It seems to me it came up with the rise of the internet. I don't recall hearing it before 1995. But, I think its used in a pejorative way by fans of other makes, like Ferrari, Mercedes Benz, etc. The joke being that "Porsche" is like a dirty word that you don't even want to say, so you just say "P-car."
Its also sometimes used for modesty reasons. I've seen it used mostly by people that have Porsches AND some other car. Like in the MB club, a lot of people will jokingly refer to their porsche as my "P-car". Just kind of as a joke, acknowledging that there is to some extent a little silly rivalry. Mostly just a little modesty and self-deprecation when in the company of enthusiasts of "other" cars, is how I see it most commonly used.
(For example, you would almost never see it used at a Porsche club event or at a site like this, when modesty or self-deprecation is not required!)
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