Ask The Best And Brightest: Baby Boxster?
Rumors have simmering for some time now that say Porsche is considering extending its once-focused brand downmarket. Again. And though the Roxster rumors prompted a repudiation of volume-chasing from Zuffenhausen, word is filtering in from the German auto press that Porsche might be considering a neo-914 project with VW. Or, as the starry-eyed fools at Motor Authority put it, “work on the next-generation Boxster and what has been thought of as a 914 revival may be a sort of cover for the even more secret work on the 356’s modern spiritual successor.” What they mean (I think) is that the new baby Porsche could be a rebadged VW, true to tradition. The Bluesport Concept, in this case. Of course that means cannibal trouble for the proposed Audi version, but that was coming anyway (VW “needs” to share the platform with “at least” three brands). Meanwhile, CAFE doesn’t just loom for Porsche, they’ve been fined every year since 1991. Oh yeah, and the lovable Boxster has loaded over $6K onto its base MSRP since its 1997 debut. So I’ll break with site tradition and say Porsche should keep stretching that brand. Let’s face it: the Bluesport ain’t coming stateside as a VW, so we can’t expect a true “performance bargain” out of the Bluesport platform. A sub-$40K Porsche? That might be worth dreaming of.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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Depends on the product - if it reflects Porsche brand values then I see no problem. Most luxury brands that tried entry level cars failed because their product was lousy and not so much for other reasons. The reason the 318ti reflected poorly on the BMW brand was because it sucked not because the price was too low. If Porsche gets the product engineering right then this has every chance of succeeding.
"Wouldn’t the 914 be considered an historical attempt by Porsche to go downmarket?" Historically, you can argue the point, but the 912 and 912E was the more logical down market extender than the 914. Remember, the 914 has a different chassis, is mid-engine, and was in very limited numbers also offered as a 914-6, and 914GT, which included flat six motors identically prepped to their 911 counterparts. To boot, the 914 has lent itself as a sensational platform for race cars and tremendously fun, fast project sports cars today, for those who don't get hung up on the need for a 911 silhouette. Some of the fastest cars I see on a routine basis are 914s. Yes, aircooled flat six motors are no cheaper to run in a 914 than a 911, but 914 chassis are a lot less expensive to buy used than a 911.
Rebadged VW EOS? I heard that thing is heavy.
I'm biased. My first car was a 15 year old 924 and it's gotta be just about the most tossable RWD vehicle in history. Terrible car by today's standards, but not when considered in context. Slow, low limits and perfect balance = awesome street car. Hell, just that car with a 20v 2.0T would be more'n fine with me with me. Historically, it's worked well, though not from a marketing sense. The 914 was a joy to drive, and the much-maligned 924/944/968 cars were all pretty damn pure blooded sports cars when you took them out of the hands of the hairdressers. Anyhow, I'd welcome it, but I dunno what platform they would be able to build it on. Agreed that basing it on an existing low-end Audi or VW would be suicide...those cars have all the feel of a Camry these days. I wonder if they could just give the GTI another 5 reverse gears, put the headlights on the back, and call it a day.