Anyone Else Excited for the Porsche 3-Series?

"Wobbles the Mind" (wobblesthemind)
10/04/2017 at 10:56 • Filed to: Porsche

I guess I decided to call it the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! last year. Whatever, it looks to me as if they are testing both the Mission E and the upcoming Stinger/CT5-sized Porsche sports sedan. I swear automakers are reading my thoughts (which is impossible since Verizon owns the rights to my mind data).

DISCUSSION (18)

awmaster10 > Wobbles the Mind
10/04/2017 at 11:09

That would shake up the market for sure. It would probably be around ghibli pricing and you’d be a fool to not get the Porsche

C62030 > awmaster10
10/04/2017 at 11:30

Oh, you mean the Maserati Dart GT?

crowmolly > Wobbles the Mind
10/04/2017 at 11:33

Gonna sell like shit in NJ

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > Wobbles the Mind
10/04/2017 at 11:33

I am now. When is it looking like this thing will come to market?

Dasupersprint - base trim is enough > Wobbles the Mind
10/04/2017 at 11:38

That’ll be one good looking family car. Maybe if they do a 100hp version I can buy it

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Wobbles the Mind
10/04/2017 at 11:40

Um, yes!! Think we’ll actually get a manual option? If so, this is a likely future car for me (once depreciation does its job).

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Wobbles the Mind
10/04/2017 at 11:43

Wait... is this electric-only? I’m sad now.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/porsche-mission-e-seen-production-body-first-time

f86sabre > Wobbles the Mind
10/04/2017 at 11:45

A group of us were lucky enough to spend a couple of hours with the head of marketing at Porsche Cars North America and they are certainly excited about Mission E!

E92M3 > Wobbles the Mind
10/04/2017 at 11:47

This is great news! I’ve been saying for a longtime they need a sedan that’s smaller than the Panamera. I know they think the 911 is practical, but it’s not for everyone. And the Panamera is just too big.

Wobbles the Mind > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back
10/04/2017 at 11:55

As far as US launching goes, we have the 718 and Panamera, new Cayenne and Macan facelift arrive early next year, and the 992 plus the Mission E have late 2018 and early 2019 to launch. So there is a large opening in late 2019 for a US launch of an all new model. I’m just speculating off of the industry patterns though.

There’s supposed to be a Cayenne Coupe thing coming but I would imagine Porsche would want to launch that after the Urus, DBX, Ferrari Ute, and whatever JLR has cooking up for the next RRSport and possible SUV above the F-Pace. Lot of cars coming.

Wobbles the Mind > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
10/04/2017 at 12:02

I’m speculating but I’m usually on the ball. I think that the Mission E is coming first and Porsche is doing their best not to say anything about the small sedan so that they can launch their first all-electric car and electric subbranding without everyone saying, “This is awesome, but I cant wait for the gas car next year!”

feather-throttle-not-hair > Wobbles the Mind
10/04/2017 at 13:14

Are we sure this isn’t a 5 series fighter? Looks a little big for a 3-series. Plus logically the panamera is a 7-series competitor.....

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Wobbles the Mind
10/04/2017 at 14:05

I do hope you’re right, and it would line up with their other offerings being offered as both gas and hybrid.

So, sayer of sooths, how many years until we see a pure electric 911?

Wobbles the Mind > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
10/04/2017 at 14:45

Let me hit you with this, since the 2008-2012 Tesla Roadster, how many two door all-electric sportscars have been built or even announced for production that are under $1 Million? That question is why I don’t think we’ll get a 911-branded BEV until the generation after the 992.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Wobbles the Mind
10/04/2017 at 14:52

https://blog.caranddriver.com/the-e-tron-is-gone-audi-pulls-the-plug-on-its-electric-r8/

I’m guessing they at least considered an all-electric i8.

Fiat 500c and smart fortwo are clearly a slightly different target market.

Wobbles the Mind > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
10/04/2017 at 15:20

You noticed that gap too. There’s a universal issue that hasn’t been solved and it has created this gap between a BEV Smart and all the BEV hypercars we keep hearing announcements for.

I’m guessing that once the autoX/track day expectation is combined with range expectations you end up with no options that can hit $50,000 to $900,000 range while meeting what the market needs.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Wobbles the Mind
10/04/2017 at 15:32

Seems like a 6-series competitor would be a natural fit for a pure electric (pretty much where the i8 resides, but it’s trying to be an exotic at $140k+). Big, heavy, fast, look-at-me 2+2 coupe with no thought that it would ever see a track. I’m guessing there’s a decent percentage (10%?) of Model S buyers that would have bought one if it was a 2-seat GT. Tesla just had to shoot for the biggest slice of the market it could for their first major offering.

Wobbles the Mind > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
10/04/2017 at 15:59

And this is exactly why I think the LC, A9, and 8-Series are appearing with branding above the flagships. Had the branding been different or the layouts have been RMR, 4-door, or even convertible then I wouldn’t have expect BEV versions to appear before 2025. But like you said, the style is ideal to start pushing the six figure BEV exotic without dealing with the track day plus range expectations issue.