By Michael Tashjian
What began as a gag over two years ago has somehow, now, become reality. Our friendly German engineers have imagined, designed, and produced an all-electric Porsche named Taycan (‘lively, young horse’). The project is akin to a Disney Imagineer building a ride at Future Land which serves no real world application but satisfies the demand of a millennial. Forgoing delving into the financial aspect of electric cars, it is safe to say it’s going to be a loser for a very long time. Don’t believe it? Just ask Mr. Musk whose product is part of what the 4-door sedan platform is set to compete directly with. Why would this author never be a buyer at this point of the Taycan or any electric car for that matter? For one very simple reason: I can fill my gas tank in two minutes and drive 400 miles or even better, 280 miles while towing, to a Metro PCA Driver Ed event. My personal beliefs are not running in parallel with the upcoming consumer in this segment, however. The 24-40 year old segment, and especially those Californians, have drank the cool aid on anything green. I will not begin to dive into the carbon footprint an electric car has as opposed to its evil twin, the combustion driven automobile. It must be noted, however, that in the passenger automobile space, there has been no evidence on the impact (or lack thereof) on the environment from this new car segment. Porsche marketing has almost always proven successful over the past decade when introducing a new model line, no matter how silly in our purist eyes it may be and the E Performance line is no different. This effort did not prove successful for the 70 th anniversary for Porsche, though. No big budget marketing campaign with some new 911 models. Why you ask? In my opinion it is due to the fact that the Porsche purist is no longer the driving force when marketing to the consumer for this particular brand. Certainly I have read a few articles of late making a case contradicting that statement but I must go off the sales number and future models exclusively. Far more lucrative of a venture would be to supply mainstream, middle class America. Gasp. Middle class you say; what middle class? Okay. That’s not what Porsche is in this for. Without going down that rabbit hole let’s say that most young professionals (or at least upper middle class) interested in a Porsche will be able to lease one so as long as their credit is decent. Even the name Mission E, aka Taycan, aka Anti Christ, showed the true direction of the campaign and branding. Sort of Henry Ford’s Model T meets the Chrysler Plymouth motto of ‘make it more expensive and they will come’ mentality, for those of you who watched The Men That Shaped America on Discovery. Will Porsche prove to have been on the right side of this branding realignment? Only time will tell. One gauge would be the acceptance of E Performance into the 911 model line which if the performance figures add up, should be beneficial to the average track guy/gal. But in the real world of boards, shareholders, and executives there is really only one measure: the bottom line. It will not be only the Taycan on this new platform but the likes of a slew of other marks like Bentley, Audi, and more. According to Porsche AG, half of the Porsche lineup will be electric by 2025. Great. This essentially makes the Porsche as we know it, all but obsolete. The backbone of magic as we know is misdirection. Has Porsche been misdirecting us purists for the past 10 years? What a tick! They have. Currently Porsche has over 40 models when counting the model and sub model alike. And they have all become more ‘efficient’; half of them are not sports cars, and all but one supercar offering is not hybrid. I won’t even delve into the 992.1 GT3 being turbocharged as that certainly seems to be the case. This is going on right here in our little Porsche world. With all change though, comes [some] opportunity. If you’re not into spending 45 minutes picking your nose waiting for your electric car to charge, then join the dark side. Mark my words; us petrol users will become the cigarette smokers, and eventually, the outlaws. First, they tax the hell out of it (gas guzzler), then they tell us we will die from it (cigarettes), then they all but ban it (DDT). So hold onto to your 80’s 911, your 928 GTS, and any Porsche running on good od American…scratch that, Arab crude, as it will be past modern acceptance before you know it and eventually, be a thing of the past. Just do yourself a favor: stash away some gasoline to fill it up too, will ya?
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As top providers of Porsche service and repair in New York, from basic oil changes to autobody and tuning services, we at Formula Motorsports are dedicated to the storied history and tradition of this luxury brand. Porsche has been a player in the worldwide auto market since 1948, and has only grown stronger ever since.
We like to pass on some of our knowledge to our clients, and this includes the history of the vehicles we service. Here’s the basic history of Porsche vehicles, from their debut on the market up to the brand’s continuing strong presence across the performance automotive world today.
Debut on the Market
Porsche first hit the auto market in 1948 with the release of the aerodynamic 356, and they’d go on to hand-produce 52 cars during that year. Founder Ferdinand Porsche passed away three years later in 1951, but his brand continued. In 1953, Porsche released the 500 Spyder model, and the Speedster 356 would come the following year.
First Major Growth
The years 1956 to 1963 saw the first major period of growth for Porsche. The 10,000th Porsche was built in 1956, and demand was growing enough for the company to outsource production. In 1963, the 911 was created to succeed the 356. Porsche was also growing their distribution network in both Europe and North America.
Rise of the Sports Car
Between 1964 and 1972, the sports car became a huge draw around the globe. Porsche responded to this demand, revving up production of the 911 and also creating the 912 to sell in the US.
911 Turbo in North America
In 1975, the 911 Turbo was brought to North America for the first time. This model laid the foundation for a combination of luxury, power and versatility for the American sports car.
Changing Headquarters
In 1982, Porsche created a North American headquarters in Reno, Nevada. By 1984, the company had gone public and had begun to sell shares on the market. Fast forward to 1996, and the one-millionth Porsche was built.
Not Slowing Down
At this point, Porsche has long been a household name for luxury, high-performance vehicles.
They celebrated 50 years of the 911 model in 2013, and have debuted numerous additional models since. When people think of the name Porsche, they think of a combination of comfort and performance that few other auto makers can rival.
For more on the history of Porsche, or to learn about any of our Porsche service offerings, speak to the pros at Formula Motorsports today.
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