Porsche sketch points to new model

The sketch on the home page of Porsche Consulting looks to have the nose of a 911, and the rear roof sweep suggests that it could be a Grand Touring (GT) coupe in the same vein as the long-gone 928.  If it turns out to be the former, it could be a hint of what is to come with the new 911 coming after the 997, but if it’s the latter, it could well be the next spin-off from the Panamera platform.

But Porsche Australia spokesman Paul Ellis says we shouldn’t read too much into the image.  “It’s a sketch – and that’s all it is,” Ellis says. “A sketch doesn’t mean the car will be built. It’s designers doing what they do best: designing, creating, being playful. It’s an expression of an idea – that’s all.

“It takes more than a sketch to provide the rationalisation that a car will be built.  “We’re always looking at new opportunities, but we’ve never said we were going to do another car off the Panamera platform.”

But with the German might of Volkswagen behind Porsche now – the Wolfsburg carmakers owns 49.9 per cent of Porsche – all eyes will be on which direction Porsche goes.  There’s talk of a new mid-engine Boxster replacement and Porsche executives are watching the rollout and expected success of the Audi A1 with keen interest.

Porsche does not have a small sports car and could raid the VW-Audi parts bin relatively easily to build one. Anyone for a VW-Audi-based Porsche 914 with all-wheel drive? They have the technology.  The 928 replacement is also something that’s gaining more air in Europe and a smaller version of the Cayenne could be on the cards.

Ellis admits that the ties with the Volkswagen family have already borne fruit, in the shape of the co-developed Porsche Cayenne.  “It’s not a matter of raiding the parts bin … that’s oversimplistic,” Ellis says. “But we can share the opportunities to share in each other’s technology and engineering.

 “We’ve already proved that with the Cayenne, which we wouldn’t have been able to bring in for that price without the economies of scale (afforded by the VW link).”  But if we put a badge on a Porsche, it has to be a Porsche. It has to drive like a Porsche, sound like a Porsche, and look and feel like a Porsche.

Meanwhile, VW AG is already planning a reshuffle of its top management with the Audi chief, Matthias Muller, rumoured to be moving to Porsche as chief executive and the current chief executive, Michael Macht, moving over to take over VW’s head of production. An announcement is expected at the end of next month.

Stay tuned.