Porsche to Share Panamera and 911 Platforms with VW Group

2010 Porsche 911 Turbo

New Porsche CEO said more production synergies can be had between Porsche and VW Group

By Alex Ricciuti
October 27, 2009 5:45 PM
Filed Under: German, Industry, Porsche, Production, Volkswagen

The new head of Porsche is feeling generous, now that a merger between Porsche and VW Group has been put in place.

Porsche has put its 911 and Panamera platforms up for grabs within the VW Group as part of a plan to further cooperation between the two automakers in matters of production.

"Porsche needs to become a strong pillar of VW...The Panamera platform could be used by other brands for models that are in development and at the concept stage," said Michael Macht, Porsche's new CEO, in an Autocar story.

Macht was also sure to note that Porsche will not be diluting its quality or brand quotient by introducing more technology from VW. Currently, it only uses a VW supplied V6 engine in the Cayenne.

Macht also spoke of driving Porsche sales back up, which have fallen 24 percent this year due to the economic downturn. In the Autocar interview, he spoke (without offering any details) about introducing new models but did confirm that the Panamera range will be expanded to include a 6-cylinder model, a hybrid and a diesel variant too.

He also put the brakes on any speculation that there would be an electric Porsche anytime soon.

"The technology that exists now doesn't fit with Porsche requirements. It will be a minimum of two years before the technology is up to scratch."

Source: autocar.co.uk

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Tags: Porsche Panamera, Porsche 911, Michael Macht, Porsche 970, Porsche 997

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Comments

nederina

October 27, 2009 6:11 PM

cool.. 911 platform - replacement for the rear-engined New New Beetle and the panamera platform is for the Skoda Magnificent (prettier too).

termigni

October 27, 2009 6:18 PM

i'm buying the new Beetle then.!! just change the body kit and i'll have a 911 for $25k!!!

sideskraper

October 27, 2009 6:26 PM

Great news. Maybe we will finally see an evolution of the styling?

It begs to wonder what this means for the platforms/future development of Audi and Lamborghini.

ShinyG

October 27, 2009 6:46 PM

Wat? If VW uses the 911 platform it will not affect the 911 styling-wise, it will only make the Audi/VW/whatever based on the 911 look like a bastardized 911. Can you imagine any other car with the 911 proportions other than a 911 or the Beetle!?! No? Then how expensive would a hypothetical New New Beetle would be to be based on the 911!? What is the price range where this car fits?! VAG has pretty much every price segment from 20k to 200+k euro covered when it comes to sports cars...

sideskraper

October 27, 2009 6:47 PM

Yes, all hail porsche design studio.

nederina

October 27, 2009 7:03 PM

You're right, they have just way too many luxury car brand under its belt - same it goes to BMW with its premium brand. If I were VAG i would transform the Seat brand to produce something like Kia or Hyundai - cheap cheerful car with European style, engineering and reliability. Why don't they just build the rear-engine rear wheel drive UP! like the Mitsubishi i?

scratchy996

October 27, 2009 7:14 PM

you assume VW is GM and platform sharing means rebadging. you are wrong.

the 911 can come with a mid engine (911 GT1 for example) and a mid engine 911 can be shared with Lamborghini, Audi or something like the VW Nardo or a Bentley sportscar.

WCF didn't mention that Michael Macht (Michael Might in English) said Porsche will not share their engines with the rest of the VW group. the only reason the 911 works is because the low center of gravity of the boxer engine. so there will not be any other car based on the 911 with a rear engine.

nederina

October 27, 2009 8:45 PM

Yes you're right scratchy996, after all Porsche launched the first mid-engined Boxster more than a decade ago and later the first water cooled rear-engined 911 was launched. Both cars shares the same platform, egg headlamps and the plasticky interior. But the platform has evolved and the Cayman was born too. The 911 platform could easily modified to a mid engined layout. I wonder the Panamera platform could do wonders too, we're talking Porsche here where they kept their car's lifecycle pretty long.

MutantSushi

October 27, 2009 9:03 PM

@nederina: SEAT could definitely be achieving more. If Suzuki is open to it, a deeper partnership could be very productive, Suzuki sharing VW tech and platforms and collaborating on designs with SEAT (+ Skoda): Much better than trying to establish SEAT/Skoda in markets where it's unknown/minor (North America for one). SEAT + Skoda can make the most of the synergy by similarly leveraging VW + Suzuki tech/platforms in markets where it has a stronger base to grow from. I presume Suzuki's AWD system is cheaper than VW's - this would be a great way to offer AWD at a good price while at the same time not 'competing' against VW itself. Skoda's 'sedan hatch-back' could definitely be interesting, say on an update to Suzuki's new Kizashi.

On topic, Panamera : 4-door Lambo/Veyron? (/shudder) ...I see more useful collaboration on a new "ultra light sportscar"

Edited by user on October 27, 2009 at 9:25 PM

nederina

October 27, 2009 9:12 PM

With Japanese going premium by chasing the European establishments.. the last thing we need is the Korean, Indian and Chinese offerings that is made affordable but ultimately dull. Suzuki and VW is a good start, the last thing we need is a Polo based Swift, Fabia, A1, Ibiza.. They should get down to basics which I believe the Lupo replacement Up! is.

jslcarfan

October 27, 2009 7:25 PM

I dont knoe if i like the idea of the 911 platform being shared, its supposed to be a one of a kind, thats part of what makes it so special

Pepito060666

October 27, 2009 7:50 PM

Well done by Porsche , but this is finally beat the Nissan GT R , I hope so this is a time for a Porsche Revenge.

