Porsche is working on a proposal for a new supercar to fill the gap between the 911 and 918 Spyder. The last Porsche supercar was the Porsche Carrera GT produced between 2004 and 2006. The new 918 Spyder Hybrid is not a true successor to the Carrera GT and from a different order, leaving potential for a new Porsche supercar positioned between the 911 GT2 RS and 918 Spyder.
Porsche may develop a supercar positioned between the 911 GT2 RS and the 918 Spyder to broaden its line-up and sustain growth as orders cool from record deliveries last year. The car could be combined with additional variants of the Cayman and Boxster as well as extended-wheelbase and convertible versions of the Panamera four-door coupe, Bernhard Maier, Porsche’s sales chief, said in an interview.
It would aim to fill the gap between the 237,600 Euro GT2 RS, the current top end of the 911 line, and the 768,000 Euro Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid.
“We’re currently examining what options can be derived from this” hole in the product range, Maier said at the manufacturer’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. “There already are initial ideas that look very promising on paper.”
Porsche SE, which jointly owns the sports-car maker with Volkswagen AG (VOW), plans to merge with the Wolfsburg, Germany-based manufacturer. The combination will bolster VW’s luxury line that already includes Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley and Bugatti as it aims to topple Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Co. to be the world’s largest carmaker by 2018. VW’s stock has more than doubled since agreeing to the deal in August 2009.
Backed by VW, Porsche aims to double sales to about 200,000 vehicles by 2018 with the introduction of new models and expansion in emerging markets. Porsche should boost deliveries to more than 100,000 this year from 97,000 in 2010, Maier said.
The planned product expansion comes as growth slows from a record pace for the past year. Orders fell 12 percent to 10,450 vehicles in June, as year-earlier bookings were inflated by a revamped version of the Cayenne sport-utility vehicle. To sustain growth, Porsche plans to adjust model rollouts to have at least one new product coming to the market a year, he said.
The highlight in 2011 will be the seventh generation of the 911, which will debut at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show in September. The revamped sports car will have sharper contours, more comfort and better performance than the current model, Maier said. The company will expand its range by introducing a compact sport- utility vehicle in 2013.
[Via Bloomberg]
