The Latest SUV .....

[MFAFF]

Osidak,

Agreed that the price of the 78 911 versus the moderns quoted is very much in favour of the 911, but was it the same in 1978?

Certainly over here 911s were monstrously expensive in the 60s and through the 70s and 80s. Up there on a par with the Ferraris for a lower performance....(512 as opposed to 308/328) and certainly a lot more than expected.

Maybe the difference was not as marked over in the US, I don't know.

Certainly they were not deemed good value and for what its worth by then the 911 was not raced, as the 934/935 was king.But not a widely used and purchased road car.

Some were rallied for sure. But hardly a great era in 911 motorsport. A great era for Porsche motorsport in pure racing terms but not the same as before.

Porsche remember has been 'making' 4WD cars as opposed to tractors or artillery tracotrs since 1939/40. The Schwimmwagen was the first, as the Kubelwagen was deemed light enough not to required 4WD although there may have been protoypes made.

The original Audi quattro was inspired by the VW Iltis which in turn was inspired by the Porsche Jager vehicle design for the Bundeswehr in the early 50s. That in turn was inspired by the Kubel and Schwimmmwagens of WW2.

So what ever you think of the Cayenne it does, quite realistically have a legitimate Prosche pedigree. Its not as obvious and visible, but my guess is the Porsche consulting has played a least a big a role in the survival of Porsche as racing, just done it in secret.

BTwWthe Cayenne is the not the first SUV Porsche has done, the Hyundai Santa Fe beign the first....ho hummmmmm.

As for developing the sedan of scratch well quite frankly yes.
It has already done so, when the replacement for the 964 was first mooted it was a fronted engined, rear wheel drive, watercooled V8 sedan that was seen running around the roads of Weissach, not a rear engined coupe..........

Not forgetting the engineering work done by Porsche for the Audi RS2 Avant and the engineering and assembly work done for the Mercedes 500E.

So I would not be surprised if they did actually do it 'themselves' and share the platform with VW and or Maserati......oh yes VW have a technical agrrement ith Maserati to study and use the new rear wheel drive platform of the Quattroporte.......for a new VW.

The plot thickness.

I'll just repeat myself. The Cayenne is not the car we; as Porsche enthusiasts, and 911 drivers wanted to see. My guess is that any P-car which wasn't a pure sports car would have recieved the same vitriolic welcome...........

[tchanson]

Originally posted by MFAFF
...oh yes VW have a technical agrrement ith Maserati to study and use the new rear wheel drive platform of the Quattroporte.......for a new VW

Re the VW/Maser "partnership" I tend to agree with a recent article here that claims the real reason for that agreement, whatever the PR spin, is that Pischetsrieder wants to get his foot in the door. Should the Fiat group get into further financial trouble and need to sell its stake in Ferrari/Maserati, VW would be pefectly placed to buy it and instantly have an F1 program that Pischetsrieder apparently wants badly.

Don't know if thats accurate or not, but, it makes more sense to me than trying to believe that a company as big and technically sophisticated as VW/Audi needs any expertise or sedan platforms from Maserati...

Tim

[Jay Auskin]

8MPG??? The "Stude" has the Powerstroke Diesel in it. More like 18MPG.

Aside form the engine, I can't see anything else good.

[MFAFF]

I think big P wants to have a real Merc/BMW beater and its easier to get one from Maserati than develop one himself.

The quattro concept will not deliver a RWD platform..nor would Ferrari F1 team be part of the VW empire.

ANd why would he want Ferrari, he has Bugatti, with almost as much kudos as Ferrari...and certainly non of the 'creativity' associated with the Scuderia.....

[cegerer]

And then there was SAAB ..... built on the Chevy Trailblazer chassis .......

[mudman]

Enough already...
Can't we all just drive Jeeps (real ones: DJ, CJ, YJ, TJ) and love each other.
Jeep love is going to save the world!

[mudman]

The Big Three = Deadly cancer, taking over the world.

[cegerer]

I rented a GM Trailblazer/Envoy in Colorado recently ...... what an absolute POS. Braking, handling, acceleration, road feel were all about as bad as it gets. It felt dangerous. Maybe SAAB has worked a miracle with it ....... but I doubt it ........

[84porsche]

As a former SAAB owner - what they have done is absolutely disgraceful - they have ruined a legendary car company - IMHO the Porsche Cayenne is honestly one of the best SUVs that I have seen - My list of SUVs to own if I could ever afford one would be -

1) Land Rover - Range Rover
2) Porsche Cayenne Turbo
3) BMW X5
4) Jeep Grand Cherokee
5) Hummer H1 ( Maybe)

1000) Any GM/Ford SUV Crap - I have driven many of them and I think they are all ugly and no uniqueness - that is why I love Porsche and formerly the SAABs of the past with the fighter plane shaped cabin/features.