Porsche Sees Red, Develops Ferrari-Killer
Porsche chief Matthias Müller found a big gap in his program. A price gap. “It bugs me that the 911 stops at around €250,000, and then things start moving again with the 918 for €750,000,” Müller complains to the Süddeutsche Zeitung today. “Ferrari builds a comfortable and pretty much competition-free nest. We need to get in there.”
„In there“ will slot a new supersportscar, something like the 959 of the new millennium. Not much is known about the new car, except its price: between €250,000 and €450,000. The car is yet to be developed. Albeit not a volume seller , the new supersport model will help to double Porsche sales from today around 100,000 units per year to 200,000.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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DarkhorseAugust 29th, 2011 at 4:42 pm I think they need the new 4 cylinder “550″ more than a Ferrari fighter. Porsche is losing new entry level owners to other brands. __________________________________________________________________ Porsche is currently working on a 4-cyl mill for the Boxster/Cayman.
Ferraris are boring. The 599 is not even on the same planet of cool as the 288 GTO. The 612 and the California are uggo. Really the 458 is the only good looking car they have. The Aventador is where it's at, Lamborghini is back, big time.
C&D - http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparisons/10q4/2011_ferrari_599_hgte_vs._2012_lexus_lfa-comparison_tests/2012_lexus_lfa_page_3 EVO - http://lexusenthusiast.com/2011/08/26/lexus-lfa-beats-ferrari-599-gto-in-evo-magazine-comparison/
I hope Porsche realizes that styling expectations go up in that price range. No more Panamera, please, although what can they produce that will rival Ferrari in styling since everything, it seems, "has" to be some sort of derivative of the 911? They could make a super-sleek version of it. That might make the 911 seem dowdy and out-of-date, though. It's supposed to be timeless styling, but one of these days it will fall out of fashion.