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Cayenne ‘911’
Porsche sets new dynamic
benchmarks for a luxury
SUV with the hi-po GTS
By MARTON PETTENDY
PORSCHE Cars Australia (PCA) claims that
even it was surprised by the success of last
year’s facelifted Cayenne range and the entrylevel
V6 it comprised, but admits this month’s
addition of a fourth SUV variant in the tarmacfocused
GTS will not prevent its overall sales
slowing from record levels this year.
Priced at $153,500 and billed as “the
sportscar of the Cayenne family”, the GTS fi lls
the gaping hole in the range between the V8powered
Cayenne S ($134,500) on which it is
based and the range-topping Cayenne Turbo
($215,200). As such, it is expected to draw
buyers mostly up from the S, which will still
be the most popular Cayenne with almost 40
per cent of sales expected.
Porsche says that, despite its even more
aggressive appearance thanks to a 20mmlower
ride height and specifi c 21x10-inch
alloys (which dwarf the 18x8s of the S and
even the Turbo’s 19 x 8.5s) with larger 295/35section
tyres, the GTS will not steal sales from
the Turbo, buyers of which “will always be
Turbo buyers”.
But with the Turbo and the new entry-level
Cayenne V6 ($94,700) accounting for 17 and
18 per cent of the mix, the GTS should still
attract more than a quarter of all Cayenne
buyers in 2008, when PCA predicts economic
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uncertainty will put a dent in the new-car
market overall.
“This year won’t be a record year unless the
current consumer sentiment disappears rapidly,
but in our view that won’t be the case,” PCA
director of sales and marketing Kevin Nicholls
told GoAuto. “The challenge we see in coming
years is economic uncertainty and the effect
that has on consumer sentiment. We anticipate
a bit of a pause.
“Porsche is the ultimate deferrable purchase.
The foot comes off our accelerator pedal more
quickly than others’, and equally the reverse is
true. We think there will be a slowdown but it
will come back.”
The 997-series version of Porsche’s iconic
911 has been around since October 2004 and
was this month also released in range-topping
GT2 turbo guise, but that did not stop it setting
a new 911 sales record of 522 sales in 2007
(up from just 389 in 2006), when a record 1380
Porsches were sold in Australia.
However, the completion of the model
rollout as the current 911 reaches middle-
age – and popular variants like the GT3
and GT3 RS are no longer available – will
see the popularity of Porsche’s iconic
sportscar decline this year.
Conversely, the GTS is expected to grow
overall Cayenne sales this year, and while
the Cayenne no longer commands almost
50 per cent of Porsche sales as it did in its
second year on sale here (and as it still does
in “mature” markets like the US), PCA
believes it is better prepared for economic
downturn than it was pre-Cayenne.
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A PRIL 16, 2008 Page 10
“We’re certainly better positioned that we
were fi ve or six years ago, when we didn’t have
the Cayenne,” said Mr Nicholls, further stating
that the waiting list for the 100 examples of the
Cayenne GTS due here in 2008 is standing at
six months.
Porsche’s fi rst SUV continues to account
for 35 per cent of Porsches sales in Australia,
where it remained popular with 495 sales last
year. That is down from a record of 562 in its
fi rst full year on sale – 2004, when the 996series
911 was dated and its previous record of
1264 overall sales was set. PCA describes 2008
as a consolidation year, in which it expects total
sales to be around 1250, despite strong forward
orders and a solid start.
PCA says its next growth phase will not occur
until the Panamera sedan arrives here some time
after its European launch in late 2009 – in V6, V8
and V8 Turbo forms. As with the four-door/fourseat
Panamera, Porsche has promised a hybrid
version of the (most likely next-generation)
Cayenne by the end of this decade, but says its
customers are already showing interest.
“Fuel prices affect Cayenne more than 911.
The facelift brought real-world fuel economy
gains (but) there’s no doubt consumers are
increasingly environmentally conscious. The
debate is becoming more educated,” said Mr
Nicholls.
“Customers are already asking about hybrid.
Hybrid has a bigger share of mind than share
of the market and I think our hybrid solution
will be very good. Sub-9.0L/100km will be a
very good story for a car like the Cayenne.
Continued next page
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