"Baby Boxster" is finally dead, it seems...

[ttweed]

In the news today:

BERLIN (Reuters) - German sports car maker Porsche (VOW3.DE)(PAH3.DE) has dropped plans to build a two-seater vehicle which would have been smaller and cheaper than its Boxster model, Stuttgarter Zeitung reported on Saturday, citing Chief Executive Officer Matthias Mueller.

"Such plans would risk diluting the brand and alienate traditional customers," according to Mueller.

"We would do no good to the brand if we were to lose traditional Porsche customers" by pursuing a smaller Boxster model, the CEO was quoted as saying in an interview.

Mueller said Porsche also has no immediate plans to develop a smaller version of its four-door Panamera sedan, though he indicated that such a model could become an option in five or six years.

Porsche is aiming to increase annual deliveries to about 200,000 sports cars and SUVs by taking advantage of resources at Volkswagen.

[Sawfish]

Thats unfortunate.

[idivemike]

So an SUV is less diluting than a compact performance roadster? Unfortunate indeed.

[pecivil]

Didn't we just get to see sketches of this car in one of the last few PCA National email blasts? it looked like a potentially great car, and headed in the right direction for Porsche.
Lighter, smaller, flat 4 turbo. I was thinking about buying one of these when they came out.

almost sounds like a Lotus.....

They would have sold a million of these if they are sub 40k. Surely they cant be this stupid. They are going to make it a VW. That HAS to be the plan. Support VW's performance image, engineered by Porsche.
Call it a Karmen Ghia reborn. The 2 door roadster under the Boxster and TT in the VW umbrella.

[Jad]

I actually think they made the right decision. The cheap entry car never works well. Look at the 1-series BMW.

Yes, in theory, a light, cheap Porsche sounds great, but to make it cheap, it will not have the quality we expect, and they will make sure it is significantly slower than its big brothers. People complain the Cayman is restricted so as not to beat the 911, image how slow the 'entry' level car would have to be so as not to beat the Boxster. With Porsche designing down, and limiting the car, it just couldn't compete with mass market cars designed to be their best from BMW, Toyota, etc who are more efficient at building cars.

So, Porsche could build an awesome, light, small car, but this would not be it.

Just my $.02.

[Sawfish]

The points being made are valid & thoughtful. Porsche had a sucsessful run with the VW collaboration on the 914. 120,000 produced made it the first mid engine production car to acheive six figure production. While the 914 has short legs and cannot compete with higher horsepower cars in many venues a quick glance at some of the AX results show that these inexpensive low power cars are still rolling and competetive in certain venues at 40 years old. I still think it could have made another run at a niche car with a porsche label. A Lotus Elise style entry as opposed to the GT-3 just my 2 cents.
Chris

[Jad]

I must admit, having owned a mostly stock 914, I am not the biggest fan. But I think it illustrates my point. The 914 had potential to be a great car, but it wasn't. The 914's running around today that are competitive, have been upgraded to 911 brakes, 911 engines (or some other major change), wider bodies, etc,. All the stuff that Porsche should have done originally, but didn't want to compete with the 911. A totally stock 914 is scary to shift, has no brakes, and no power.

A baby Boxster would be a good starting point to build a racecar, upgrade the engine, the brakes, the wheels and tires, and you would be getting somewhere, but that isn't really enough of a market for a new Porsche.

Just my $.02

[pecivil]

yes perhaps since it would have to be watered down, it wold be better to not be badged as a porsche, but porsche could do the engineering and badge it as a VW. The goal is not a race car, but a entry level roadster, smaller than a boxster. I gotta think between porsche and VW they cold build this car at an affordable price point and make it fun to drive. Not something to compete with the boxster.

A big part of the fun driving the lotus is how small and agile it is. The 1.8l 4 banger motor is weak, but the car is sooooo fun to drive because of how low you are to the road, and the sensation of speed is high. The low weight makes it feel fast.

I guess expecting them to develop a competitor type car to the elise for sub 40k money may be a bit much to ask. Lotus needed 55k for the elise with the toyota motor. But I have to think VW/Porsche and their manuf. expertise and advantages over a company like Lotus they should be able to get close for less money.

And then the aftermarket would develop lots of bolt on go fast goodies for those who want to track it.

[lrayner]

The "baby Boxster" was always contemplated as Porsches version of the VW BlueSport, which has been on again off again since its unveiling as a concept in 2009. That car looks great. There was speculation that Audi would come out with an R4 version of the platform. And some estimates of the BlueSport put the price, if produced, at $47,000 which would push a Porsche version well into the 50's.

I'd still love to see one. And it may not be Porsche management's decision to make if VW ultimately comes out with the BlueSport. Porsche's masters may insist that the platform be fully utilized.

[Tim Comeau]

"Such plans would risk diluting the brand and alienate traditional customers," according to Mueller."
What a knuckle head! Porsche had always made two kinds of cars- sports cars and racing cars- until they started building trucks and sedans. THAT"S when their image was diluted.
When the 944 came out in model year 83, it cost $23,000. Sold like hotcakes. What was the boxster selling for when it was new in 97? $40K? Again, sold like hotcakes! How many people actually pre-ordered Boxsters?
Seems like cheaper, entry level SPORTS CARS might generate many more new customers while staying truer to Porsche's roots, and incidentally, their original "image." ..........knucklehead.