Why I wish the Cayenne was never made'¦

[tallmat]

This may seem an odd post for the turbo forum, but since we are drivers of the ultimate road going Porsche (959, C-GT and other specials apart), I wonder if anyone shares my view (assuming few from the Cayenne register will agree!)

My first job was working at Silverstone Circuit, working for race team that ran a 924 GTR and then a 956 (first privately ran car). Being close to such amazing cars, attending races and surrounded by Porsche enthusiasts began a lifelong passion for this marque.

Then, as now, Porsche ownership was something to aspire to, a burning desire to own and drive something truly special, and perhaps with the secret satisfaction that goes with knowing you're the envy of others less inspired.

From my first 3.2 through to my current 996TT, via 964 and 993, Porsche ownership means you drive something that can only be one thing "" a sports car, whatever the model.

In reply to a "what do you drive" question, saying the single word "˜Porsche' means "I'm fortunate, I drive a high performance German sports car""¦

Now we have the Cayenne.

It's superbly engineered thing, for sure.

But so is the Range Rover, X5, new Mercedes M class, even the new V8 Volvo XC90 and the top of the range Disco are it's competitors.

Only "˜Car' magazine has figured out it's true worth with a one-word description "" "pointless".

I guess my point is this:

Driving a Porsche used to mean it would be, whatever the age and model, a sports car.

Same for Ferrari, Lambo and Aston. All evocative names, all associated with one thing "" high performance machines, all placing speed and handling above practicality.

Now Porsche means either sports car, or a high testerone 4x4 estate. According to the magazines, a Porsche saloon is coming soon.

In his quest for profits, Weiderking risks throwing away the emotive brand value that is Porsche.

Driving a 911 could soon mean driving the sports car of a multi model manufacturer. Which would be the same as say an SL55 Merc (fine car, but still the same badge as a million diesel taxis) or any of the "˜M' class BMW's.

For me, that would take away some of the pleasure of owning the flagship model of a manufacturer that made brilliant sports cars and nothing else.

Until now"¦.

 

[bones]

Broadly agree Matthew but as I don't understand corperate car manufacture maybe it has to be this way for Porsche to compete and stay independant. I would be happier about the Cayenne if they'd race the damn thing. A VW 'Toerag' won the last stage of this years Dakar. Incidentally isn't the ultimate road going Porsche an SC?

 

[tallmat]

Pete,

I'm sure you're right but Porche's profits before the Cayenne were pretty huge. That said, they almost went under in the early '90s but more because of the recession than model range.

Porsche with Cayenne or no Porsche? I agree with you.

For me watching a Cayenne on circuit racing is bit like visualising Mike Tyson on the opera stage. Out of place and out of tune...

Sorry I never owned an SC.

However my first proper drive in a 911 was an SC - unforgettable... It was winter at Silverstone and a guy from Audi turned up with one of the very first LHD quattros in the UK. In them days it was easy to drive onto the circuit and do a few laps without being bothered. We took turns in it and the grip and turbo grunt were mind blowing. One my then colleagues had an SC and we swapped from one to the other. I guess you can tell which was my favourite....

 

[bones]

I have a similar tale. When I first bought the SC and due to a few problems I wasn't so enamoured of it, I had a test ride (as a passenger) in a Quattro - about '84 - on the road from the A10 to Baldock which is a twisty upy and downy road with great visibility and road surface, that Quattro was just amazing very quick and grippy.

 

[Guest]

I mentioned in another post a while ago, that I only saw the point of the Cayenne Turbo. A modified one, recently managed over 200mph, and the regular turbo will lap faster than an Impreza. I reckon the top models are good enough to be considered sporting.
What I am slightly uneasy about, are the lesser powered Cayennes. Whilst they may be worthy cars and very practical, I also think that they do not really enhance the brand. If you want a practical 4x4 that is not so fast and well priced, then aside from a getting a badge on the front, why buy a Cayenne.
I fully understand the reason for them, from a financial viewpoint - the US.

With regard to the 4 seater, whether it will really be a saloon or not, I don't know. But Ferrari have a 4 seater in their range, as I think have Lamborghini in the past. I don't think that having 4 seats is incompatible with being a sporting car, although perhaps it does have to be more GT than sports. However, the 996TT is as much GT as outright sports car.
The new car could be a large coupe (or with suicide doors to make it look like a coupe), and the 928 was not a problem.

What I think is the key point, is that whatever format they chose to make, the car has to be among the best performing and set new standards. You could argue that the Cayenne acheived this, but I don't know if it is sufficiently different.
I also think it needs some competition credibilty, such as entering the Paris-Dakar.

You could also get too up-tight about it all. Perhaps the stronger image is the 911. Whether it has a Porsche badge on the front or not (Gemballa and RUF cars get a different badge), the car is desirable in its own right. You could almost run the 911 as a separate company, its history and desireability is strong enough.
Really the badge on the front should mean nothing, the individual vehicle should stand on it's own merits.
Over the next 10 years I suspect that this will begin to become the case and the badge snobbery factor will diminish.

Ultimately it is the ownership experience that will matter.
Porsche (and others) may want all the lifestyle advertising, but after you have bought the car and had it for a week, you notice your teeth are not whiter, you don't have your own jet, the sun doesn't shine everyday, you're just as pasty looking as before, and your wardrobe has not transformed into the latest transatlantic fashions. This is when the car has to shine, it has to be easy to live with, reliable, well built, practical, quick, fun and enjoyable to drive even when not going at warp factor 10.
As long as this remains, then the desirability will remain.

 

[jr2015]

Hi Bones,
It shows how much times have changed when VW enter the Paris/Dakar not Porsche, though I wonder who prepped the vehicles used.
I read somewhere one can by a cayenne van in some markets.That`s the one I`d go for, Turbo spec and painted Matt Khaki, so it looked government surplus.
A sort of negative bling .
regards,
jr.

 

[bones]

lol....exactly my thoughts jr....if I had the dosh I think I'd buy one just for the buzz of painting it in full works Rothmans livery with 'WHEN' emblazoned on the side.

 

[bones]

The 4 seaster doesn't look too bad from the pics I've seen, a little conservative in the marques usual way but it should be a fine GT. You speak sound words Martin we're caught in a consumer trap of our own making and it has to slow down soon or it's bad times ahead for the kids and their kids.