I read the review of the Macan in the latest Road & Track and there are some interesting stats in there. When the Macan enters year 2 of production, its projected that over 70% of new Porsches will have 4 doors (over 50% of production will be SUVs and 911s will account for roughly 14% of sales).

I'm not in the camp that curses the Cayenne. I think its a great SUV, and more importantly its provided funds to develop and improve the sports cars.

But lets be honest here and puts things back into perspective....

When I was in elementary school my dad got a porsche. The night he came home from the dealership, I was waiting in the driveway expecting what I now know is an IMSA race car to appear. I was certain the car would have a sticker on the top of the windshield with P-O-R-S-C-H-E in the iconic font. Of course the 928 that appeared was candidly a bit of a letdown (a 911 would have been way more exciting).

Back to the point. If I'm that kid all over again, am I now waiting for a Cayenne TT or GTS to pull up the driveway?

I applaud the company for adamantly reaffirming its racing roots in recent years (Lemans, etc..). But I'm worried that the customer of a Porsche SUV or Sedan (who has never owned a P sports car) is the weakest link in the chain in terms of the name Porsche being synonymous with racing. And now given theses statistics, there will likely be more of them...

Your thoughts?

Dr.

 

I will keep this in mind as I go there today and test a C4S and PGTS. Interesting thoughts - my 2 year old son thinks a Porsche is only a 911

 

My main problem with the brand's expansion into non-sports markets has been the dilution of the name Porsche itself. Like it or not, a good chunk of the mainstream public now thinks of the Cayenne or the Panamera when they hear the company name.

A friend recently congratulated me on my purchase. Upon hearing that it was a Porsche, his first guess was "Panamera GTS." When I replied in the negative, his response was "Ahhh, so a Cayenne it is."

I put it all into perspective like OP said, though. These 4-door models are allegedly the driving force behind the retention of the 911 and Porsche as a whole. I can live with that.

 

I personally do not care at all. I recently sat behind the wheel of a Panny GTS and it was hands down the best 4 door I ever drove. Same thing with a Cayenne for a SUV. So yes, Porsche may be making more 4 than 2 doors but I know that when I'll need a 4 door for practicality reasons, I'll still be able to experience something better than other brands and a driving feel that has something in common with my 911.

Now all the Porsche drivers are not petrolheads like us and is there a large percentage who get a Pcar for the badge. So be it. To be honest, I have more sympathy for a middle manager commuting in a Macan that this young d!ckhe@d crashing his Aventador in London...

 

Up until the impact, I don't see much wrong with driving in a straight line, less than highway speeds, in the right of way.

I see the vehicle turning right into traffic without the right of way causing the incident.

 

The compact car may well have been the first cause of the accident, but the Lambo must have been going way above what a reasonable speed is in downtown London to fly up in the air the way it did, especially when you consider that it is almost wider than driving lane.
Sloane Street is a place known for guys showing off at high speed in supercars (plenty or articles and in the press about this). The Aventador had been spotted at very high speed the same day in the area.

So yes, the Mazda is at fault, but the Lambo's driving style (and most likely speed) is an aggravating factor that could have cost a pedestrian's life instead of being a simple fender bender.

Let's leave it there and agree to disagree if needed and move on with the topic of the thread.

 

Guess it's part of the trend these days.. Porsche execs constantly tell us it is because of the Cayenne and PANNY projects that they are able to immensely stuff their R&D budgets.

While (sadly) most of the people driving Cayenne TT's in the NYC/LI area that I see (and most major cities) probably have zero clue what they're capable of and rarely will put it to use, still must respect as SM_ATL said that Cayenne/Panny are usually the best performing in their segments, and owners of said cars who do wish to push them have the appropriate power at their disposal.

As stated above, sucks the "exclusivity" is being somewhat diminished but if it results in P-cars continuing to amaze us as they do, I think the tradeoff isn't so bad.

 

BTW, for whatever its worth, I [the original poster] went out to get an SUV to use as a battle wagon for road trips, and to use in the winter (even though I put snows on the 991) and to tow the track car I'm working on getting and the choice was......

Mercedes GL

It looks like an SUV, it drives like and SUV and I am under no illusion that its anything but an SUV.

My wife has an X6 and we had X5s before that. But performance SUVs in my opinion are like low fat butter, sugar free candy, non-alcoholic beer etc... It takes a lot of effort, technology and expense to make a vehicle into something it inherently isn't (add performance to a truck with a high center of gravity and curb weight).

Just my 2 cents. To each his own

DRP

 

Yeah I agree with the brand dilution.. I didn't mind a nice SUV, so having the Cayanne in the mix didn't bother me so much.. But adding the Panamera disappointed me..

To my generation the word PORSCHE means performance and sports car.. However I feel to those younger it will eventually just feel like an extension of Audi... as the brand dilutes..

 

News flash. Porsche sells 911 line to Tata motors. Claims the iconic sports car no longer fits it's brand philosophy.

 

The money from the sales of the other cars fuels the development of the 911, boxster and cayman.

 

I'm not bothered by the other vehicles Porsche is selling these days.

What I am concerned with however, it that their "sports" cars are getting bigger, heavier, diluted, no manual (GT3), s****y turbos and full of nannies....driver involvement is being reduced with every generation.

Dont get me wrong I love my 991.....but I wish they would head in the other direction and keep true to their core with the future 911's and 960 (man I hope they make that car)....which is smaller, lighter, manual gearbox option, reduce all the computer involvement and keep a NATURALLY ASPIRATED engine....much more fun!

 

Great way to meet a tall blonde

 

As this attachment shows, in 2013, 4 door vehicles accounted for almost 2/3rd of Porsche sales. I think the Macan could sell double what the Cayenne sells.

If this is the case, then sportscars would decline from 35% of Porsche sales to less than 20% of Porsche sales. Following the 80:20 rule, Porsche will be a SUV and Sedan manufacturer in 2014.

 

Oh and btw it's already true that >50% of Porsche sales are SUVs even before the Macan.