VW Group chairman Martin Winterkorn has strongly hinted at the possibility of two entry-level offerings from Porsche that could make the brand more accessible to a wider audience.
Speaking with Autocar at the VW Polo's 2010 Car of the Year award ceremony on Wolfsburg, Winterkorn stated that: "The Porsche model range is firmly based on the 911, Boxster, Cayenne and Cayman, and it will stay that way. We are also investigating opportunities for a smaller sports car and a smaller SUV - but I cannot say more at the moment."
When pressed as to the seriousness of VW's intent to develop such models, Winterkorn remarked: "Let's just say we do not usually waste our effort..."
Rumours of a sub-Boxster/Cayman model have been doing the rounds for a couple of years now, and a number of developments within both Porsche and its parent company VW lend some weight to the idea that such a car could well be on the cards.
Just over a year ago Porsche's head of powertrain development, Thomas Krickelburg, revealed that the company was considering the idea of developing four cylinder powerplants for a possible entry-level car that could revive the iconic 356 nameplate. Krickelburg suggested that the 911's latest clutch of six cylinder engines were designed in such a way that the number of cylinders could be reduced if there was a "strong need to do it."
We then saw the emergence of VW's BlueSport concept at last year's North American International Motor Show in Detroit. Although pegged as a compact eco-sportscar with a 132 kW clean diesel engine, the BlueSport was also seen as a possible platform for future sportscars from a number of VW-run companies, Porsche among them.
One factor that could possibly count against the likelihood of such a model coming to fruition is its potential to rival, and therefore cannibalise sales from, the existing Boxster/Cayman models. This has, however, been countered by indications that the instatement of an entry-level Porsche would see both the Boxster and Cayman move considerably upmarket.
Details regarding the entry-level SUV are still somewhat thin on the ground but, again, rumours of such a vehicle have been doing the rounds for some time now.
Given the success that the likes of VW has enjoyed with the Tiguan, and Audi with its Q5, it figures that Porsche would wish to enter the compact SUV segment - especially given the pressures of tightening emissions regulations and the popularity of fuel-efficient vehicles.
oh great - now we'll have a bunch of polo's sporting Porsche badges. I knew this would happen when VW acquired control - some of us like the idea of exclusivety
