Porsche builds new flat four
Jan 18, 2011 | 07:00 PM
#14
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4,454
From: Pennsylvania
More news from Autoblog!
Gross, Chinese and American built SUVs? On Porsche;s site it says, they proudly build their sports cars in Germany. I guess they'll have to take that down.
I hope these potential Chinese/American facilities can show the same quality as the German factories, but I have my doubts.
At least we'll always have the three major Porsche sports cars : The Boxster/Cayman and 911, no matter what Porsche decides to do.
I still like the fact however, that Porsche considers all of it's vehicles 'sportscars'.
EDIT: (don't want to double post, so I'll just add here)
As of right now, Porsche's cars seem very balanced. We have two sportscars (Boxster/Cayman 911), and two GT cars (Cayenne/Panamera).
Porsche is now adding adding another 4 door, and another sportscar. Perfect balance.
In addition, there is also rumors of a two door Panamera, and, a Porsche sportscar to slot above the 911. That's still pretty balanced. So, maybe further down the road (
get the pun?) 
we'll see a lineup like this:
914
Boxster
Cayman
911
(Super Porsche)
Panamera
928
Cajun
Cayenne
Quite a lot of models, not to mention all of the possible variants.
Back to the new Boxster/Cayman. A flat four seems completely necessary, as it will cut down on weight, and will use more of the engine's ability. A new 914 slotting beneath the Boxster/Cayman would be awesome, as long as it costs sufficiently less than the Boxster/Cayman, and is very light.
When Porsche was integrated into the Volkswagen group, its new parent company set an ambitious sales target for its latest division: 150,000 units annually. That would require a 50% increase in sales, but Porsche figures it can hit the far more ambitious target of 200,000 units per year for a 100% increase.
To get there, however, Porsche realizes its current production capacity will not be enough. And so it will need to produce vehicles at additional facilities, which could include plants in the United States and China.
The latter would seem a logical first step as the Audi Q5, on which the upcoming Cajun SUV is based, is already being built in China. Beyond the Cajun, however, production in the United States – still the biggest market for Porsche – could be in the cards within a few years.
To get there, however, Porsche realizes its current production capacity will not be enough. And so it will need to produce vehicles at additional facilities, which could include plants in the United States and China.
The latter would seem a logical first step as the Audi Q5, on which the upcoming Cajun SUV is based, is already being built in China. Beyond the Cajun, however, production in the United States – still the biggest market for Porsche – could be in the cards within a few years.
I hope these potential Chinese/American facilities can show the same quality as the German factories, but I have my doubts.
At least we'll always have the three major Porsche sports cars : The Boxster/Cayman and 911, no matter what Porsche decides to do.
I still like the fact however, that Porsche considers all of it's vehicles 'sportscars'.
EDIT: (don't want to double post, so I'll just add here)
As of right now, Porsche's cars seem very balanced. We have two sportscars (Boxster/Cayman 911), and two GT cars (Cayenne/Panamera).
Porsche is now adding adding another 4 door, and another sportscar. Perfect balance.
In addition, there is also rumors of a two door Panamera, and, a Porsche sportscar to slot above the 911. That's still pretty balanced. So, maybe further down the road (
get the pun?) we'll see a lineup like this:914
Boxster
Cayman
911
(Super Porsche)
Panamera
928
Cajun
Cayenne
Quite a lot of models, not to mention all of the possible variants.
Back to the new Boxster/Cayman. A flat four seems completely necessary, as it will cut down on weight, and will use more of the engine's ability. A new 914 slotting beneath the Boxster/Cayman would be awesome, as long as it costs sufficiently less than the Boxster/Cayman, and is very light.
Last edited by Carrera; Jan 18, 2011 at 07:26 PM.
Jan 18, 2011 | 11:31 PM
#19
Teamspeed Pro
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,277
From: SFBA
the chinese made units would be to satisfy the fast growing demand in china. bmw, mercedes all have chinese built cars for chinese market. price is about 30-40% off compare to the german made ones. which for the chinese, the discount is a great deal. i see nothing wrong with that.
for the T4 engine, i think it's a trend that porsche has to follow. i am not sure if it's a better engine than the flat 6 though. there is so much development in the flat 6.
for the T4 engine, i think it's a trend that porsche has to follow. i am not sure if it's a better engine than the flat 6 though. there is so much development in the flat 6.
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