RE: Porsche design boss quizzed

[marksmith59]

Mr Porsche design is right on the button. The cars are functional ,identifiable and perform superbly . I have just seen my first wide body 991 S version , and those rear hips are better to look at than Rihana' s booty . Wonderful lines, just take a look from the rear 3/4 angle and drool.

( all the above excludes the 'orrid Cayenne)

[RX7]

RacerMike said:

Here's a question. Would a 911 still be a 911 if it looked completely different? IMHO. No!

I dont think thats the debate in hand. Why does the entire range need to look like/similar the 911.

Whilst others may comment about other manufacturers following a similar design ethos, none are quite so directly comparable as Porsche's are, the 6 series for example looked nothing like a 3, 5 or 7, it may have the same grill, but not much else, same could be said for Audi, they all follow that grill identity, but the actual cars are wildly different shapes, A1 looks nothing like A6.

I think the dude answered the question perfectly really, they want their cars to look like the 911, personally i find that bland and boring, whilst you could take styling cues or identities, say Audi with its grill, you could have a varying different range of shapes and sizes which were instantly recognisable because of a feature, not the whole profile.

[mattnunn]

ZesPak said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

Porsche built 105,000 cars in 2007/8

• 34,303 (32.6%) were 911 models
• 22,356 (21.3%) were Boxster/Cayman
• 48,497 (46.1%) were Cayennes

Since then Panamera has been introduced and Cayenne sales have continured to grow.

Porsche is now primarily building SUVs and big saloons - sportscars are only a sideline.

Hmm, from that stat it's still over 50%, and even if the Cayenne slice has doubled with the Panamera arrival, it would still be over 30%, so hardly sideline imo.

The two people I know with Cayennes are Porsche people, had Porches before with seconds cars for familly duties and see the Cayenne as a way of staying brand loyal and being able to use their car everyday. I know a guy who sold his Cayenne due to high running costs but went back to a 911 and a hack for everyday use also.

People who buy Porsche tend to have owned before and continue to own Porsches - in my limited experience, I also think anyone apart from a very select few lucky folk would not describe a Panamerra or Cayenne as anything but a high performance sports car.

[predding]

Headline should have read 'So Herr Mauer'....;)

[Nickellarse]

I think he's trying to make all Porsches as curvy as his hair cut, which is a shocking 80's bowler.

[Porsche997C4S]

8vFTW said:

Grovsie26 said:

Not just the 911, they all look the same. The boxster, the cayman, panamera hell they even tried to make there SUV look the same.

You totally missed my point. When something different does come along, people slam it for being too different (see the old Megane, Multipla, etc). When it's not different enough, they still complain. And I think you could say about most major manufacturer's that they all look similar in their range. It's called brand identity and it's been around for years, and definitely not exclusive to Porsche.

+1

[Grovsie26]

T1berious said:

I meant the design DNA.... never mind

The point I was trying (and failing) to get across is, you've got an iconic design, instantly recognisable that generates sales, why on earth would you deviate from the original form so far to lose that design DNA? I saw an Avenatdor in Hong Kong last week, stuck in traffic, I'm pretty sure the owner bought it partly entirely because it's instantly recognisable as a Lamborghini, because HK isn't the place to stretch your super car muscles .

Point being people like the idea of buying the latest flavour of something but also want it recognised as the latest Porsche (in ref to the thread).

IMHO but hey, I could be wrong.

And my point was that all of there cars look the same, i agree with the 911, but not all of them looking very similar.

[Mr Whippy]

"More important to be different"

Hmmmmm

Sell more, sell sell sell! More models in the range, a model for every person who wants to be different, yet we make them all look the same too.

Hmmmmm


Who'd have guessed at that pre-determined marketeer response.

Real tough questions there PH, real tough.

[sisu]

What a disapointment the 'quizzing' was so Meh - a bit like the cars really. It must be a blast working at the design area a real zzzzzzz

[Stingercut]

Not a fan of the Pan and way too many individual buttons inside. Loved the 928 shape,which IMO should have been updated.

[anonymous-user]

sisu said:

...Meh - a bit like the cars really...

Meh? HAHAHA

[vsonix]

DMC2 said:

Soooooo bored of the 'Porsches all look the same' line. All Audi's, Mercedes, BMW's etc all look the same as well.

:nods: yup, and getting harder to tell apart with every new model year IMO. Plus Ford and Vx/GM tend to aim for the same overall look too these days.

[simonrockman]

If you want to evolve something to create a brand language why start with the Beetle? They should evolve the 917.

Simon

[drpep]

What a bunch of miserable bds you lot are... Did you not see fbrs's post above. FFS what do you want from product design.

As I see it, the cold hard truth is, despite all the nay-saying, 90% of those who bemoan Porsche's design strategy would be straight in the showroom if they had the finances.

The Porsche brand is nothing short of magnificent, and even if the latest 911 is (imho) a slight step away from what turns me on about a 911, is still a stunning engineering exercise.

Pep

[g7jhp]

I still love spotting a 911 (of any year) in traffic and catching up to it, it's the lines of the 911 rear curves! Usually in my 996 turbo.

I'm happy for them to build the Cayenne and Panamera if it allows them to continue to make the 911.

[Z4MFarmerpalmer]

simonrockman said:

If you want to evolve something to create a brand language why start with the Beetle? They should evolve the 917.

Simon

So very true, Iconic shape, maybe only matched by the 908/2 Spyder and P4 Ferrari! I am building my own 917!

[jackal]

famfarrow said:

umRacing said:

I dont care what people say.....That Panamera is LUSH!

Agree wholeheartedly, in the flesh they are very imposing vehicles, I really like them. One in gunmetal for me please

+1

porsche are the kings

no other marque comes close

when the Macan comes out it will cement their iron grip even tighter

for out and out sports cars i prefer what ferrari are doing right now personally, but for a marque with a strong range and a car for almost everyone out there who is old enough to drive .... no one is even close

Edited by jackal on Tuesday 27th November 23:47

[anonymous-user]

Z4MFarmerpalmer said:

I am building my own 917!

Possibly the best thing I've read on ph in years.

[ernestoteles]

He was let off far too easily in this interview. The contradictions he came up with in short succession make for hilarious reading. "Evolution but different". Yawn. It strikes me Porsche make some of the very best cars in their class, but apart from (a) the timeless 911, and (b) the very pretty new Boxter - their car designs are all unspeakably, jaw-droppingly ugly.

[BlackPrince]

Do most PHers bemoan the fact that the 911 looks the same as the last one, or 95% the same? Or do they bemoan the fact that the 911 has become a LOT larger, and (apparently) doesn't have as much steering feel, and is generaly less "Porschelike" than the 901-997?

I don't care what the 911 looks like though I do find the 991 a bit big for my tastes (and no im not in the market). Imho, if they kept the footprint of the 993 and updated that body style with LED lights, et al., that would be fine by me.

I like the Cayman, new Boxster, and even the new Cayenne though I dislike the Panamera (that Panamera concept hatchback/estate is tasty though).

And re: the idea that people buy a Porsche 911 BECAUSE Its recognizable as a 911 I say nonsense! People have bought lots of Ferrari 355s, 360s, 430s and 458s despite the fact that none of the generations are all that similar.

Personally I don't care what the 911 looks like all that much, but I do think the headlamps on the 991 are ridiculously and almost comically large