brand, BUT.

If they are going to diversify their product line fine. But I wish they would make good looking cars in their own right and not try and make everything look like a bastardized 911. That does ruin it for me.

I could not agree more. Making every car look like a 911 is in the long term going to hurt the Porsche brand. Afterall, there is already a 911. Why have 10 other cars that resemble it. Is Porsche's styling dept (or marketing dept.) starting to think like Honda or Toyota? I understand the concept of family brand marketing, but this is to much.

I liked the days when there were more than one interpretation of a Porsche. 944, 928, 911, 959 so on. Creating a brand that is so dependent on such a defined styling concept is limiting. What if the market experiences a shift in taste. Where would Porsche be then? (Granted the 911 is a timeless design, but making that design so available in any vehicle format delutes its mistique. Delutes its uniquiness. Over availablity of such a style could result in a general market shift.)

[BillJ]

Even my wife noted the other day how the front of the Cayenne Turbo looked like a 911 nose pasted on the front of a Toureg. They should really think about doing some focus groups that take into account the overall brand. May open some eyes over there...

[Blur80]

On the other hand, if Porsche doesn't capitalize on its own style then the Japanese companies will some day. Oh wait, was that a 911 or a Nissan 350Z that just drove by?

[michael lang]

It appears as though Porsche has figured out a formula for becoming successful again, parts sharing with models, design and layout of its retailers, has refigured out who its intended market is, etc...so whatever is working for them is great. The older cars will continue to be desired and remain somewhat valuable, the newer cars will become more available and will lose alot of its appeal. My fear is that they will become much like the other major auto manufacturer in Germany. After having gotten in bed with an American auto maker the product has in many ways lost it "pinnache" (I think that is spelled correctly). I'm afraid that the same thing will happen to Porsche and their revised relationship with the Wolfsburg group. I have been the proud owner of 2 VW's and they have been really good cars but they are not my Porsche. Only time will tell how things turn out, it is exciting to see but at the same time I feel as though owning a Porsche will become much like owning a Nissan, Toyota, or any other mass produced ordinary means of transportation...Just another car!