When did Porsche go off-course?

[Plecostomus]

For whichever reason you think, when did Porsche start to deviate from being Porsche?
Imo, it was the latter half of '89 when they intro'd the newer bodystyle. I felt disgusted when I first saw it and wondered wth the designers were thinking. I actually remember feeling angry!

One of the biggest atrocities was Porsche putting the 911/996 face on all of its lesser models. I knew for sure this was the beginning of the end- the point that Porsche was no longer Porsche.

[Rot 911]

Think what you want, but I think Porsche is still putting out some very nice sports cars. Check out the 2012 Cayman!

[Targa Me]

IMO Porsche will have deviated when they put the engine in the front of a 911.
Other than that things have to change and progress or we'd all be driving 356's.

[ivangene]

when the government started mandating B.S. rules

LOL

[zippy_gg]

When Porsche made an SUV!
So un-Porsche...

[Plecostomus]

I think all the newer cars sound uninspired, are too luxurious, bubble-shaped, and overengineered. I've seen the new Cayman and felt neutral after reading into it.

[Staylo]

I don't believe they ever deviated from being Porsche, that's just silly.

You have to evolve or die, which is what they have successfully done.
Style is interpretive, and you will never make everyone happy, but the lineage in these cars is unmistakable.

I'm not a fan of many new cars, but new Porsches still excite me. Try one.

[McLovin]

Porsche has had different "eras," but I think history will show that 89 was a fairly major turning point.

That the 911 had become heavy/luxurious enough to need power steering was a major mechanical/philosophical turning point. It was the beginning of the end of the 911 as a sports car, and its conversion into more of a GT car.

Of course, there's also '99 and the end of the watercooled era.

And, the intro of the Cayenne which marked the end of Porsche as a small niche sports car manufacturer and the beginning of Porsche's new course which ultimately lead to the end of Porsche as an independent car maker.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by Staylo

You have to evolve or die, which is what they have successfully done.

Well, now that Porsche has perished as an independent manufacturer, "successfully" is open to debate.

That's about as dead as Porsche can get. The Porsche name has too much value and will never be abandoned, so the name will never "die." Just be taken over by other car manufacturers.

[Staylo]

Mclovin - The end of independence wasn't due to any change in design philosophy, but the economic crisis coinciding with Weidking's over ambitious plans to take over VW.

As long as the Piech and Porsche families are still in charge (and they are) independence isn't totally lost. That day may come, but hasn't yet.

[72T]

Porsche went off course when it decided to conquer the world via the heavily leveraged VW play. Cars evolve, markets change, but Porsche as an independent building some of the best sporting vehicles in the world is what made it special to me. Thriving as a little guy in a conglomerate world. That is lost.

[daepp]

I keep saying it but no one at Porsche listens to me

They need to build a sub-$40K light weight, small, no frills sports cars. Manual drop top, roll up windows, lightweight drilled out allow everything. And it doesn't need a monster motor.

That said, I've spent quite s bit of time in an 09 PDK Carrera and Cayman S - both are spectacular cars. But heavy...

I think they need to retarget the commuting-30-something-weekend racers.

[Staylo]

A flat 4 is currently in development. I have hope that entry level fun is in the future.

[pwd72s]

For me, it was the accordian bumpers of 1974...it was all downhill after that.
But making sports utes & 4 door sedans? Gimme a break...I feel like I didn't leave Porsche, Porsche left me.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by Staylo

Mclovin - The end of independence wasn't due to any change in design philosophy, but the economic crisis coinciding with Weidking's over ambitious plans to take over VW.

But those two things are tied together. The high production Cayenne was the vehicle for the new direction of moving away from a niche producer of premier sportscars (which Porsche did very successfully for 45 years) to a larger volume maker of a wider range of cars.

Without the change in design philosophy, the plan to take over VW could and would never have happened.

[McLovin]

Porsche's own philosophy, and their slogan, for a long time was

"At Porsche, We Only Make Sports Cars."

Obviously, and by definition, they changed quite a bit when they abandoned that.

[Staylo]

Originally Posted by McLovin

Porsche's own philosophy, and their slogan, for a long time was

"At Porsche, We Only Make Sports Cars."

Obviously, and by definition, they changed quite a bit when they abandoned that.

Maybe by your definition, but you can't say that the panamera and cayenne aren't the "sports cars" of their segments. Especially, if you have driven them.
You may not care for the styling, but they certainly outperform their competition.

[McLovin]

Not by my definition, by Porsche's definition.

I'm pretty sure by "At Porsche, We Only Make Sports Cars," Porsche did not mean "At Porsche, We Make the Most Sporty Large Sedans and Trucks in their Segments."

[JHanson]

Porsche went off course when they made an off-road vehicle. In 1953.

[ppickerell]

When I was a young man, I thought the 914 was an abortion and represented the beginning of the end. I kinda like em now.