Porswagen? Volksche? Here We Go Again…
Germany's AutoZeitung (via MotorAuthority) reports that Porsche is planning to create a hatchback about the size of a VW Golf. The brand defiling line extension new model is designed to help the luxury sports car maker meet Europe's proposed, tighter CO2 emission standards. Projected for introduction after the 2009 launch of the four-door Panamera, Porsche's relatively down market parts-bin special would have a front-mounted 295hp boxer engine (from the Boxster) driving all four wheels. Porsche hasn't released any official sketches yet, but we can only pray it won't look like a 5/8 scale Cayenne. Still, with the new model's engine mass in front of the wheels, handling could be interesting– kind of like driving a 911 in reverse.
More by Frank Williams
Comments
Join the conversation
I met a fellow in Atlanta a few years back that swore all over the place that his 944 turbo was the fastest, best handling, he had ever owned or raced. And then he showed me around the shop to see the other cars he owned, Ferrari Testarrosa, Ferrari 308, the 911 I was there to look at for my brother and a Lotus Esprit V8. I never had a chance to compare for myself but I believe him and the rest of you the 944 Turbo gets a bad rap it doesn't deserve. I still remember that day like it was yesterday because I got the treat of a lifetime while I was there, they were working on a Ferrari 375 America and they wound up that velvety V-12 so I could here that Ferrari shriek that makes my hair stand on end. Now you get my name, to much Ferrari talk I need a cold shower.
Correction 340 America not the super rare 375. I didn't hear him that clearly over the engine noise when he told me what it was.
A spiritual successor to the 944 would certainly not be brand defiling. However, if it comes out heavy, with Cayene/Panamera styling, and poor reliability with a Porsche price tag...
I said nothing bad about the 944. Again, going back to sightline's original statement: Be a snob all you want, but the 944/968 series was the best balanced and handling Porsche ever made. This statement by sightline is blanket statement that's saying the 944/968 is the best balanced and handling Porsche EVER, a statement which I easily proved wrong, as almost any enthusiast will tell you. Now, if the statement had been different, such as "the 944 was the best balanced/handling mainstream Porsche ever made" or "the 944 was the best balanced/handling entry-level Porsche ever made" than that would be a different point for discussion.