Porsche, made in Leipzig

Why Porsche's powerbase is now Leipzig not Stuttgart and a new logo is required

According to Porsche's own explanation, the company's famous emblem derives its stylised antlers and red and black colouring from the heritage of the local political region, now called Baden-Wurttemberg. The black horse in the centre, rampant on its hind legs, is a derivation of Stuttgart's city seal, itself a nod to the region's historical equine industry.

Porsche's Leipzig products the real cash cows

Should Porsche wish to update its emblem to better reflect these modern times, it should simply replace the red and black for yellow and blue, then whip out the big pony and sling in a roaring lion instead. Yellow and blue stripes and a lion, you see, make up the coat of arms of the industrialised German city of Leipzig.

Back in 1998, Porsche opened a second manufacturing facility a few miles outside of the city, 300 miles to the north east of its spiritual Zuffenhausen home where the sports cars are still built, for the production of its new Cayenne SUV. A few years ago, Porsche expanded the facility to accommodate the Panamera production line. It did the same again very recently with the addition of two new production halls for the Macan SUV.

It's been terrific for the local economy; the most recent expansion alone created some 1,500 new jobs, for which Porsche received 50,000 applications. The facility is now a world leader in automotive mass production terms, too, for it runs efficiently, the halls are eerily quiet with not a single industrial bang or clatter to be heard and the floors are spotlessly clean.

Cash cows of another type gaze at the factory

Once Macan production is up to full speed, the Leipzig plant will build in the region of 200,000 cars each year. As the Zuffenhausen plant produces around 50,000 cars annually, it's beginning to look increasingly like a rogue outpost that busies itself by knocking out a few sports cars.

The Leipzig facility also has an FIA-approved race track, an off-roading course for the demonstration of the Cayenne and Macan's off-road abilities to new customers, and, on the top floor of its impressive UFO-like hospitality centre, a museum, too. Porsche, it seems, has moved away from home and settled somewhere new.

Just as the house we each grew up in will always be home, Porsche's heart and soul will always belong in Zuffenhausen, or perhaps at its Weissach R&D facility a few miles away. As the production emphasis shifts inexorably towards Leipzig, though, Porsche every day becomes more a manufacturer of premium family cars, and less the builder of peerless sports cars.

50,000 Macans out of here, for starters

The Macan, despite being Porsche's second SUV, represents a significant departure for the marque. While the Cayenne and Panamera reside within the upper echelons of the SUV and four-door luxury saloon markets respectively, the Macan is its very first mid-ranking non-sports car. It's the first Porsche that targets the mass market.

There's no doubting the quality of the Macan as a product , and it does remain true that Porsche exists to satisfy its shareholders; good business is good business. Such wider market models do also assure a steady supply of the kind of focused, uncompromising sports cars that we all get far too worked up about. But Porsche's sense of exclusivity and its authenticity as a sports car brand - the essence of its desirability - will have a snapping point, and following the launch of the Macan that exclusivity and authenticity are beginning to bow in the middle.

The Porsche brand isn't in danger yet, but when the Macan proves to be a runaway sales success, what will come next? Cheaper derivatives? A small saloon car? The pursuit of profit is healthy, but the mindless pursuit of absolute profit is absolutely mindless. Let's just hope that Porsche always keeps in mind that its heart belongs in Stuttgart, not in Leipzig.

Dan P

[Sources: Porsche, Wikipedia]

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