The Porsche-Volkswagen merger keeps getting weirder, as a new report from Car Magazine indicates that VW will kill off the Cayenne and Panamera.
While the models would likely survive until 2016, it appears VW's Chairman, Ferdinand Piëch, wants Porsche to focus on sports cars instead of doing a little bit of everything. In a rather ironic turn of events, Piëch will effectively kill off the models spearheaded by ousted Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking. As you may recall, Wiedeking was one of the masterminds behind Porsche's failed attempt to takeover Volkswagen.
Despite having mixed feelings about the Cayenne, it's undeniable that the sport-ute was a huge money maker for Porsche. This makes a possible death sentence a little questionable, especially since Piëch wants to double Porsche sales in four years.
To accomplish this goal, Volkswagen will likely develop a shared platform that would underpin a new entry-level Porsche as well as a sporty new VW or Audi (Bluesport Concept or next generation TT / new R4). There is even talk of a new Carrera GT successor, but questions have been raised about VW's willingness to let it compete with Lamborghini, Bugatti and Audi (the R8 V10 specifically).
Renegade
September 1, 2009 6:27 PM
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