Porsche Says NO to Audi Q5 Clone

Porsche Says NO to Audi Q5 Clone Autocar.co.uk Porsche's openness to the press over its next big unveiling has been incredible. As a result, there are Aboriginal tribesmen living in remotest Australia who have never seen a TV, but who know that Germany's biggest sports car-maker is working on a four-door saloon car called the Panamera. What the rest of the car-savvy world is discussing is what's coming from Stuttgart after that. Some say it'll be a thousand horsepower supercar to unseat the Bugatti Veyron, others a front-engined spiritual successor to the 928. There are even rumours that it could be a crossover coupe in the mould of BMW's forthcoming X6. What it won't be, however, is a small 4x4 based on the mechanicals of Audi's forthcoming Q5; Porsche explicitly ruled that possibility out last week. Keep your small 4x4 Car manufacturers as high-profile as Porsche don't usually react to rumours and speculation circulating the motor industry. Someone in the German press must have hit a nerve, therefore, to have prompted such a direct reaction from Weissach. In response to the suggestion that Porsche was intent on seeding the apparently boundlessly rewarding SUV market with a smaller sibling for the Cayenne, Porsche spokesman Albrecht Bamler was quoted as saying "there are no such plans." The comment came in response to a story in German car magazine Auto Bild, which insisted that the mechanicals that are about to be employed underneath Audi's Q5 SUV would be adapted by Porsche for a small SUV called the "Roxster". There is precedent within the history of the VW Group for such a move; the larger Porsche Cayenne SUV and VW Touareg share a platform. However, Porsche has taken criticism from purists in its willingness to accept mechanicals from 'lowly' VW. It's evidently keen to avoid such criticism with future products. Although it's not unknown for a car-maker to deny a plan it knows very well to be true, Volkswagen also denied the veracity of the story shortly after Porsche, which suggests that it really is a fiction.

roxster?

Ro Kay Rubie Rue!

I thought it was the Porsche Rockstar.

i saw a pic from autobild - artists impression. I thought it looked very cool - much better than the X3... shame

I too saw the autobild picture and thought it would be a nice vehicle, oh well.

If one dilutes the Porsche brand too much, it'll lose it's cachet, and a 'Roxster' would certain do that. Indeed, it's the reason there are 4 different versions of Cayennes; one to satisfy all. As for BMW, frankly, I very much dislike the X3. The X6 looks as overstylized as the Infiniti FX. It'll be passe when it finally hits the showroom. While the Panamera is a cool idea and a high end sedan would certainly complement the Porsche line up, I think they should work on a motorcycle thereafter if they need to keep busy. Heck, they advised on the Vrod with HD.

So what's next for Porsche? Now that the CGT is done with production, the 911 (and variants) are at the top of the sports car ladder. We have the Boxster/Caymen and the Cayenne. The Panamerica is coming. What else is needed? Exotic sports car (check) Entry sports car / roadster (check) SUV (check) Sedan (check) What do you think will be coming next?