As Porsche terms it, 2018 saw “a new peak in deliveries“. The quarter million mark was exceeded, the year on year gain being four per cent. WLTP was, and continues to be, a major problem for the company though, European sales having crashed in recent months.
As 2019 unfolds, this company, along with Volkswagen Group brands which have been similarly affected by WLTP testing issues, will inevitably see its Europe-wide sales returning to normal levels. This is also set to be a year of new models, as the type 992 range of 911 variants is expanded. Replacements for the 718 series cars should be announced too, and we will see the battery-electric Taycan.
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SUVs
The Macan remains the brand’s smallest SUV, Porsche insisting that it has no current plans to offer a C segment model below this one. There was an update in 2018, the main styling adjustment being a link to the rear ends of other Porsches via a long strip of tail lights. The addition of various versions will take place throughout this year as the company aims to boost the model’s sales performance.
The second generation Macan is expected to appear in 2022. As is the case with the current model, all build should be at the Leipzig plant in eastern Germany.
Generation three of the larger Cayenne is also doing well, this model being soon to celebrate one year of production. The architecture is not dissimilar to that of the Macan but whereas the smaller model is the last Volkswagen Group vehicle to be based on MLB, the Cayenne uses the more advanced MLB Evo. There will be a steady addition of extra derivatives such as a GTS in the coming years.
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By GlobalDataThe mid-cycle facelift is due in three years’ time. Porsche should then launch the fourth generation Cayenne in late 2025 or early 2026.
A rival for the Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupé, Audi Q8, Range Rover Sport and BMW X6 is under development. Expected to be called Cayenne Turismo, the big SUV will use the MLB Evo platform, have a lower roof than the Cayenne and will likely be wider too. Scheduled to be on sale in 2020 and to have a production life of just less than eight years, it might premiere at a motor show this year.
Cars
Even though the 718 Cayman and 718 Boxster are not strong sellers, there is a replacement for each in Porsche’s plans. The current cars are now in their final year of build after a production run which began in January 2012. Their successors will be based on a modified version of the 91X platform, sharing modules with the 922-series 911. As with the existing models, the new Cayman and Boxster will be mid-engined. Production is due to commence in the first quarter of 2020 after world debuts at the LA auto show in November.
The eighth generation 911 – type 992 – was a world debut at the Los Angeles auto show two months ago. The car introduced an ‘Evo’ version of the outgoing model’s platform, is 4.5cm wider and has standard 20″ front wheels and 21″ rears. The door handles pop out electrically and all panels apart from the bumper covers are aluminium.
The engine of the first versions is a 331kW (450PS) 2,981cc biturbo flat six linked to a ZF eight-speed PDK dual clutch transmission. These are the Carrera S and Carrera 4S. The Cabriolet body style was then announced to the media earlier this month ahead of its world premiere at the Geneva motor show. The first open-top cars are the Carrera S and Carrera 4S. Their engine has the same outputs as in the Coupé.
Still to come are the Turbo and Turbo S, along with a third body style – a new Targa – along with the GTS and 4 GTS. In the 2020s, we will likely see a GT3 RS and possibly a lightweight 911 R. Will there be a successor for the 700+PS GT2 RS? Probably not until the end of 2024.
There had been plans for a plug-in hybrid powertrain in the Carrera 4. This variant’s front axle would have been driven by an electric motor but Porsche halted the development programme after discovering that the weight penalty would be too great. The company is adamant that it has no plans for a fully electric 911.
Speaking at the LA auto show in November 2017, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said that a PHEV 911 was envisaged but that it would not appear until the 992 was half-way through its lifecycle. That should mean the second half of 2022. The change is said to be due to the planned use of a lighter battery pack. Since then, some insiders say that the company is weighing up the possibility of a 911 Mild Hybrid as well as a PHEV. The 911’s ZF eight-speed dual clutch gearbox is said to be able to cope with torque outputs over 800Nm. One of the obvious packaging issues will be where engineers position the battery. It will inevitably be at the front of the car which likely means a smaller boot and a fuel tank with less capacity.
The second generation Panamera had a motor show premiere in Paris in late September 2016. As well as being the first model for MSB, a Volkswagen Group RWD/AWD architecture, the big hatchback brought with it a fresh V8 diesel engine, although this was discontinued in 2018 in line with Porsche’s change of heart: it has axed all such engines from its model lines.
All three of the launch variants had all-wheel drive and pneumatic suspension, but RWD cars with steel springs followed from the first quarter of 2017. Additional variants had their public debuts at the LA auto show in November 2016. These were the base and all-wheel drive cars, as well as the second generation Executive (3,100mm long-wheelbase and overall length of 5,200mm versus 2,950 and 5,049mm for the standard wheelbase cars). Unlike the first generation model, the Executive is available with right-hand drive.
The Panamera Sport Turismo, which is a shooting brake, was a world premiere at the Geneva motor show in March 2017. It is 5,049mm long, 1,428mm high and 1,937mm wide, while the wheelbase is 2,950mm. The ST was in dealerships from October 2017.
