The NY Auto Show? Let’s talk about what is not there: The star of the Geneva Auto Show, the gas-electric hybrid Porsche 918 Spyder Concept. It is not there because it’s, as Motortrend reports, “en route to the Beijing Auto Show.”
Which takes place end of April. The environmentally friendly brute is equipped with a 3.4L V8 that makes more than 500-hp, joined by two electric motors sitting on the front and rear axle with an additional output of 218-hp. All that power is applied to the road via the famous 7-speed Doppelkupplungsgetriebe PDK transmission. That slingshot fires the 2-seater from 0-62 mph in 3.2 seconds, while trying its best to save the planet.
And why is it not in New York, but in Beijing? China is quickly becoming Porsche’s most important market. In 2008, China became Porsche’s 3rd largest market, after the U.S.A. and Germany. In 2012, Porsche wants to outsell Germany with 16,000 Porsches sold to in China. With double digit growth projections, China will soon be Porsche’s largest market. Then there is the fact that Porsche’s sales in the U.S.A. collapsed last year by 40 percent. There are no signs of recovery. In March, with the U.S. market going up by 24 percent, they managed to move a mere 156 Porsches more than in the darkest days of March 2009. BMW is in even deeper trouble in the U.S., but they are already solidly established in China.
The 918 also goes to Beijing to make a statement. Despite cliches to the contrary, environmental considerations rank higher by the day in China. As far as fuel consumption goes, China’s average fuel consumption is already better than where the U.S.A. wants to be CAFE-wise in 2016. According to Motortrend, “China’s forthcoming vehicle emissions standards are planned to be tougher than either U.S. or European standards.” The 918 should make a big green splash in Beijing.
This does not surprise me in the least. Demographically speaking, a Porsche is still a middle-class purchase in the US – mid-upper-middle, but still, the clientele is (justifiably) concerned about their future employment prospects.
The Chinese bubble is still expanding, and until it pops, China is fertile ground. Even after it pops for a while.
Any chance that, assuming the 918 ends up going into production in some form, the 911 will finally go away?
@porschespeed:
Would you mind telling me what your top three Porsche specific sites happen to be? I am becoming increasingly interested in the brand.
thanks in advance!
To whichever sites porschespeed might suggest, I’d add the only one I read regularly – planet-9.com. It used to be called the Cayman Club, but Porsche objected. Like TTAC, little to no trash talk wrt other car brands or others on the board, respectful interaction between posters and commenters plus a fair amount of basic maintenance/repair information, mostly aimed at… Caymans and Boxsters and group buys through paying sponsors of the site. A lot of people there track their cars, but a lot of others like me do not. For example, IIRC, there is one guy who has put about 50k miles on his Cayman S light pressure turbo which he uses as a good weather daily driver.
eh_political,
Thanks to chuckR, planet-9.com is a very good site.
My personal fave has been Rennlist.com – Generally highbrow, informative, and helpful folks. Has general interest categories, breaking down into individual models. IMHO, if you want to know Porsches (of any flavor) there’s someone there who knows them inside and out.
Germanautoforums.com is also OK. But I think you’ll find a wealth of info on the first two sites to keep you busy for quite a while.
Greg
“Environmental friendly” + “3.4L V8 that makes more than 500-hp” for a 2-seater does not compute. Company tradition (“mit vollen Hosen lässt sich gut Stinken” (Ferry Porsche))?
I think being an electric car, the V8 would be off most of the time. It only needs to be constantly running during the most demanding driving.
Although using a V8 as a generator seems like an overkill. A simpler/lighter design dedicated to a narrow RPM range would have sufficed.
Btw, anyone have any idea as to why an electric car would need a 7-speed gearbox?
I’ve been lusting after this once I saw the vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTqWDR2X_SA
Per the video: “It will be faster around the Nordschleife than the Carerra GT”
Awesome.
Many thanks speed and chuck, those links saved days of stumbling around. I am more than happy with the sites!
Enjoy!