The German carmaker is looking at a smaller capacity engine to help boost sales, reports motoring editor Alastair Sloane
Porsche is contemplating an all-new car, almost certainly a four-cylinder variant of the next-generation Cayman/Boxster and not an entry-level model based loosely on the prototype Volkswagen Bluesport roadster that VW has reportedly shelved until the soft global car market picks up.
The German sportscar specialist confirmed at the launch of its Panamera saloon in Germany last week that it will turn its attention to a fifth product product line from October this year.
European analysts say a four-cylinder offering, along with planned hybrid versions of existing models, would potentially boost overall Porsche sales from the current 98,000 annually to upwards of 120,000.
Porsche vice-president of sales and marketing Klaus Berning told reporters: "The first question we have to ask is: 'Do we need another model line?' Once that decision has been taken, we have to be really sure that our business plan could work."
Porsche has a four-model range - the Boxster/Cayman, 911, Cayenne SUV and Panamera, priced between $119,000 and upwards of $300,000.
The boosted four-cylinder coupe would be priced below $100,000, or roughly $20,000-$30,000 under the Boxster and Cayman models.
But it would not be called the Speedster, or a rebadged Porsche version of the open-top VW concept. Said Berning: "Everybody is asking me about the small Speedster. Forget it. There is no business case for a small Speedster."
Berning also dismissed speculation of a Panamera-based 928 replacement, saying history had taught Porsche to move to a new product line only when each existing model had been firmly entrenched.
The next-generation Boxster and Cayman series is known internally as the 981. Speculation about a four-cylinder coupe began last year when it became clear that Porsche would need a smaller engine in its model line-up to bring down the average CO2 output of its cars to meet new European emissions laws.
German car magazine Auto Motor & Sport further fuelled rumours by claiming that the turbocharged 200kW/350Nm 2-litre four-cylinder petrol unit from the Audi TTS was under scrutiny for the next Boxster and Cayman.
Porsche hasn't used a four-cylinder engine since the 968 was discontinued in 1995. The first four-cylinder to be mixed with the 911 six-cylinder line-up was the 914 of the late 1960s/70s.
Asked if another four-cylinder Porsche was likely, Berning said: "Never say never again." He went on: "Clearly there is trend to downsizing. We have to do everything possible within the brand's limits to lower CO2 emissions. And to go two cylinders down brings a lot of efficiency, so I will not exclude that."
He said he did not know whether Boxster and Cayman customers would accept a non-Porsche four-cylinder engine option.
"But from my experience it is more likely that they would more than 911 customers. The 911 is the core of the brand, and follows different rules to all the rest."
It seems more than likely that Porsche will dip into the VW Group engine store for a four-cylinder unit, much like it does with the V6 petrol and diesel engines for the Cayenne SUV.
Berning said collaboration on technology with the Volkswagen Group was working "fantastically." "Our people are in harmony developing things like the hybrid and Cayenne and others."
Porsche admits it does not have the engineering capacity to develop a fresh family of four-cylinder engines. Analysts say the carmaker might even use VW's twin-charge technology (supercharger and turbocharger in tandem) in a smaller capacity engine to deliver traditional Porsche performance.
Another option is a turbocharged flat-six with a smaller capacity than the 2.9-to-3.6-litre sizes currently available.
August Achleitner, the director of the 911 product line, told reporters last year that turbocharging smaller capacity versions of the latest flat-six engines was not out of the question, adding that a capacity as little as about 2.5 litres was a possibility.
"We are looking at many things, (like) a turbocharger on a smaller engine. It's a better way of downsizing without losing the characteristics that the car has today."
Even though a fifth model line might get the go-ahead later this year, it is unlikely to appear before 2012/13, roughly a year after the next-generation 911 appears.
The Panamera will arrive in New Zealand in September and go on sale one month later, although Porsche general manager Grant Smith is looking at flying in a preview model early in August.
"It's a big car and a big expense to fly it here," he said. "But we see value in bringing one here early. Orders for the Panamera have been quite strong, considering the economic environment."
The rear-drive Panamera S is $260,000; the all-wheel-drive 4S is $275,000; and the top-range all-wheel-drive Turbo Panamera is $350,000.
An entry-level 3.5-litre V6 will land in 2011. A two-mode petrol-electric hybrid version is also expected.
The Panamera resembles a stretched version of the 911 coupe, complete with four doors, a longer bonnet, extended roofline, and large rear tailgate.
It also picks up design cues from both the 911, Boxster and Cayman.
But unlike those three and their flat-six rear- and mid-mounted engines, the four-door will have its direct-injection, 4.8-litre V8 powerplant in the front mated to either a a six-speed manual gearbox or seven-speed Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK for short) double-clutch, unit, also in use in the 911..
In principle, the PDK, like the Volkswagen Group's Double Shift Gearbox (DSG), consists of a conventional manual gearbox and a hydraulic control system divided into two separate transmission units.
Two wet clutches in radial arrangement, controlled hydraulically, and using oil for both cooling and lubrication, form the heart of the transmission.
One clutch handles the uneven gear ratios (1,3,5,7) and reverse, and the other the even gears (2,4,6).
Via a number of pressure valves, the hydraulic control unit masterminds both the wet clutches and the shift cylinders to activate the transmission ratio required.
The big advantage is an even faster gearshift than with a conventional manual gearbox or torque converter automatic transmission.
It's pretty much a simultaneous process - the clutch on one transmission opens or disengages while the clutch on the other transmission closes or engages.
The gears are already in mesh when shifting and the power of the engine need not be interrupted in the process. Porsche says PDK contributes mightily to a 12 per cent fuel saving in the 911.