October 27, 2009 7:59 PM

@ Pepito060666 what does this platform sharing have to do with the GT-R???

October 27, 2009 8:01 PM

i can see Lamboghini or even Bentley using the Panamera platform, but the 911 rear engine platform is pretty useless to the VW brands. unless they want to piss of the 911 owners with a VW bodied 911.

nederina

October 27, 2009 9:17 PM

I git a feeling that the next Bentley Continental and the Volkswagen Phaeton might use the Panamera chassis. Front-engine, all-wheel drive, fits all the powertrains, Hybrids and EVs. Sounds like VAG recipe to me. Audi won't allow other brands to touch its Aluminum Space Frame chassis but Lamborghini, which the Estoque will be based on the next A8.

9TNine

October 27, 2009 8:30 PM

Does that mean a cheap Skoda / Seat badged 911...?

scratchy996

October 27, 2009 8:49 PM

yes , 911 for everyone !

mpower333

October 27, 2009 8:55 PM

Unfortunately I don't share your enthusiasm. I see the beginning of the end by diluting the exclusivity of Porsche cars.

scratchy996

October 27, 2009 9:53 PM

you need to get your eyes checked then.

pousa13

October 27, 2009 10:11 PM

i agree with you mpower333. that's a thing that should have never happened but soon we will see common vw switches and all that stuff in a 911.for me it's the beginning of the death of a world famous, unique brand - porsche!

jerry05cod4

October 27, 2009 10:29 PM

stop making assumptions about what porsche's will or will not look like... each brand will remain unique under VAG except for chassis´and other minor crap

Edited by user on October 27, 2009 at 10:29 PM

alex_w115

October 28, 2009 3:02 AM

"VW doesn't do rebaging" "each brand unique?", have a look at the new seat exeo then... I also fear VW will dillute porsche's exclusivity by using too many common parts. Already Porsche's image isn't wat it used to be: second hand (basic) 996's are already dropping below (basic) 964 money!

scratchy996

October 28, 2009 11:15 AM

seat exeo is based on the older, reworked Audi A4 model, it's not a rebadge of the current A4.

how many 964 with low mileage do you find ? it's about demand and offer, 964 are already classics, classics with low mileage are expesive.

and you think VW can make a 911 and be competitive with only VW parts ? are you that naive ?

Edited by user on October 28, 2009 at 11:30 AM

alex_w115

October 28, 2009 2:57 PM

Even worse: rebadging previous generation cars! I agree with 964's being classics. Actually all air-cooled are, that is one of the points I was trying to make: 996's and later will -in my opinion- not become classics, porsche wanting to make money got in the way. (not a bad thing: since otherwise they would probably not be around anymore) If you have time, check central europe's selling sites: you'll find 996's below 993, 964, 930... money, regardless of mileage. and thanks for calling me naive by referring to someting I never said: be careful with your insults please.

jai_mav

October 28, 2009 3:51 AM

what's with the rear wing on the turbo in that picture? in all the other photos I've seen, even on porsche's oficial website, the winger is a smaller, compostite job that rises with speed. Is this the euro-spec version or something?

scratchy996

October 28, 2009 11:17 AM

turbo aero kit , you can find it in the car configurator on the Porsche website.

audilover

October 28, 2009 3:54 AM

Chill out people. From a business perspective, remember that the Porsche name actually means something to VAG. Afterall, it wasn't too long ago that Porsche was the most profitable car company on the planet. They won't dilute too much, but yes, some dilution is bound to happen. But then again, some of you may recall that the 914 had VW hubcaps in some markets. VW and Porsche coming full circle historically?

nathandavid88

October 28, 2009 4:21 AM

Hell, the 914 didn't just have VW Hubcaps in some markets, it also wore a VW badge in some markets! In Europe it was marketed as a "VW-Porsche" 914 and came in two models: the 914/4 with a VW Flat 4 engine, and the 914/6 with a Porsche Flat 6.

As for dilution of the Porsche brand, has VW ownership of Bentley and Lamborghini done any real damage to those storied brands? In fact the opposite, with Bentley and Lamborghini both in the most successful periods of their existances.

scratchy996

October 28, 2009 11:19 AM

there was a Porsche 914 with a flat 6 and a VW/Porsche 914 with a flat 4. the flat6 was 100% Porsche and badged as a Porsche.

tootall

October 28, 2009 5:28 AM

Share the Panamera's platform, but keep the 911's where it is. It's the 911 for goodness sake! Actually, it's the first thing that comes to mind whenever you hear the name Porsche. VW has been doing fine all along without this sort of radical thinking, there's no need to take these measures now.

mpower333

October 28, 2009 7:14 AM

Allow me to clarify that I have no problem with Porsche and it's history with VW and the use of VW parts. (my 996 was the last 911 to use it's own stalk switches, the 997's are nearly direct VAG parts) The problem is not with VW parts being used on Porsche's but rather Porsche parts being used on VW's that will completely dilute the exclusivity of the Porsche brand.

Edited by user on October 28, 2009 at 7:14 AM

scratchy996

October 28, 2009 11:25 AM

get over it , Veyron uses parts from VW , what's the big deal ? it's not like every Golf or Skoda will be cheaper versions of the 911. VW will be using only parts that make sense financially, they won't fill the cheap cars with the cutting edge expensive sportscar technology that makes the 911 be a 911.

Targa_Florio

October 28, 2009 12:08 PM

I guess it is boxster/cayman, rather than 911

jai_mav

October 28, 2009 11:44 PM

thanks scratchy, that clears it up!

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