I normally sleep like a baby. It really takes a lot to wake me up, or keep me from sleeping, and yet last night I couldn't sleep because I feel like I had been conned.
I feel as though one of the greatest sports car makers of all times has executed a con that is now spanning 3 decades - and we the automotive enthusiast community has allowed it to happen right before our eyes without calling Porsche out on it.
Well for me, the con stops now. I am calling Porsche out on the con, and I invite you to do so as well.
Now, I know what you are thinking, what possible could Porsche have done to "create a con" on us, the automotive community? A fair question to be sure, and one that I intend to answer for you.
Back in the mid 90's, Porsche wowed the automotive world with the Boxster concept that made the auto show circuit. A true masterpiece, people waxed poetic about its lines and reminisced of days long gone by, images of James Dean were associated with this modern day interpretation. Enthusiasm ran high.
Porsche brought the Boxster to market, and it was a smashing success. It brought the price point of a Porsche down to the point that a "common" man could purchase and enjoy and with the availability of an automatic transmission ownership of a Porsche Boxster almost became prerequisite in many households.
And it is with the sale of the first Porsche Boxster that the con began.
For it is with the Boxster that allowed Porsche to branch off and start development of other lines as well as the continual development of their core product, the 911.
The next decade brought a firestorm of controversy when the Cayenne model line was introduced, but quite frankly it was more pure Porsche than the Boxster.
But what is pure Porsche?
And how is it that a 2 ton truck classifies as pure Porsche while a light weighted mid-engined sports car does not classify as pure Porsche?
Quite simply, 5 letters.
T U R B O
That's right, Turbo - or lack there of in the case of the Boxster.
Look back through Porsche lineage and the Turbo has always played an integral role, even in the entry level models like the 924 and 944.
And yet with the Boxster and Cayman which was added almost 10 years after the initial Boxster rolled off showroom floors, NO TURBO model has yet to be offered.
And yet the 911 has always offered the range topping 911 Turbo. The Cayenne launched with the availability of a Turbo, even the new Panamera has a Turbo offering.
And yet the Boxster and Cayman soldier on without, and NO ONE has called out Porsche on this.
The turbo is something that defines the Porsche heritage. Those all important 5 letters that adorn the rear section of the car that lets others know that while we may both drive a Porsche, my Turbo is the fastest of the lineup.
Ego, you bet.
Pride, absolutely.
And yet Boxster and Cayman owners are content to settle for base and "S" model designations, all the while the rest of the TRUE Porsche lineup offers the piece de'resistance, the Turbo.
And therein lies the con.
Porsche got a whole lot of people to spend a whole lot of money on a car that wasn't up to Porsche standards so that Porsche could then develop model lineups that were up to Porsche standards.
And so the lineup sits as such...
Boxster / Cayman
Cayenne
Panamera
911
Hey, 3 out of 4 offering Turbo is good, right?
Well I for one don't know. I think 4 out of 4 is the only acceptable solution.
Imagine the opportunity to purchase a Cayman or Boxster Turbo. A range topping model within that model lineup that would have every other Cayman or Boxster owner taking notice when sitting at a stoplight beside a more powerful alternative to the car they are driving.
I know that when I had my 911, the only time I felt inferior in it was when I was behind a 911 turbo, for the simple reason that while my 911 was great, theirs was greater.
And within that scope of "my toys are better than your toys" Porsche has conned us all into settling for a car that doesn't even meet the Porsche benchmark of base model, "S" model and Turbo model.
And we all fell for the con.
And the diversion of the Cayenne actually helped Porsche continue the con as many, myself included declared that Cayenne to not be a true Porsche when in reality it was truer to Porsche than the Boxster has even been.
Join me in asking Porsche to stop the con today, and bring a Boxster Turbo and Cayman Turbo to market at once.
Top that model line off with the model it has been missing, and turn the bastard Boxster and Cayman models into the legitimate models they deserve to be.
And in the future don't even try to fool us by not delivering the goods. A model lineup that DOES NOT include a turbo model is not a Porsche.
We are all smarter now, and will be on the lookout.
The con is over, checkmate Porsche.
I can't wait to order a Cayman Turbo, please let me know when it will be coming.
Be sure to check out the 2010 Detroit Auto Show Gallery