Entry-level Porsche to become a reality

Car makers need to adapt. Porsche isn't going to go anywhere if they don't offer new models that appeal to new customers and satisfy emerging emission etc. laws.

Did cars like the 914 or 924 hurt the image of Porsche? No. These "entry-level" Porsche's sucked in new buyers who either became loyal Porsche owners moving up to a 911 or 944/928/968 etc. or they went somewhere else. That's the purpose of entry-level models by the way - sucking in new buyers, getting them hooked and eventually guiding them to a more expensive vehicle from the manufacturer.

I don't think it will ruin Porsche's prestige level. They have great 911's and has the new 918 Spyder coming out (which is very impressive to look at) and they've had previous crazy mobile known as the CGT.

I agree that cars have to adapt to the times. All brands created the "baby _____"

I'm looking forward to this. Globally I think it's a smart move.

Larry B.
Key West.

Its also a great way for Porsche to bring the fleet MPG up to meet the CAFE standards...

i have no idea about the CAFE standard but i always thought it's measured by the fleet mpg of the entire (vw) group. what about Lamborghini, Bentley and to mention a non VAG company, Rolls Royce? how do they meet this standard?

Two hundred horsepower? That's not enough. This thing will be against the Maxda Miata or MX-5 or whatever they're calling it now. What a shame it would be if the plebeen Japanese car would better the driving experience of the baby Porsche. If the Porsche is to only have 200 hp (and the same engine makes 265hp in the Audi TTS! please use that version) it better have a low weight to produce a wicked handling machine.

Even with 200-horsepower this car can be quicker and better performing than more powerful rivals. Weight management, tire, engine and transmission optimization can work wonders.

Since when are 200-horsepower "not enough"?

Lavic has a point - the Mazda Miata is THE STANDARD for handling in this segment. For Porsche not to embarrass itself it needs to make sure that:
1. The HP/Weight ratio is higher
2. The car is lighter or at least better balanced, and that is saying a lot
3. The styling looks good (no chick car please)

Sounds easy, but in the sub-200 Hp sports car arena, the Miata is the reigning champ.

The original Boxster was 200HP, and while not tire blazing in a straight line, they are very quick around the race course or your local mountain roads. If porsche can keep the weight down to <2800 pounds, the car should be adequate for all but the hard core.

The current Boxster is not that small. At it's current length of 170 inches it is longer then a BMW Z4 by about 5 inches,an Audi TT by 10 inches,a Mercedes CLK by 12 inches. Further the 2012 Boxter/Cayman is going to be approximately 172 inches long(only 3 inches shorter then todays 911. I actually wish that the Boxster was the original length of the concept Boxster in 1993 at 162 inches.That is about the actual length of VW's Bluesport Roadster.Further I believe that vehicle only weighs in about 2500 LBS.If VW's version can get a 0-60 of close to 6 seconds with 180 HP, Porsche can certainly get better performance with 200 HP.Further the vehicle is mid-engined. This means it already has a handling advantage over any front engined sports car out there.I don't think Porsche has much to worry about regarding the Miata. Most likely the car will be putting out North of 200 HP anyway through turbocharging. supposidly Porsche is going to price it the same as the existing Boxster/Cayman is now with the Boxster Cayman moving up towards the current 911 pricing territory. The 911 will therefore move up in price accordingly.So entry level Porsches will not be any cheaper.Rather they will be slightly smaller to accomodate the larger lineup.

I wonder if it will share a chassis with the Audi R4...

The Bluesport is supposed to be sharing with both Audi and Porsche. That is the only way that VW can make a financially sound business case to produce it.

This is old news! Anyone ever hear of this little brand called Lotus? Porsche building a car to go head to head against the Exige is smart on many levels. You have the shared cost of platform developement with Audi and VW both getting versions of the car as well. The Porsche engineers will tweek it just enough to outperform the others and still charge a much larger price tag for it even though it really doesn't cost any more to make than the others. Yes, it helps the company meet the US federal mandate of 35.5 CAFE by 2015 and it opens the brand up to younger affluent professional buyers. The timing should be perfect for the sportscar cycle to pick back up again. It's been on the downswing for a while. Yes, a Porsche tri-fecta if you will.

As we speak, Mazda is already working on the next iteration of the MX-5 Miata, the ND model. The car is supposed to be around 2,200 lbs with ~200hp on tap (and likely much more from a MazdaSpeed version) along with its trademark 50/50 weight distribution. Likely a 2014 model and price will likely be in the mid-20's.

Porsche is going to have to do its homework before re-entering the affordable sports car segment again.

Now I heard that the next Miata will come with a smaller size range of engines that will be DI and at about 1.5 Liters. I believe the standard Miata will have a bit less horspower(guessing 125 to 140) but will make up for it due to it's much lighter weight.I am sceptical of a Mazdaspeed version simple because Mazda,like most car makers on a fuel economy kick.The next Miata will probably get 50MPG.I think there is plenty of room for Porsche to do well. The problem is they want to price this new VW based roadster close to 50 grand. I see that pushing the envelope a bit too much.