PO620, which was the Panamera’s development code, is fully manufactured by Porsche at its Leipzig plant: the first generation car had its bodies welded and painted at the Volkswagen van plant in Hanover.
Facelifted versions of the Panamera, Panamera Executive and Panamera Sport Turismo are scheduled to be in showrooms during the second half of 2020 and to be replaced in 2024/2025.
Electrified
The Cayenne E-Hybrid was announced in May 2018, going on sale immediately. This plug-in hybrid is powered by the combination of a 250kW (340hp) 3.0-litre petrol V6 and a 100kW (136 hp) motor. System power is quoted as 340kW (462hp) with 700Nm of torque. Porsche says this model can be driven for up to 44 kilometres and reach a maximum speed of 135 kilometres per hour on electricity alone.
This SUV is due for a facelift in 2022 and to be replaced in 2026.
A plug-in hybrid version of the Panamera had its public premiere alongside the combustion engine-only versions of the car. This was at the 2016 Paris motor show. The Panamera 4-E Hybrid has all-wheel drive and system power of 340kW (462hp) and 700Nm of torque. CO2 is claimed to be just 56g/km. Porsche says the maximum range on the car’s battery pack is up to 50km. Top speed running on batteries alone is 140km/h, and otherwise 278km/h. The standard transmission is an eight-speed PDK (dual clutch). The first generation model had an eight-speed torque converter automatic.
The first deliveries of the Panamera 4-E Hybrid commenced in April 2017.
A second, far more powerful PHEV Panamera had its world premiere at the Geneva motor show in March 2017 in two forms: the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid and long-wheelbase Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid Executive. A third option was announced in September 2017: the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo.
The powertrain of the Turbo S E-Hybrid triplets consists of a 136hp (100kW) electric motor with a 550hp (404kW) twin-turbo 4.0-litre petrol engine. Total system power is 680hp (500kW), torque is 850Nm, acceleration from 0-62 mph takes a claimed 3.4 seconds with Launch Control, top speed is 192mph and the range is up to 50km (31 miles) in fully electric mode.
The addition of the Turbo S E-Hybrids means that these variants are the fastest, most powerful Panameras. Each of the three bodies will be facelifted in 2020 and replaced in 2024. It has not yet been decided whether or not there will be both PHEV and fully electric versions of the next Panamera. Porsche may drop the plug-in hybrids.
Electric
Taycan (officially, ‘Tie-KHAN’) is the name of what will be Porsche’s first series production electric car. This five-door hatchback will be going after those who currently buy the Tesla Model S.
J1, a purpose-built architecture, hasn’t been designed to accommodate high-floor vehicles. For that reason, certain Audi and Porsche electric SUVs and crossovers due for release from late 2021 onwards will use another architecture, PPE (Premium Platform Electric). This is being engineered by Audi and Porsche whereas J1 is a Porsche project.
The Taycan model name was announced in June last year. Two months later, Porsche revealed that the car would have two motors and that these would generate in excess of 600PS. The motors will be supplied by Magneti Marelli. There will be four-wheel drive and a range of up to 500km or up to 400km after a 15-minute rapid charge. The battery pack will be assembled by Draexlmaier Group. It is composed of LG Chem cell pouches.
Annual production is expected to be 20,000 cars on a two-shift pattern at the Zuffenhausen plant. The first customer cars should come off the line in October.
The speculatively named Taycan Turismo is expected to be Porsche’s second fully electric model. It should be added to the model line-up two years after the Taycan, the production version of the Mission E concept, goes on sale. That should mean deliveries to German dealers commencing in late 2021.
The second EV was previewed by the Mission E Cross Turismo, a concept which was revealed at the 2018 Geneva motor show. One of the novelties of the prototype was an illuminated E in the word PORSCHE on the car’s rear when the batteries were being recharged. The company told the media in October 2018 that the concept would evolve into a production model but did not state when production would commence.
Unlike Porsche’s first electric vehicle, which is based on the firm’s J1 architecture, the crossover derived from the Mission E Turismo will use PPE. The Premium Platform Electric platform is a JV with Audi.
A BEV Macan could well be another model in Porsche’s electric future. If approved by the board, it would likely be in showrooms in 2023: around 12 months after the arrival of the versions which run petrol engines.
The next Cayenne is another model which should be available in fully electrified from, the company’s CFO told the media at an event in Germany last October. The earliest date for a BEV Cayenne to appear would be 2026. The same applies for the third generation of Porsche’s largest car: a BEV Panamera should be part of the range (2024 or 2025).
Recent reports for many other manufacturers’ future models are grouped in the OEM product strategy summaries section of just-auto.com.
Future product program intelligence
More detail on past, current and forthcoming models as well as additional vehicles which are not in the feature above such as an SPE platform electric supercar can be found in PLDB, the future vehicles database which is part of QUBE.
Following this feature, and after others covering Audi cars and EVs; Audi SUVs; SEAT and Cupra; Skoda; VW cars; and VW pick-ups and SUVs; the remaining makes to be featured in the Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft series will be covered by one final report on Bugatti, Bentley and Lamborghini.
