Paradigm Shift: Volkswagen Reassigns Porsche CEO

VW plans to make more lower end Porsche's to bump up the volume. You cannot do this with strictly high end. Thats why Porsche will share the platform with VW roadster. Further Porsche IS working on the smaller SUV that has been repeaditly denying. Now with it's OWN V6 in the Panamera look for future BMW 3 series fighter based on perhaps a shortened Panamera platform. It alls starts to make sense now. VW wants Porsche to be a sporty alternative that will bridge the gap between Audi,Bentley and Lamborghini. It is to be both exotic and main stream. Maybe in a way it allows Audi to compete more with Mercedes while Porsche can now take on BMW. Maybe this is VW's master plan.Yes you can argue that Audi has the R8 but it's not the volume seller the 911,Cayman and Boxster are.Now the Panamera is the hot seller. Just imagine a smaller Panamera along with their so called Roxster. Both lighter,more agile and more then enough power with the new Porsche V6.These 2 along with the "356" based car will bring Porsche's numbers up where VW wants them. Michael Macht was part of the "Old Guard" of Wendel Weidiking. He had to go. I'm sure Macht will leave VW in the not too distant future.

You can't be both exotic and mainstream.
Goodbye Porsche heretige

VW is going to kill Porsche...NOOOOOOO!!!!!!
T

The question is where does VW want Porsche to be in their empire. Do they want them to be a competiter to Audi. I doubt it. Generally Audi has a market niche of AWD Luxury with great interiors and safe AWD (read understeer) handling. The few exceptions are the R8, the S4,and perhaps the RS5. Although "Car" magazine still called it's handling safe and ultra competant rather then sporting. So you've now purchased a famous maker of primarily sports cars with a larger portfolio then Lamborghini, or a Bentley and certainly not in the ultra high end price range.Porsche is known for its RWD rear engined technology and now for it's very sportscar like high end sedans and SUV's.Old mangement felt it could expand by going ultra high end with the Panamera. new management feels they need to double it's car production output. Highend cars do not sell in high volume. The only way to go is lower end now. That's what VW clearly has in mind.They will not get rid of the 911 or its rear engine. But there is clearly room for another smaller sports sedan,a more fuel efficient 356 type mid engine sports car(which is not really a stretch as the original 356 was built using VW parts and was mid engine before it became rear engined)and a smaller SUV/CUV with sportscar handling. After all these yrs Porsche just came out with it's own V6. I find it hard to believe it will not have more use then just the Panamera sedan. There is going to be the new 928 type front engined coupe so it's a natural fit. With a smaller wheelbase it's a natural to do a smaller sports sedan. The Roxster is obviously coming within the next couple of yrs.So it seems natural to follow also along the BMW path and also offer up a FWD. Obviousy the purests cry foul. lets face it. Porsche historically has always toyed with the idea of a 4dr "somthing". This was often discussed under Ferry Porsche's regim. When the "old" guard produced the Cayenne Porsche went from a sportscar maker to mainstream car maker. Now under the umbrella of VW they are becoming that mainstream car maker that they always dreamed of becoming. Since Porsche could never charge what Aston or Ferrari could get away with they always were the "Poor Man's Sportscar" maker. it's amazing they lasted as an independent as long as they did. I would suspect that the panamera platform will end up being well utilized throughout the VW empire in due time.It also allows Audi to stay more to it's routes in making safe,luxury AWD sedans,coupes, and convertables to rival Mercedes. BMW will now have a more direct competitor in another high end RWD German car company competing in all of it's niche markets. Will this hurt or dilute Porsche? No more then the Cayenne or Panamera has already. Incidently Porsches sales were up 172% last month from the previous yr. In reality this was the only logical avenue for Porsche to follow.

Porsche the sports car icon becomes Porsche the hedge fund, which becomes Porsche the badge engineered VW.

The only thing mini22 is that VAG CEO and Porsche CEO Martin Winterkorn stated is that Porsche will be a strictly sporting brand and the Panarama is one off. Audi does not really want another sporting coupe to go along with the TT and R8. VAG wants Porsche to sell at least 150,000 units per year. In order to that they will have to introduce more niche vehicles like a Q5 competitor. Though, it will be interesting if Audi will allow it considering they are not following suit with the R4 and they pretty much hold the power in VAG.

I DEMAND VW SALES PORSCHE IMMEDIATELY!

But Viso-What would be the point of phasing out the Panamera if it is selling so well? Right now its their top seller in the US.I'm certain Vag decided to buy Porsche because it is the higher volume sports brand.
Lamborghini,Bentley and Bugatti are high end window trim brands within VAG.I'm not sure they are making any real money for VAG,especially Bugatti. Porsche has the potential to make money for VAG because of their pricing structure. Yes the 911 competes with the R8 but the 911 sells in much higher numbers then does the R8. I think there is also room for a higher end front engined Panamera Coupe. This vehicle can compete with the Aston Martin Vantage,the Maserati Granturismo,the Jaguar XKR,Even the Mercedes SLS AMG,or the Aston DB9 or Ferrari California. I still believe that if VAG wants true volume out of Porsche they need to have a 3 series fighter in addition to the Roxster.Remember too that the R8 was conceived a few yrs back when Porsche was still thriving on it's own. I don't think they will throw away the 911(which is really the heart and soul of the Porsche brand) to prop up or help the R8. What I think could easily happen is simply move the R8 further up market by dropping the V8 version of it.Since Audi is already a filled out product brand I just don't see them loading up on a bunch of sports cars when they can leave this more to Porsche to take care of.Audi can concentrate on its AWD luxury image competing with Mercedes.If Porsche needs volume it cannot depend soley on sports cars either. It has the platforms and now engines to take on BMW more directly.I say this because now VAG is going to own Porsche so it makes sense to rethink it's prior plans. If they do not pursue it this way I'm not sure why they would want to keep Porsche then.If VAG thinks that it can get Porsche up to a 150,000 per yr volume on just sports cars alone they are dreaming. Porsche is the volume sports brand. It needs to have the diversification of models to get it's volume doubled.So I say let Porsche be the sportscar,sports sedan,and sport SUV brand.This would be the right formula to get the most volume. There can ,of course be a little overlapping. However if VAG has a brain they should follow this formula as it makes the most sense.

seems like mini22's argument makes sense when you consider the Toureg/Cayenne platform: 2011 VW Toureg only comes in V6, Porsche Cayenne comes in V6, V8, and turbo V8.