911 Hybrid

I think personally, that is going to be a really rough go for Porsche. Their SUV and sedan sales don't seem great (look at what is in inventory at any Porsche dealer-- LOTS of Macans, and quite a few Cayennes, Panamera's, and Taycans-- yet no 911s, Caymans or Boxsters, or very few).

I don't believe Porsche has any real choice in the matter-- EU regulations are forcing them to go hybrid-- but I don't think that is what 911 buyers are going to want, at least in the US. Their SUVs are fine, but not particularly special and in a very crowded market. The sports cars were what made Porsche different.

They are in a corner, basically.

 

IMHO Porsche has four primary US demographics:

1) Soccer mom/kept wife/TV Dad crowd- They lease Macans and Cayennes and as long as big pedal makes car go forward they are happy.

2) Sports car crowd- They buy 911s and 718s because they are Porsches and sexy- How they are powered is irrelevant.

3) Purists- They want three-pedal ICE 911s- period- And if they had their way they would be air-cooled.

4) Track crowd- They want and will wait and pay for the absolute closest thing to a Cup Car that can be driven on the street- whether they ever actually see a track day is another discussion.

So as long as Porsche can sell to the masses (category 1 and 2) while not ostracizing the purists and track crowd they will be fine- but a daunting task- So if they offer an emasculated "hybrid" 911 while still offering a proper 3-pedal ICE 911 then who cares IMHO.

Cheers

 

Your category 1 is a tough sell for Porsche, though-- look at all the Macans and Cayennes sitting unsold on dealer lots. Why buy a Macan over a BMW, Mercedes, Ford, Chevy, Lincoln, Lexus... etc etc? Not to mention Rivian...

Category 2-- not sure I agree, or at least that this category is as large as you think it is.

For me, if they offer a proper 3-pedal ICE 911, then I would buy one-- if I could find one to buy! My Porsche salesman friend told me not to even bother putting my name on his list-- he said it was unlikely they would still be building those when my number came up.

 

Yeah you raise a good point <as usual> - I remember when there were 911s on the lot and getting a Macan GTS took a miracle- Times have definitely changed!

I feel for companies like Porsche that must appeal to a farther-ranging demographic- both in tastes and finances- than Ferrari or Lamborghini- I know they have deep pockets from the VW holding company but still challenging

 

I don't for a second believe that they will completely do away with ICE versions of the Cayman. They will want to continue being able to homologate the Cayman as a GT4 race car. So they will build at least that many road cars. I think they will continue to make them, though where you are allowed to buy one may be more limited.

 

A hybrid Cayman just makes no sense. I can see why a hybrid Boxster might sell, especially if the price is right, and I guess if they have to engineer it for the Boxster they might as well put it in the Cayman, but I can't see many Cayman buyers actually wanting that.

I have been told that the Cayman is somewhat a labor of love for Porsche management anyway-- they like it, even though it doesn't sell all that well. In a hybrid world, it would probably be easier to just do away with the Cayman altogether-- and I say that as someone who loves my 981 Cayman, and never plans to give it up (and my daughter wants it when I'm gone!).