Porsche doesn't compete with Ferrari. Ferrari's game is to do well in F1 racing and to sell cars based upon the prestige and technology of the brand name.

Porsche targets its vehicles at a different and wider market segment and it races its cars in the appropriate competitions for that.

I don't really care what cars are made under the Porsche name, only that someone makes the car I want. If Porsche made cheap sub-compacts at the low end but continued to make the excellent Targa I love, I'd still buy them.

I've got no interest in Ferrari, because they don't make a car that interests me.

Some owners care about the brand, mystique, limited-ness. Some care about the actual car and how it drives and not so much about the brand.

 

Ferrari is one of the most exclusive carmakers but Porsche is the most profitable carmaker. In terms of performance Porsche has to fear no one.
And we all know if a Ferrari wins a review then it´s most likely a tuned press car.
Porsche will offer more expensive cars cause they can and because the rich lust after expensive and limited Porsches and not because they want to be Ferrari. When was the last time Ferrari won an important race or series? There are others that do a much better job, even Audi is better in racing nowadays imho.

 

Ferrari will always be ferrari even if they didnt sell 1 car they will never ***** there cars. To much time and effort. Just my imo

 

http://www.automobilemag.com/feature...ive/index.html

New chairman Matthias Muller has ambitious plans to grow Porsche's volume, and thankfully the additional models are not all SUVs. One exciting project is a brand-new mid-engine sports car destined to challenge the pace-setting Ferrari 458 Italia.

Finding Mimo
If we read correctly the smoke signals that rise from the Weissach think tank, the new project, which is codenamed 960, has nothing much to do with the high-tech 918 Spyder. Instead, Porsche is moving heaven and earth to make 960 the lead car for the new platform. Although it still has not been signed off, due to political issues and a lack of a firm commitment on part of the other brands involved, the new platform, called Mimo, is known in-house as MSB-M, short for modular sports car matrix, mid-engine version. Earmarked to go into production in just over four years, the Porsche 960 (for lack of a better designation) would still share components with the next 911 due in 2018. How is that? Because MSB-M incorporates a second bloodline labeled MSB-H with the H standing for Heckmotor, German for rear-engine.

Spanning a wide range
At this point, little is known about how and to what extent the new architecture differs from the short-lived MSS modular sports car system reserved for the next Lamborghini Gallardo (due in 2013) and the new Audi R8 (coming in 2015). It certainly needs to be more flexible, to make provisions for rear- and mid-mounted engine installations, and it probably needs to encompass three different size and cost patterns to span the full line-up from the upcoming VW Blue Sport over to the next-generation 911, the Gallardo, the Murcielago, and the Porsche 960. To further complicate matters, MSB must be able to accommodate both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, be compatible with various body styles and materials, and be able to house in-line engines, flat fours and sixes, as well as the complete V-6/V-8/V-10/V-12 spectrum.

Fighting Ferrari with a flat six
An earlier proposed Ferrari fighter from Zuffenhausen was a closer kin to the 918 Spyder, with a carbon fiber structure, and was to be powered by a twin-turbo V-8. But Porsche decision-makers were not happy with this high-end pitch, so now, with the 960, we’re looking at a more mundane materials mix and a twin-turbo 3.8-liter boxer six, which should be good for 600 hp and 555 pound-feet of torque. Why go for a six when your target car is fitted with a V-8? Because the flat six is more compact, helps to lower the center of gravity, is more efficient as well as slightly cheaper to build, and it offers that unique Porsche touch. Likely offered in both coupe and roadster guise, the 960 will be priced on the high side of 200,000 Euro when it debuts in September 2015.

 

yes, and that day is pretty much here. A used Boxster is available to almost anyone, and to non car enthusiasts they look pretty much like a 911.

No judgment on Porsche (or on used Boxster buyers, for that matter) but these are not the actions of a carmaker that wants to go upmarket and try to compete with Ferrari

 

That is key.

Porsche's job is NOT to compete with anyone. They have ONE JOB... maximize the return for the shareholders. That is it.

 

A lot of this relates to the question of exclusivity, and I see two major considerations here:

(1) Exclusivity will appeal to people aiming to project higher status, and those people will generally pay extra for it, which increases profits. But not offering downscale models reduces sales and profits also.

(2) For people who prefer to be low key (including me), exclusivity is actually a drawback which can reduce sales and profit. For this crowd, Porsche at least has a big advantage over Ferrari. And personally I really don't care about them making cars I don't want as long as they keep making cars I do want.

It's hard to say what the net effect of exclusivity is on profit, but I think the bottom line is that Porsche will do whatever they think will increase profit overall.

 

put a Porsche motor in a Ferrari and you would have a great DD

 

Or vice versa?

 

Wow, that was very very very harsh, but you are 100% absolutely right. Porsche going into the sub boxster range will do irreparable damage to the brand.

But you know what? I don't care. I refuse to be brand slave to anything ever again. I was a brand slave to the m3. But now they are going turbo. I was a brand slave to Nintendo, but now I have a ps3. I learned to be flexible and to just go with the flow. If Porsche wants to compete with the 3 series and dilute their brand, go ahead. I just won't give them my money. Will they care about my opinions when they have hoards of money from all these cheap cars? No, and that's fine. But I'm sure there will someone else who will be just as happy to take my money and give me a car that I want.

When, not if, Porsche becomes the next BMW, Audi, Benz, I will just jump ship again to something else. I'll just get an Aston, and by that time, I will fit the stereotype that only old men driving Astons. So it's all good.

end rant.

 

So are you saying that you wouldn't get a Porsche you loved because they also offer downscale models?

 

"911 is expensive for the badge. WIth the exception of those with a lot of money, NO ONE will buy a Ferrari-priced Porsche ever. People will always buy a Ferrari, then maybe buy the Porsche equivalent if they can."

See "Carrera GT" and get back to us.

 

Let me clarify. I would not want to give money to a company that I don't see eye to eye with or agree with the direction they are going in. I have no problems bringing in downmarket vehicles. With BMW, I think they should bring more downmarket models like the 318 since they are so "concerned" about emissions. I would still buy a m3 if they kept it high revving and NA. But I don't agree with their direction of moving to turbos. With porsche, I just don't agree with their decision to move downmarket. I just couldn't give my money to a company that I just don't see eye to eye with. It's a principle thing I guess. And let me ask you a question. Would you still buy a 911 or any other porsche that you loved if porsche (not a sub or sister brand) created a car that competed with the Camry or the Corolla all in the name of profits?

 

Yes. I would just buy the car I loved and not buy the others. I'm not "brand conscious" in that sense.

 

i feel the Porsche is too volkswagen now.

still... if someone offered me the 918 for $250-300k, i'd buy it over the Ferrari/Lambo.