Value of a 991 911 versus a Cayenne

bobfair · Mar 20, 2015

I am about to take delivery of my first ever Cayenne. Previously I have not been a fan but I now live in a part of the country where having a 4 by 4 is almost essential. I did look at the RR Sport as Land Rover seems to have the market sown up down here. However most people who have them seem to spend quite a bit of time getting the electrics and other parts fixed. I hope the reliability of the Cayenne and that wonderful V8 rumble will offset the amount of stick I am going to take. Mine will have a tough life and will go over rough ground and tracks that would make most of our members wince. As I reviewed the spec I have chosen I could not help reflect on the value of the Cayenne versus say a 911 Turbo. Lets compare:

Cayenne Diesel S
Twin Turbo V8
385 HP with 850NM of Torque and 0-62MPH in 5.4s
8 Speed Tiptronic
List price £62,099

991 Turbo
Twin Turbo Flat 6
520HP with 650NM of Torque and 0-62 in 3.4s
7 Speed PDK
List price £120,598

I realise I am comparing Chalk with Cheese but is the Cayenne good value or the 991 Turbo expensive? Is the 991 Turbo really worth twice as much as the Cayenne? The GT 3 certainly is!!

Isn't the way markets work wonderful?

spyderman · Mar 20, 2015

Even Porsche admit that their profit margins on the 911 models are higher than everything else.

Chris.

pwebb · Mar 20, 2015

Just completed 3,000miles in our 2015 Diesel V6 and it soaked up the miles across Spain comfortably and quietly as usual. Like you, here in the UK we live in the country with plenty of mud (and worse) outside the front door and the car's sure footedness is always reassuring. With air suspension and decent tyres, rough tracks are not a problem any more than in a RR. Talking of electrics, we do have a sticky switch on the rear powerlift [

]

Value? As always the price creeps up when the salesman has finished with you, and our V6 ended up more than the base price of a V8. But that's the same with every model, albeit a bit less in the TTS which has most major 'must haves' as standard.

Enjoy the new experience when it arrives - and let's see some pictures [

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mnk303 · Mar 20, 2015

I can only say the V8 diesel S I have is the best all round car I have ever owned, and I have had a lot, i have had 12 Porsches in 20 years , but the V8DS fits the bill so well, ownd mine 8 months done 14k miles often get 42 mpg round town 30 mpg goes as fast as most sports cars sounds amazing, just put letter of intent in for the new one end of next year.

Ps how can. 991 be worth double........it can't that's why the Cayenne holds its value better than any other porsche

flat6 · Mar 20, 2015

Why would the value comparison not be between equivalent models?

Cayenne to Carrera
Cayenne S to Carrera S
Cayenne GTS to Carrera GTS
Cayenne turbo to 991 turbo
Cayenne turbo S to 991 turbo S

How do they stack up on price?

I appreciate there isn't a diesel equivalent [&o]

mnk303 · Mar 20, 2015

ORIGINAL: flat6

Why would the value comparison not be between equivalent models?

Cayenne to Carrera
Cayenne S to Carrera S
Cayenne GTS to Carrera GTS
Cayenne turbo to 991 turbo
Cayenne turbo S to 991 turbo S

How do they stack up on price?

I appreciate there isn't a diesel equivalent [&o]

Maybe because there are very few diesel cars like the V8DS that perform as well sme of the petrol versions

lowndes · Mar 21, 2015

A pinch or three of salt may be appropriate for what follows [

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We too have a need for a vehicle capable of dealing with adverse terrain and weather challenges. So that will be the Subaru Forester. It may lack cache in the Slug and Lettuce car park but if you need to get there whatever the conditions....

But on to Bob's main point. Is the turbo expensive viz a viz the Cayenne?

Firstly Peter makes a valid point that by the time you've specced a few essentials the price of the Cayenne may no longer be where it started! Also to be borne in mind is that whereas there is some choice in the SUV market, where else can you get 991 turbo performance at anywhere near the price.

And another thing! I would be interested to learn how Porsche allocate R&D and vehicle development costs when calculating an individual model's profitability. If the total cost of R&D is divided by the total number of vehicles then the low volume models are benefitting, or more to the point their owners are getting more bang for their buck than the purchasers of high volume models. Nice to think of the Boxster and Cayenne owners paying for the development of RWS.

stokey · Mar 22, 2015

Valid points there Nick, any manufacturer will price his products against the competition, Porsche will capitalise on
its reputation and ask a premium wherever possible, the 991 turbo s is expensive and no doubt is very profitable for them
but what can you buy with the specification that delivers the performance of the turbo?.[

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bobfair · Mar 23, 2015

Some interesting points made. My own view is that the Cayenne does look good value with its Porsche DNA. I think the 991 Turbo can look expensive or very good value depending on what end of the spectrum you look from. Compared to a 458 its a steal.

Nick I suspect the R & D allocation is a bit more complex than dividing the total spent on R & D by the number of cars. I wouldn't mind betting a lot of time is spent arguing how the costs are allocated. Just think what the development costs were for the 918 but the technology is probably essential for the future of the company. Depending on how you allocate the costs you can make each car very profitable (If the Cayennes and Macans are paying for the R & D) or sold at a huge loss. The development costs on the current 911 must be peanuts by comparison so it must be a huge cash cow when the market allows you to sell the 991 Turbo for a huge premium. Will that premium still stick when all 911's are Turbo's?

Most of all I am encourged that Porsche continue to make some very desirable sports cars